(#2) 24 Hours at Chateau Lake Louise

Turquoise lakes? Check. Epic mountain views? Check. A moment of 5-star luxury as we travel through the Canadian Rockies from Calgary to Jasper National Park? Double check! 😍

For this diary-style travelogue, we’re bringing you along as we take the dreamiest 10-day road trip through the Canadian Rockies, stopping in places like Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper National Park and driving the Icefields Parkway — twice!

Later on, we'll share detailed itinerary posts to help you plan your own Canadian Rockies Road Trip, but in the meantime, this diary-style travelogue is dedicated to sharing the fun adventures — and a few misadventures — of our own! Wondering if this bucket-list destination really lives up to the hype? Let’s go!

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Day 2: Room With a View at Lake Louise

Today is probably the day I am most looking forward to along our entire 10-day Canadian Rockies Road Trip… We’re going to Lake Louise and staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise!!!

This stay has been at the very top of my dream-super-big wish list for some time. Ever since my Mom shared stories about a boss who vacationed here. Ever since the Chateau was featured on an episode of The Bachelor. (LOL, but true!) Pretty much ever since I first heard about it, and then saw pictures of this grand hotel sitting on the shore of the most beautiful mountain lake I could imagine.

And now… somehow, someway… we’re waking up from our campground in Lake Louise with a reservation to stay one night in a lakeview room this evening.

*PINCH ME*

[Btw, this is a semi-accurate snippet of how we travel. Two nights of car camping with electric fencing and animal grates to deter bears… and one night of luxury in a hotel with a view! #balance — That said, those hotels are usually not 5-star hotels on world-famous lakes. This is one we saved up for, put gift money towards, ate PB&Js for, and have been dreaming about for a while! I repeat, *PINCH ME* 😍]

Our car camping setup in the backseat keeps us warmer and more comfortable than our informal front-seat arrangements the night before, so we wake up feeling better and more rested. The temperatures dipped to about 40 degrees last night, so we’re grateful for the comforts of the car and the insulation it provided.

It’s about 7am when we wake up, and there’s no need to debate what we should do and when. We pack up and drive straight to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Although our room won’t be ready until later, we’re able to park in the hotel’s garage and explore the trails around Lake Louise while we wait.

The door from the garage to the hotel’s lobby is sensor-operated so that it casually swings open to let us inside when we get within arms-length. This sounds like a small thing, but for us, this marks a clear delineation from budget travel to luxury travel, with this being one of our first immersions in luxury travel since we started road-tripping in 2019. Sure, we’ve traveled well with our families before — looking at you, Greenbrier and Atlantis! 😍 — but this is the first time Jonathan and I are footing the bill for a 5-star hotel ourselves.

So, as the door to the Chateau’s lobby opens automatically upon our arrival, we’re giddy with anticipation.

We enter the hotel, walk past a set of elevators on our right, and turn the corner toward the lobby. Apparently channeling my inner ‘Bridgerton’ character, “I’m ruined” is the very first thing that pops into my head as we walk down the large staircase leading to the hotel’s first-floor lobby. 😭😅 (You know... for all other hotels — and campsites — to come this trip!)

It’s MAGNIFICENT!

Our senses first pick up on the smoky, almost woodsy scent that reminds us both of something we can’t immediately place. It’s comforting. But while our noses are distracted recalling the scent — incense from church! — our eyes are drawn right to the restaurant on the far side of the lobby and its huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

They’re framing what makes this hotel so spectacular— an unobstructed, postcard-worthy view of the iconic Lake Louise and its turquoise blue waters calmly situated beneath the Rocky Mountains and Victoria Glacier.

I know it’s possible to dream about a place and feel disappointed when you finally get there. Maybe you expected more or even just something different. Or you imagine you’ll feel a certain way, but you don’t.

This is not my experience walking into the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

The hotel is as elegant as we hoped, but it’s not stuffy. It’s warm. Sure, we can already see the masses of people at the shore of Lake Louise waiting for their perfect picture, but that’s part of what makes this place so special. Right outside this gorgeous hotel, with its fancy dining, luxurious amenities, and comfortable accommodations, sits a view you only expect to see by way of roughing it after a long hike.

You can see a small part of the staircase we walked down on the left-hand side of this photo. Directly across the lobby from the staircase is a hallway leading to one of the hotel’s dining rooms.

Here’s what we were looking at across the lobby— Lake Louise framed by a window at the Lakeview Lounge. Absolutely incredible!!!!

