Vancouver To Lake Louise – Start a day to enjoy Lake Louise at the famous lake that gives the town its name but at another amazing body of water: Moraine Lake. Located 8.7 miles (14 km) from the town of Lake Louise, Moraine Lake can be so busy during the day that Parks Canada closes the Moraine Lake Road, so you’ll want to get there early, ahead of the the people Take a leisurely stroll along the lake shore, then rent a canoe to paddle out.
When you leave Moraine Lake, your next stop should be Lake Louise. Take your photos by a lake, then if you’re up for a longer hike, follow the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail round trip that takes you beyond Lake Louise and among several glaciers. . peaks. Have lunch and a pot of tea at the remote Six Glaciers Teahouse. Alternatively, it’s a short walk to Lake Agnes Teahouse, another lovely setting for a sandwich or lunch.
Vancouver To Lake Louise
After your hike, change clothes and have a cocktail at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise’s lakeside lounge, because you won’t have enough opportunities to admire the lake. Then enjoy a casual meal nearby at Deer Lodge’s Mount Fairview Dining Room for modern mountain fare, from house-made charcuterie to triple chocolate mousse. You have earned it. It was my favorite family vacation. Even though my brother and I were in our twenties, we packed up and went on vacation with our parents for two weeks. It was the first time in ten years that we were all away together. Even though my brother ran over my leg and my mom gave me a chocolate peanut bar (I’m allergic…), the amazing views more than made up for it!
Amtrak Vacations® Official Site. Lake Louise Train Vacations
This road trip took us two weeks. We flew into Vancouver and flew out of Calgary. That’s the overview in a nutshell but scroll down for the full itinerary and photos!
If you’re not too slow when you land, take a wander around Vancouver’s Gastown. Gastown is the oldest neighborhood in the city so it has many beautiful old Victorian buildings. It is home to the famous Vancouver steam powered clock.
Stanley Park is well worth a visit – I recommend renting a bike and cycling around the perimeter. W. near the entrance to the park. Georgia Street has a few bike rental shops. It is very flat and the track is wide so it is a very easy cycle. Look out for totem poles, Lion’s Gate Bridge, and Siwash Rock. Don’t forget to stop for an ice cream break in between!
In the afternoon/early evening, take the Aquabus to Granville Island. It is an artistic district with many independent shops and a large indoor market. Be careful if you go on an empty stomach, it’s very hard to resist the cakes at the bakery stalls!
Canadian Rockies And Lake Louise Explorer
For your trip to Grouse Mountain, there are several ways to go. We went up, paid and went up the cable car. A friend told me later, if you walk up (about 1.5 hours), you can take the cable car down for free. There are also free shuttle buses from the city so it can be a free day out!
On the way up the mountain we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. It was very expensive, entry was $55 CAD (about £32). It was a great place but if you are afraid of heights, this is definitely not for you! It’s basically a collection of bridges and walkways in the trees, making it a fun place to explore.
Next stop: Mountain Grouse. Like I said, you can park and take the cable car or you can walk. Anyway, at the top you’ll find ski slopes (we went in September so they weren’t working), two captive bears and a wooden jack show…
If you are lucky you might even see some wildlife, we saw a deer. And of course, you have amazing views over Vancouver.
The Canadian Rockies In Southern Alberta, British Columbia
We went to the harbor and took a ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. We didn’t book in advance because it cost more but we had no problem and got to the first ferry.
The views coming into the bay were fantastic, lots of small islands. If you are lucky you might see whales in the bay.
Butchert Gardens was definitely my mom’s favorite part of the trip. This is a large garden created in the early 1900s by a wealthy woman in an old limestone quarry. Although it’s a beautiful place to explore, I personally feel like I’ve seen botanical gardens and so on in many other places. There are many other Canadian sites that are more country specific that would be higher on my list. But if you’re in the area and have time or are in the garden, it’s worth a stop! If you time it right, it’s best to take the ferry to Victoria.
There is so much to see in Victoria! Some of the main places to visit include: the harbor and around the parliament building, the old part of the city, Chinatown and the public market. Stroll through Beacon Park which is a unique combination of dry wasteland and green oasis with peacocks and turtles.
Canadian Rockies: Banff, Kelowna & Vancouver
For dinner, I recommend the Bard and Banker, located in a beautiful Victorian building that was originally a bank.
To get to Whistler, we drove to Nanaimo to take a slightly different ferry route back to the mainland. Along the way, we were lucky enough to see whales from the ferry (although they were too far away to get a decent photo!).
Whistler itself is famous for skiing, but even in the off-season, it’s an easy town to visit. We also went for a forest walk to Lost Lake. In September it was warm enough for people to swim in the lake.
The most exciting thing about this day is that it was the first time my mom let me drive the car! Everyone was so worried about me driving (totally unfair) that we drove the wrong way for 20-30 minutes. My father was sailing – I blame him.
Highlights (and Tips) From Our Trip To Vancouver And Banff
The route was very beautiful, with many winding mountain roads – which did not help my mother’s anxiety at all. Not much to say about Kamloops, we didn’t find much to do there, it was like a stopover town on the way to Jasper so I wasn’t in a rush to get there.
Whistler to Jasper is an 8.5 hour drive so stops are necessary, especially if you want to stop and see things along the way!
Like most trips it is a very scenic drive with lots of places to pull over and stop to take pictures along the way.
We stopped at Valemont 1.5 hours outside of Jasper because we couldn’t find a hotel for the night in Jasper. Valemont itself is too small to do much. Like Kamloops, it’s fine for a stopover but if you can make it all the way to Jasper for the night, I recommend it.
Road Trip Vancouver To Banff In 5 Days: Revelstoke, Golden, And Lake Louise
I visited in September and while I was wondering around Vancouver in a skirt and t-shirt, it was very cold in Jasper. It wasn’t unbearably cold but it was winter coat and jeans season.
It’s also worth noting that at this point in the trip, we unexpectedly crossed a different time zone. Alberta (Jasper is in the state) is an hour ahead of most of British Columbia, where we are from.
Jasper is a very beautiful town with many cabin style buildings set against a stunning mountain backdrop. The town has plenty of shops to visit but the real fun is in the surrounding national park. With lakes and the Athabasca River on one side and forest on the other, there are many hiking and walking trails around the city.
The journey from Japser to Banff is around 3.5 hours but I would allow a whole day to get there as there are so many stops along the way.
Reasons To Visit Canada’s Gorgeous Lake Louise
The trail will take you to Icefield Parkway. The first two stops are Athabasca Falls and Sunawata Falls. As you can see from these photos – both are worth a stop.
Next stop is the Columbia Icefield, a huge glacier that recedes 5 meters every year, so see it while you can! Walking up to the glacier, it is interesting (and scary) to see the points the glacier has reached over the years.
One of the last stops before Banff is Bow Lake which has stunning turquoise water and is less busy than nearby Lake Louise.
Lake Louise is about 40 minutes away from Banff so you can stay near a lake outside of Banff or if you have one.
