"When you stand at the bottom of the mountains in the Canadian Rockies, an unexplainable hushed silence fills you like you found the basement of heaven."
Majestic tranquility that echos through the rising peaks and the curved, open, lush valleys.
A glory that can only be see in the mountains that rise strong over our planet to create these unique, artistic displays of phenomenon.
When visiting Alberta, Lake Louise located about an hour west of Banff, AB is a very popular destination. Arriving at Lake Louise is a journey in itself. You need to park either at the lake, in town at the shopping area, or in the overflow on the Trans-Canadian East Bound.
Through my experience, I found that the option we took was the most convenient for us, you can explore the options at your leisure but this is what we did and it worked out great.
To reach the apline levels of Lake Moraine, you first drive into the city of Lake Louise. Park near the shopping plaza on the right side of the road heading south bound. You will see signs for a shuttle service. Ride the shuttle to get you towards seeing Moraine Lake.
The first stop of the shuttle in town will take you to the Overflow- here you switch to the Lake Louise Bus: Take the Lake Louise shuttle to the Chateau of Lake Louise and explore the area at your time availability. This shuttle does not take long, 15 minutes. We spent nearly an hour exploring and hiking around the half frozen masterpiece of nature at Lake Louise.
The shuttle to Moraine lake is 30 minutes by itself. Note and Plan Accordingly.
Yes, you can drive to the Moraine Lake, it is however a crowded gravel parking lot. Before you can park at the on site parking, you must take a gravel, steep, winding road for 14 km. Roughly 7 miles. I recommend the shuttle because it runs every 30 minutes and you don't need to work about damaging the automobile that you need to get through the rest of your road trip. The turns are narrow and the traffic is heavy. Its easier in this case, to use the shuttle unless your vehicle is well equipped for the endurance the road requires.
Please please please note that this area is a National Park, please leave all rocks, twigs, and plants at the park. Take NOTHING but pictures, Leave NOTHING but foot prints. Enjoy the view of the lake from several areas. My preferred is under the Rock Pile Hike along the banks of the lake.