Lake Louise is one of the most scenic and diverse Canadian Rockies resorts offering amazing extreme / expert, advanced, intermediate and beginner terrain. If you can afford it… do yourself a favor and stay & ski at the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel. The Fairmont offers incredible views of Lake Louise, and the glacier fields above. With a 5 min free shuttle, you’re just minutes from the slopes. Put it on your bucket list now!
As you can see in the photo’s – Lake Louise offers some of the most striking and majestic views of the Canadian Rockies!
I have been blown away by the double diamond / expert / extreme skiing available at Lake Louise. Most recently the front side has added even more great terrain with a new Summit Chair Quad accessing newly opened terrain for the West Bowl. The new Summit Chair is a huge improvement for the resort, replacing the old uncomfortable t-bar. Now skiers have easy access to wide open bowls, chutes, and powder runs on the West Bowl (frontside), and all the incredible double diamonds on the backside… bring a parachute. It’s steep, rocky, open, and seemingly unlimited variety of high alpine terrain.
For Advanced and Intermediate skiers, the frontside and Larch chair are the places to go. Very fast lifts, amazing groomed runs, and some open fields for you to get into the bumps or carve up the powder on those days. For those with strong legs and big lungs… take laps off the Top of the World and pick you path choosing between Home Run, Sunset Terrace, Charlies Choice, and Grizzly Gully among others. Top to bottom is about 3,000 vertical, which is plenty to get the quads burning.
While you’re at Lake Louise, make it a priority to check out Sunshine Village, located 30 mins south, closer to the town of Banff. Although Lake Louise is my favorite of the “SkiBig3” resorts, Sunshine Village and Norquay are both worth checking out. Between the 3 resorts you will never get bored or feel there is a lack of variety.
For those a bit more adventurous, you can book a 1 or 2 day heliski adventure with RK Heliski or CMH Purcells. RK offers a van shuttle for a ride and CMH will require you to rent a car or find other ways to get there. Both are top notch operations, and you won’t be disappointed. Powder skiing is quite good at Lake Louise, but you’ll get deeper dumps as you head west to RK and the Purcells.
The only downside to skiing Banff / Lake Louise is the extreme cold temperatures that can settle in. This is the the colder and drier side of the rockies, so expect temperatures to range between -10 to +35f, with periods dropping down to -30f. So, pack high quality layered clothing, mittens, hand warmers, and your warmest coat.
Whitehorn Bistro has the most amazing views in all of Banff / Lake Louise. Relax and soak up the views.
Lake Louise also offers excellent on-mountain dining with the Whitehorn Bistro, where you get a full dose of high alpine Canadian Rocky views. I strongly recommend getting a reservation as there is limited seating. At the base I really enjoyed the Powder Keg Lounge, which is a great place to warm up, grab a bite or sip an adult beverage. There’s lot’s to choose from both on mountain and at the base – so explore and discover what you like the most.
