On the water before the parking lot wakes up
Morning Canoe on Lake Louise· Banff National Park, Alberta
- Would return?
- Yes
- Worth the price?
- Yes
- Best for
- Family · Date night
- Approximate spend
- Two canoes, one hour
Lake Louise at midday is a bus terminal with a view. Lake Louise at 7 a.m. from the middle of the lake is one of the most beautiful places either of us has ever been — and we got both kids to agree, which has never once happened.
The boathouse opens at 7 in summer. Be in the first group. The water is glass, the glacier glows, and the only sounds are your paddle and a loon showing off. Our ten-year-old — chief expedition skeptic — went quiet for the better part of an hour. My wife and I keep the photo of that silence as evidence.
$95/hour per canoe, three to a boat, and one hour is genuinely enough. By 9 the tour buses arrive and the spell breaks; be having second breakfast by then, smug and warm.
Duration
One hour on the water is the right amount
Price
$95/hr per canoe, up to 3 people
Who it suits
Families with an early-riser streak; couples who want the postcard empty
This is one traveler's perspective.
See every perspective on Morning Canoe on Lake Louise →Comments
Pete Morrisabout 6 hours ago
The 7 a.m. rule applies to every famous lake in the Rockies. Moraine is the same story — first hour or don't bother.