Introduction
Clear waters surrounded by snow-topped mountains make the impossibly scenic Lake Louise an unmissable part of your Banff National Park tour. Truly the ‘Jewel of the Rockies', the turquoise lake, overlooked by steely peaks, is famed for its exquisite hiking trails, picturesque canoeing, and, come winter's chill, skiing, dog sledding and ice skating.
Summer
A canoe on Lake Louise is one of the most emblematic pictures of Canada – finally experience it for yourself, with the azure expanse being perfectly suited to canoeing and paddleboarding. Absorb the surroundings, which originate to the end of the Ice Age, with hiking trails, from gentle strolls to backcountry hikes to the Victoria Glacier, and visits to nearby provincial parks. When autumn arrives, the surrounding larches are painted in shades of glowing oranges and reds, affording perhaps even more spectacular scenery.
Winter
Lake Louise's bursting mountains and deep valleys embrace a yearly dumping of thick snow, and the subsequent winter playground plays host to relatively few tourists to accompany you on its expansive, advanced ski slopes. For those who like something more genteel, there's wintery hikes among dense, snow-covered firs, and tobogganing around the slopes of the frozen lake. Don't miss the extraordinary Icefield Parkway, a soaring highway that winds among rocky peaks, expansive icefields and sweeping valleys, winding through The Rockies from Lake Louise to Jasper National Park.
