Lake Louise: Where To Stay, Eat and Play

Last Updated: April 16, 2024

During a fall girls’ trip to Alberta, Canada, we visited beautiful Lake Louise. If you’ve read my Banff post, you know this wasn’t my first trip to the area. You also might know that fall is my favorite season to visit and that you don’t have to ski to enjoy this gorgeous Canadian destination. This is where you should stay, eat, and play when visiting the incredible Lake Louse!

Thank you to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Banff & Lake Louise, and Travel Alberta for hosting me. As always, all opinions and recommendations are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you book or purchase through these links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Where To Stay

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

I couldn’t wait for my friends to see the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It was their very first trip to Canada! When exiting off the freeway, one could never imagine that this hidden gem is so close…all nicely tucked away. In fact, I was surprised at how many of Canada’s prettiest places were right under our noses!

The hotel sits right on Lake Louise which was originally named Emerald Lake. Later, it was renamed for Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.

Dating back to 1890, the original building was a one-story log cabin. However, after two fires, the hotel was reconstructed and today’s building dates back to 1911.

As expected with the Fairmont, the rooms were beautiful, quite spacious, and featured very high-standard, luxurious beds.

The bathroom was quite large and gorgeous. Look at that mirror!

They left these cute cookies for us in the room. How adorable…and yummy too!

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a seriously luxurious property

that offers an array of activities such as kayaking on the beautiful turquoise lake,

hiking trails around and behind the lake,

and a lifetime of memorable views. So I had to get a photo, right? 😉

TIP: Accommodations can be expensive so using points and miles is beneficial. If you are new to this idea, check out this points and miles guide that caters to both Canadian and US citizens!

Where To Eat

Update: The Poppy Brasserie is closed. In its place is Louiza which has some of the same offerings. However, it is for hotel guests only and doesn’t seem to feature a buffet. This change occurred after my stay so I have not personally eaten at Louiza but I didn’t have a single meal that didn’t meet above expectations.

Poppy Brasserie

We started our morning right with Poppy Brasserie which is a great breakfast place.

Located in the Chateau, the fantastic buffet consisted of colorful fresh fruit, cold cuts, cold and hot cereals, and many hot items to choose from.

It even had one of my favorites, eggs benedict! Basically, it boils down to this. Breakfast here was delicious!

Strawberry, Lemon-Mint water? Yes, please! This is definitely where you want to start your day in Lake Louise!

Walliser Stube

Also located in the Chateau, Walliser Stube offers a great mix of Swiss and German food.

Having just been to Switzerland right before, I can tell you the food was authentic…

and I was most excited about the Toblerone chocolate fondue!

You might also like: THE BEST TIME TO VISIT LAKE LOUISE

 Where To Play

Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is an absolute MUST. It isn’t very far from Lake Louise at all.

This photo was taken at sunrise. As I explain here, the sunrises are later than what most of us are used to. So, it makes this a little much easier to do.

However, the main reasons I recommend Moraine Lake at sunrise are the calm waters and the lack of CROWDS. This can vary by season and the recent changes with getting to Moraine Lake may play in.

As you can see in this sunrise photo, we didn’t have to fight for a spot to take our photos. There were so few people present that we didn’t have to wait long for the overlook to clear.

We tried three more times to return to Moraine Lake during the day. On the first try, it was so full that you had to take a shuttle from an overflow lot. The second try, it was closed. Finally, on the third try, we got up there and found a spot to park, but it was a MADHOUSE and the number of people there was insane! Definitely go for sunrise and a weekday sunrise is a better bet!

Note: Since you can no longer park at Moraine Lake and its access has been limited, you must book in advance. Check out this complete guide on how to get to Moraine Lake.

Lake Louise Gondola

There also is a Lake Louise Gondola. The center and the grounds are beautiful!

Ride in an open chairlift or a fully enclosed gondola to 6,850 ft (2,088 m). See the Chateau and Lake Louise in the distance at the base of the mountains?

When I was there in September, there was snow at the top!

You can see the Fairmont on the way down. The Lake Louise Gondola is a great place for beautiful views of the lake, the hotel, and Banff National Park too!

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake definitely lives up to its name. I have had the opportunity to see this lake three times and two of those times, it was this beautiful emerald color!

While I’ve seen the lake in two other seasons, fall is still my favorite. In April, the lake is still iced over and is pretty in its winter state. In August, the lake has the signature emerald/turquoise color, but the fall takes the cake with the contrasting colors of the leaves changing!

See what I mean? Look at those colors!!

For those who are outdoorsy (and even if you aren’t), rent a kayak to explore the gorgeous Emerald Lake!

Natural Bridge

On your way out from Emerald Lake, don’t miss Natural Bridge.

It’s a rock formation that literally forms a bridge and has beautiful glacial-fed waters rushing beneath it.

I couldn’t resist a great photo opportunity.

Disclosure: I do NOT recommend doing this because even though it’s a wide formation, I found out the rocks get wet much further up than realized making it potentially dangerous.

PIN IT!

I’m so excited to share these gorgeous natural landscapes with you. Even if you are more of the city type (which describes me 😉), Lake Louise and its surrounding areas provide some of the most gorgeous views in the world!

Have you been to the Lake Louise area and visited any of these sites? If so, where have you been, and what’s your favorite?

‘Til next time…

Trimm Travels,

Heather