Lake Louise is beautiful and a must see when traveling in this part of Canada. We were camping in Cochrane, just west of Calgary. It was a two hour drive from our campsite to Lake Louise. Traveling with my sister and brother-in-law made this extra fun with lots of laughs along the way.
There are a few things you should know about Lake Louise in planning your day of sightseeing. Parking is very limited and unless you get there early you might find yourself parking several miles away and having to ride a shuttle bus. We did not want to go the route of the shuttle, so we pulled into a parking lot and just waited until someone finally finished their sightseeing and gave up their spot.
Tour buses abound and there are plenty of tourists to contend with. There are signs posted that let you know the hotel and its amenities are for hotel guests only, but that does not mean you cannot go into the hotel and eat, shop, or whatever. It just means that hotel guests are given first priority on seating in restaurants. We decided to eat early and had no trouble getting a great spot on the terrace overlooking the lake. As the restaurant filled up, non hotel guests were turned away. Our views were spectacular and people watching was almost as much fun as seeing the scenery. Selfie sticks were everywhere. Large and small groups posed with their hands in the shape of a heart, or peering out into the distance as if contemplating something important, or just generally looking rather silly! My sister and I tried to replicate some of the more amusing poses.
There is a nice walkway around the lake and several hikes up to the tearooms. I have been told that the hikes are definitely worth the effort, but on our visit, it was rainy and foggy so the decision was made to forego it. We were delighted to see a grizzly bear mom and her cubs come very close to the resort. The rangers were quick to shoo them off back up into the mountains. It is important to have a healthy respect for wildlife. People were trying to get just a little closer to get the perfect photo of the bears, making the ranger’s job even more difficult. There were even some trying to inch closer in order to take a selfie with a grizzly bear!
Lake Louise, with its crystal blue water and surrounding mountains, is breathtaking and well worth the parking and crowd hassels to see. As with the other Fairmont Hotels we have visited, the setting, with Lake Louise out the back door, makes this elegant hotel well worth a stroll inside.
While visiting Lake Louise, take a short drive up to Moraine Lake. It is gorgeous with crystal clear water and colorful boats on the dock. It is much smaller than Lake Louise but beautiful in its own right. Parking again is an issue but late afternoon seemed to work better. While taking candid photos with my iphone, I snapped a shot of the lake with the beautiful boats in the foreground. After posting the shot for our children to see, our son noticed the photo was the exact shot of a jigsaw puzzle our family had put together on a family vacation the year before. The exact likeness was amazing, especially since I did not even remember the puzzle.
Moraine Lake and colorful boats 
