Lake Louise

Lake Louise is arguably the premier spot in the Canadian Rockies. It is very popular and almost everybody who visits Banff National Park makes their way to Lake Louise. It is a glacier-fed lake surrounded by spectacular steep mountains. Because it is glacier-fed, Lake Louise has a turquoise color due to the glacial flour (very fine particles) that the glacier forms when slowly grinding up rock. Lake Louise is about an hour drive from our house and we were able to visit several times. On our first visit we celebrated Carrie’s birthday with fancy afternoon tea at the upscale Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel. We had a table by the window with a wonderful view of the lake. There were sweet and savory treats along with excellent tea. It was a memorable birthday celebration. Click on the first photo in each block to view larger images in a slideshow.

On other visits to Lake Louise we enjoyed hiking along the lakeshore. There is a trail that goes along the lakeshore for a little over a mile that takes you to the glacier end of the lake, where water flows in from the glacial melt. From the lake’s other end, Louise Creek flows out to the Bow River, making its way through Canmore and Calgary and eventually to Hudson Bay! On one visit to Lake Louise we made our way to Moraine Lake, a nearby glacial lake with equally spectacular views.

On our return from one trip to Lake Louise we made a short detour into Kootenay National Park in British Columbia to visit Marble Canyon. A short hike up the canyon passes over very narrow and steep canyon walls. At the end of the hike is a waterfall, where the glacier-fed creek tumbles down toward the valley below. Unlike Lake Louise, Marble Canyon was not crowded and we saw just a few people on our hike.