Our only goal for this 2026 Lake Louise visit was to get to Moraine Lake since we couldn’t get there last year. We have shuttle tickets for tomorrow for the 5 AM sunrise shuttle!! Very excited.
We came to Lake Louise today to check out the large Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise. Even though I’m not a real tea drinker I thought it would be fun to do the afternoon tea, till I checked the price last night. $160 per person!! Yes, that is CAD, but it’s still insane!! Unfortunately, unless you make a reservation for high tea or for dinner, you are can only enter “side entrance” for a quick “grab and go” snack and coffee area, and a typical gift shop . Hotel staff are stationed all over to keep the “riff-raff” out of the main lobby area and additional shops. (This actually surprised me at a National Park). We did go into the little gift shop.
We went down to the lake and walked the easy out and back path along the shore. We wore ourselves out doing the other hikes here last year.
The Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise is massive.
Our priority now was to determine logistics for our 5 AM shuttle to Moraine Lake. The RV lot where we parked last year was not available today, and will no longer be available period! Plus RV’s and any vehicle >20ft are no longer permitted up here. Hmm.. We arrived about 8 AM and were directed into the regular lot to park. We hoped no one would be working the road into the parking lot at 4 AM. The 4 AM and 5 AM sunrise shuttle departures are the only ones that leave from this parking lot up at Lake Louise. We took our bike rack off at the campground that night to make us only 24ft.
MORAINE LAKE – THE MAIN EVENT!!!
We arrived at the lot about 3:45 AM in the dark. Yea! No one on duty. No issues. We went to the far end of the lot, and backed in where we did yesterday. We made our coffee, and got ready. Once we were all bundled up for the morning mountain cold, we headed over to pay for our parking and get checked in at 4:30. We left on the shuttle promptly at 5:00 AM.
ARRIVAL at MORAINE LAKE – Valley of the Ten Peaks:
We quickly scrambled up the “Rock Pile” since the sunrise was in progress! (Well, one of us did. LOL)
We MADE IT! OMG…Breathtaking! THIS is why we got up at 3:30 AM!
It didn’t last long. You really have to time it just right! And have the weather cooperate. 🙂 We were on the 5 AM shuttle and had to hustle up to the top of the Rock Pile –anyone who arrived even 5 minutes after us missed the total wow-factor view. The clouds were constantly moving quickly blocking more and more of the sunlight. The early-bird visitors selected many different vantage points to take in the best view possible. Truly anywhere I’m sure was spectacular!
A local gal, I think she works up here, told us that seeing that colorful orange band on the mountains is quite rare. She said it’s a 1 in 100 chance! We were definitely blessed! The clouds move in and through causes lighting and wind changes quite fast. We were certainly glad we wore our parkas and gloves!
We took time to just be present in this majestic beauty! It was nice to see a few others doing the same, especially after the influx of people left. As the clouds and sunlight constantly changed, so did the lake color!
I zoomed-in where we could faintly see across the lake where a lot of water was flowing into it. (You can see the wind has kicked up now that the glass look to the lake is gone for now).
We saw breaks of blue, so we waited…
A bride and groom were here for pictures (after sunrise).
View behind us
View down the right side of the Rock Pile – wow–that’s a big log jam! We headed down to check it out and more.
A HABITAT FOR THREATENED West Slope Cutthroat Trout:
These logs are truly a LOG JAM and provide a needed habitat. In the winter, avalanches sweep trees off the slopes onto the lake ice. When the ice melts, the trees drift over to the stream outlet forming the log jam. The logs provide habitat for the threatened species of trout – west slope cutthroat trout. In the summer, the trout spawn under the logs where they are hidden from the superior eyes of predatory eagles and ospreys. There are signs to stay off the logs to protect the unique fish habitat beneath them!
We took the path that follows the lake shore. Mosquitos were definitely present even in the cold as we walked through the treed areas.
Reminds me of a puzzle I’ve seen…
A strong flow of snow/glacier melt into Moraine Lake. A little bridge allowed people to cross over and continue the trail along the shoreside.
Here comes Barry and his fancy footwork…
A male and female harlequin duck…
Aerial map that shows Moraine Lake and the 10 mountain peaks facing the lakes. It also labels a couple of the glaciers .
Fay Mt and part of Fay Glacier!
Getting closer to the “end of the lake” where we saw the large flow of snow and glacier melt from the Ten Peaks into the lake. This flow is the one I spotted from the top of the Rock Pile.
and closer!
As close as I could get…
The trail ended here. I can see why.
Seeing that blue sky I needed to really hustle back to meet Barry back at the top of the Rock Pile!! (He headed that way Dang those clouds move fast!
So we waited. We have time. 🙂
We waited longer, but believed we got the best views for today. We didn’t do any other hike from here, going up the Rock Pile 3 times today was plenty. It was time to head to the gift shop to have a look at shirts and head back to Sadie.
This experience was so worth the early morning wake-ups to finally get reasonable $12 shuttle tickets and paying $24 for all day parking at Lake Louise! Later shuttles use the local bus stop and parking is free (so far anyway).
We head up the Icefields Parkway tomorrow morning.