Planning for this day trip had to happen four months out. The area is very popular and in 2023 they closed the road to Moraine Lake to public traffic and the parking for Lake Louise is limited. We decided to take the free Parks Canada Shuttle to get to the lakes. However, getting a shuttle reservation isn’t the easiest and required logging on in April to reserve our shuttle seats and boy am I glad we did, it made the adventure so easy!
Our first stop was Moraine Lake and in the interest of saving our legs for the afternoon hike, we just enjoyed a short walk to the end of the lake. Moraine Lake is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous and its turquoise water and alpine tree line is the backdrop for many photos taken in the Banff area. If I had my pick, this is a must see stop on any Canadian Rockies adventure.
After a quick stop at the cafe for caffeine and snacks we got back on our Parks Canada shuttle and made our way to beautiful Lake Louise.
Now our next hike caught us a bit off guard. The Lake Agnes Tea House hike is often described as a short moderately easy hike and that’s what I told the teens. However, the almost 5 mile hike is a steady, steady climb and we were winded after about the first half mile, so it was quite the slog up. The trail conditions are pretty worn with few obstacles for more than half of the trip, but then does become a bit more rugged as there are tree roots to avoid and rocks to navigate.
The very last section gets even steeper and after following a couple of switchbacks, the trail hooks up with a horse trail so in addition to watching your step over tree roots, you also have to dodge horse poo!
The reward at the end is so worth it. The Lake Agnes Tea House!
Built on the shores of Lake Agnes in 1901, the Lake Agnes Tea house is a popular destination. The small structure was rebuilt in the 80s and is served by just a few live-in staff so in order to get a coveted seat you will wait in line for some time. The tea house staff start work at sunrise to get all of their homemade baked goods and soups made for the day. The Mountain Bar was amazing as was the tuna salad sandwich on fresh bread. Of course we also had tea to wash it all down.
The staff carry out all of their garbage on hikes out and hike back up with all of the fresh supplies a couple of times a week and there is one large supply drop by helicopter of all the flour, sugar and dry goods once per season. Visitors can also volunteer to take out a small bag of trash and take their own trash with them. We chose to carry out our own cups.
Wanderlust Travel Diary 