Three Beautiful Lakes of Banff National Park Covered in One Hiking Expedition (Or, More Like a Short Uphill Trail)
The scenic trail and fantastic lakes filled our hearts with immense joy.
It seems like yesterday.
In reality, my wife, in-laws, and I visited Banff National Park just a year ago! Time flies, and memories remain (until those fly away too)!
What a fantastic exhibition of nature we enjoyed the entire trip!
The turquoise elegance, the sky-touched rocky mountain range, the lush green forest — a majestic sync of nature and magical colors!
As a hiking lover, I was looking forward to a hiking experience within that short period. My brother-in-law suggested that we could explore the hiking route to Lake Agnes Teahouse. The hike was a shorter version of the little beehive hike and would provide us to see three beautiful lakes of Banff National Park in one go.
We all loved the idea and geared up for the trail!
Lake Louise Viewpoint
Once we came in front of Lake Louise, the turquoise color mesmerized us, and the photo shoot took place for quite some time.
The viewpoint offered us to see seven mountain peaks in the background of the lake (the highest one being Mt. Victoria, 3,464 meters high, named after Queen Victoria of England).
We also had a glimpse of the trail route on the map.
However, we wanted to see the beautiful trail and the views from the track.
Towards Mirror Lake
So, we took a right turn from the Lake Louise viewpoint, crossed the iconic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel, and started our uphill journey to the Teahouse.
Long-standing trees provided shade throughout the trail, while cliffs gave the walls to one side. There were numerous switchbacks, but many families took the hike, indicating it was a family-friendly route.
I wondered whether my father-in-law and mother-in-law would have any issues on the uphill walk, but they were smoothly following the crowd to get to the points.
The first point I reached was the Mirror Lake point, perhaps after a 2.5 km upward hike. This mountain lake also has the majestic big beehive cliff in the background and the green forest in the surrounding, a picturesque combination!
The next stop was Lake Agnes, which was almost one km uphill from this place.
Then I missed a turn.
However, when I started the hike again, I missed one crossing point and took an uphill route towards the big beehive place, further up from Lake Agnes. I needed to take the left course instead of the right-side uphill one.
However, the views didn’t disappoint me! It was calm, and no other hikers were around, as most were taking the usual route to the Lake Agnes point.
Towards Lake Agnes
To reach the Lake Agnes Teahouse, I walked uphill a bit, and there came a turn showing one route to Lake Agnes point, and the other one, an uphill path to the big beehive. So I took the first one downhill, crossing a small waterfall, and after a 20-minute downhill hike, I reached the Lake Agnes Teahouse.
The subalpine views greeted me. I saw the historic wooden teahouse (built in 1909) and, of course, a lot of crowds. Everyone was excited to reach the point and spend time in front of the lakefront or having food/tea from the teahouse.
The cliffs were looming over the lake and reflecting the elegance at its best.
I loved it, although I wanted the hike to be longer!
But even the short hike provided us a glimpse of the incredible beauty of the trail and the mountain lake views!
I heard that the winter hike on the same trail is also an exceptional experience.
So whatever the season is, if you are visiting Banff National Park and Lake Louise, I would highly recommend you all take a chance on this trail and experience a different side of Banff’s scenic exposures.
You will thank me later.
If you want to know about the first day of the Banff National Park experience (Moraine Lake, Bow Valley Parkway, Columbia Icefield/Athabasca Glacier), you can explore the following content: