Moraine Lake: The Most Memorable Stop in the Rockies

Moraine Lake is one of the Rockies’ most photographed lakes, and a must-see for any first-time visitor to the Park. It’s not hard to understand why, with its stunning turquoise blue waters and fresh mountain air making it the ultimate bucket list location.

The road to Moraine Lake opens around June 1st, depending on weather conditions. The road is completely closed starting in mid-October because the snow makes it an avalanche hazard.

With that said, it is still possible to see Moraine Lake in the winter time if you’re willing to ski up – but it’ll be frozen, so you wont see the famous blue hues.

Read on to find out everything you need to know before you visit this beautiful famous lake!

Table of Contents

Getting to Moraine Lake

In 2023, Parks Canada closed the road to Moraine Lake to all private vehicles. Instead, they now run shuttle buses from the Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola parking lot to Moraine Lake. It takes about 20 minutes to get there by shuttle bus.

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You can also bike, hike or walk the road up if you’re ambitious: it’s 14.4km long and uphill!

Another option for getting to Moraine Lake is to book a tour that includes this lake (see below for our recommendations).

Directions

The road to Moraine Lake starts from the town of Lake Louise.

From Banff, Lake Louise is a short 40-minute drive along Highway 1. If you have an extra 20 minutes to spare, we highly recommend taking Highway 1A (the Bow Valley Parkway) instead. The Parkway runs parallel to the main highway, but gives you a much better chance of spotting wildlife like grizzly bears and pine martens!
The Roam Bus also runs between Banff and Lake Louise if you don’t have a vehicle or would rather take public transportation.
From Jasper, you can expect a 2 hour and 45 minute car ride along the Icefields Parkway. With that said, there are so many beautiful and iconic stops along the way that you might want to make a whole day trip out of this drive! From Jasper, just head South on Highway 93 – it’ll take you all the way to Lake Louise.
From BC, Lake Louise is about an hour’s drive from the nearest town of Golden via Highway 1. This too is a beautiful drive with dramatic views of towering mountains, especially as you get closer to Lake Louise.

The map above shows the route from the Calgary Airport to the Lake Louise Ski Resort, where the Parks Canada shuttle leaves for Moraine Lake.

Other shuttle companies might pick you up from a different location. For more info, check out our article on the Moraine Lake shuttles.

The road to Moraine Lake is a bit harrowing. It’s steep, and there are several spots where you can see the valley deep down below. It’s a beautiful drive, but if you have a fear of heights, you might be white knuckling it up!

You’ll need a Parks Pass to visit Moraine Lake, as it’s located inside Banff National Park. You can order one online before your trip, or buy one at the many entrances to the Parks. Buying your pass online does let you sail past the entrances to the Parks on busy days, so it’s a good idea if you’re visiting in the summer time.

Moraine Lake is located in the Valley of Ten Peaks, so named because of the ten mountain peaks that surround it.

What to Wear at Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is at higher elevation and typically several degrees colder than Lake Louise or Banff. Bring an extra sweatshirt to throw on in the summer time around July and August, and definitely bundle up if you visit during the colder months of September and October.

If you plan to do any hiking away from the main lake area, we recommend bringing bear spray. Bears are quite common to see on the hiking trails near Moraine Lake.

What to Pack for Banff (& Jasper!) ☼ Rockies Packing List

Can you See Moraine Lake and Lake Louise in one day?

Lake Louise is another must-see in the Canadian Rockies that is only a short distance from Moraine Lake.

Absolutely. Both of these famous Lakes are within a short drive of each other! You can easily see both in half a day if you just want to stop in and snap some pictures. Or you could plan to spend the morning at one and the afternoon at the other.

If you take the Parks Canada shuttle, you can ride the connector bus between the two for free. The connector buses run every 15 minutes starting at 8 a.m, so you’re free to decide how much time you’d like to spend at each lake.

Many other shuttle and tour companies give you the option of visiting both as well.

Tours That Include Moraine Lake

Tours are great option if you don’t feel like driving around the Park yourself or renting a vehicle. You can see many of the famous sightseeing locations in one day, simply by hopping on a bus. Here are some tours that include Moraine Lake:

Photographing Moraine Lake

moraine lake sunrise images, alberta landscape photography, canadian landscape photography — Truly, this area is extremely photogenic in any weather and any time of day.

There are so many great perspectives to photograph Moraine Lake from! The most popular vantage point is the Rock Pile right as you arrive from the parking lot. This is the quintessential Moraine Lake shot you see all the time on Instagram.

Wildlife Spotting at Moraine Lake

If you’re familiar with chipmunks, you’ll recognize golden mantled ground squirrels.

They love to pester visitors to Moraine Lake for food! Just remember that it’s actually illegal to feed the wildlife here.

This is definitely bear country, and you should be prepared to see bears if you take any of the hiking trails around Moraine Lake. They’re sometimes even spotted on the road up, and around the lake itself.

Typically you’re pretty safe as long as there are other people around, but it never hurts to bring bear spray with you. Especially if you’re hiking and spending time in the less traveled areas.

There are lots of golden mantled ground squirrels around Moraine Lake too! Many of them are quite tame and comical. Just remember not to feed them.

How to Stay Bear Safe When You Visit the Canadian Rockies

Other Ways of Getting to Moraine Lake

If you don’t feel like taking one of the shuttles, there are still some other ways of getting to Moraine Lake:

Transportation Method	Time to Budget	Time of Year
Take a taxi	20 minutes	June to October
Walk or bike the road from Lake Louise	2 – 3 hours	June to October
Ski the road from Lake Louise	3 hours	November to May
Hike from Lake Louise	3 hours	June to October

Biking from Lake Louise to Moraine Lake

The road from Lake Louise to Moraine Lake is a 14.4km ride (one way) and quite steep! Steve has biked to the Lake before to photograph it at sunrise, and found quite a few people already awake at Moraine Lake that early in the morning.

Biking to Moraine Lake during the day isn’t as much fun because the road is quite narrow, and you’ll be dodging tour buses.

This is also bear country and somewhere you’d want to bring bear spray. May is a popular time to bike this road, when the avalanche hazard is typically clear but the buses haven’t started running yet.

Accommodations Near Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is close to both Lake Louise (20 minutes) and Banff (60 minutes), giving you lots of options for accommodations if you’re planning to visit. There’s even a Lodge right next to Moraine Lake.

Booking at the Moraine Lake Lodge is a great option for you if you’d like to photograph the sunrise without worrying about early morning transportation, or to spend an extended amount of time at the Lake.

They have a private parking lot, so renting a room here is one of the few ways you can drive up in your own vehicle.

Moraine Lake Souvenirs

Looking for a beautiful reminder of your trip? Take a piece of the Canadian Rockies home with you with some of our Made in Canada gifts and souvenirs! You can find them both in our online store and in select Bow Valley stores.