Hiking in Banff. AKA how many times can I say… “Wow! This is beautiful!”

Lucky me! I was able to visit Alberta and even more lucky I got to visit the incredible Banff National Park.

I have travelled to Calgary, YYC, on business many times but this was the first time I was able to visit the Mountains and WOW, was I ever blown away.

Here are a few pictures and tips of my two days of Hiking in Lake Louise. We stayed at the gorgeous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, so after our first climb I was able to retreat to sheer luxury and sip champagne. (Click here for Blog Posting with Hotel review http://wp.me/p3e36V-8J )  If you are in Banff or staying in the town of Banff you should absolutely make the trip to visit Lake Louise. Even if you have just one day to visit, you have time to see the lake and climb a mountain, trust me, its worth the sweat to get to the top.

Please note! I was there in the middle of summer, temps dipped to zero at night time so if you are travelling in winter you will likely have a totally different experience. These suggestions are based on my time in August.
Lake Agnes Climb. (Time needed 4 hours)

The Lake Agnes hike leaves from the base of Lake Louise and takes about 4 hours in total. We were told it is an easy hike, ya, easy for an Olympic hiker maybe. For us 40 year olds, lets just say it took some cardio. The hike itself is about 7 km’s and you gain 385m/1260f in elevation. On you way up you pass a waterfall, another lake called Mirror Lake and simply stunning scenery of Lake Louise. There were a few people that started the hike and then turned back because it was pretty challenging so be sure to take water with you and wear proper footwear. I wore running shoes and wished that I had hiking boots.

At the top of the Trail is the Lake Agnes Tea house. This is a family run tea house that serves much need refreshments to weary hikers. No pop or junk food here, just water, tea and baked goods. We had a pot of tea and enjoyed the fabulous scenery. Here is a picture of us, to the right of the picture is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The tea house was pretty empty when we went, but we were told it can get crazy busy. make sure you bring cash, its a little pricey but what do you expect, they have to carry all the supplies up the mountain that you just climbed. I thought it was a bargain! To some people the Tea House is just a stop and then they continue to hike but for us it was time to return home.