Lake Louise is located about 5km west of the hamlet of Lake Louise, itself about 40 minutes NW of Banff. The small lake is glacier-fed and has a lovely blue-green colour as a result.
Access to the lake requires a carry of about 500 feet from the parking lot (more if you get there late and end up in the overflow parking) up a gentle slope. Your best bet, if you bring your own, it to launch off the rocks in front of the people below. The water is very cold!
You can also rent canoes from hotel's docks, which is what we did this trip.
There is a hiking trail along the NW edge of the lake and two tea houses you can visit.
The lake is narrow about you can get to the other end in about 15 minutes of paddling. There is no real reason to hurry as the views are stunning.
The setting is so lovely, it is hard to take bad picture here.
At the far end of the lake there is a small stream which feeds the lake. We ground out in our efforts to paddle up it but you might have better luck in a kayak.
Below, looking back down the lake, you can see the Chateau Lake Louise. There is a creek by the hotel that is the main outflow but it is not navigable.
This is a short paddle and might be nicely paired with a paddle on nearby Moraine Lake (which was on the back of the old $20 bill). Moraine Lake is often overrun with tourists and I have yet to visit (generally we get turned back due to lack of parking). I believe there are also canoe rental available at Moraine Lake lodge and, if I arrived in the area early in the day, I would start at Moraine and do Louise later.
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