Before making our way outside, we ask a hotel receptionist if we can get a key that’ll allow us to enter and exit the garage in case we want to grab sandwiches from Lake Louise Village for a picnic lunch later today.

Instead, she helps us check in and get our actual room key — which grants us access to the garage AND all hotel amenities! — and puts us on a priority list for early check-in. In case we don’t want to head into town during our stay, we’re also pointed in the direction of the “Guide’s Pantry,” with various picnicking, breakfast, coffee, lunch, and to-go options.

We’ll get a text when our room is ready, no later than 4pm, so we head outside to be greeted with our first exterior glimpse of the famous Lake Louise. It, too, is just as magnificent as imagined. 😍😍😍

Lake Louise around 8:40am in early September. This is just STEPS from the hotel!!

Outside, we join the (hundreds of) people at the shore of Lake Louise, watching as the sun rises over the mountains to our back and lights up the lake in front of us more each minute.

To our right is someone who’s been filming a time-lapse video for about an hour and a half, keeping his phone in the same spot from dawn until the entire lake’s lit by the sun. To our left is a fellow road tripper, someone else who, surprisingly enough, drove from Texas to drive the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper National Park. He shares a few recommendations for our trip ahead as he’s on the back half of his.

There are a few obvious benefits of staying at the Chateau Lake Louise— it’s luxurious, offers fine dining and relaxing spa treatments, and can’t be more convenient for exploring Lake Louise, Banff, and the surrounding Rockies. You also don’t have to worry about parking or booking a shuttle in advance since the garage has plenty of space to accommodate all guests.

But, of course, one of the main reasons to book this hotel is that you get to be at Lake Louise all night and day, so you’re sure to enjoy it without crowds and crowds of people (and you don’t feel in a rush to get all of the pictures or vantage points you’d like).

So, as it gets busier on the shoreline, with more people arriving by shuttle each hour, we begin our hike for the day.

We’re hiking the “Big Beehive Trail,” an approximately 6.5-mile trail past Lake Louise, Lake Agnes, and the Lake Agnes Tea House, to the summit of Beehive Mountain for a bird’s eye view of Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau.

While checking in, we received a recommendation to follow the shoreline up Big Beehive rather than ascending via Lake Agnes. Apparently, this is the easier path with a more gradual incline as opposed to walking the steep switchbacks on the other side of the mountain.

This means we’re walking around the right-hand side of Lake Louise, eventually arriving at the very back of the lake.

Lake Louise is famous for its milky turquoise color, which it gets from rock flour carried by the meltwater of glaciers. Walking past the backside of the lake, we can see the changes in color as the small rivers seemingly carrying rock flour meet Lake Louise.

We cross a stream via boardwalk and begin the gradual uphill through the forest.

Walking to the right of Lake Louise along the Lake Louise Shoreline Trail.

Getting to the back of Lake Louise, just before we begin the incline to the summit of Big Beehive. You can really see the change in the water here! It’s much, much milkier.

To distract ourselves from the incline, I ask Jonathan, “So, what are you going to get for dinner tonight?”

After checking in this morning, we made reservations with the hotel concierge to eat at the Lakeview Lounge, the restaurant with the spectacular floor-to-ceiling window that caught our eyes earlier. It has a three-course fixed menu with 2 to 4 options for each course.

“I don’t really remember the menu,” Jon answers, “I just remember liking everything I saw when we looked at it.”

We browsed all of the menus when making reservations, but the fixed menu of the Lounge stood out to both of us. We were equally surprised, as I’m generally too picky for a fixed menu, but there’s a striploin steak with asparagus and russet potatoes that just feels like a fancy version of a burger and fries. (Which would have been my go-to had it been on the dinner menu 😜)

The path evolves from a gentle incline to a steady climb, so even daydreams about dinner can’t distract us anymore. We’re at the point in an uphill hike where you’re asking everyone you pass, “Are we close?” or “Is it worth it???” We’re tired, and this is definitely more of a workout than any of us expected. (Even Lincoln agrees!)

We eventually make it to the summit of Big Beehive (finally!) and walk to the very end of the path for an overlook of Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau.

The summit of Big Beehive overlooking Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise 😍😍

It’s hazy from wildfires in surrounding areas, so we don’t have a lot of visibility when it comes to distance, but that doesn’t impact our ability to see the lake. The color and vibrancy of Lake Louise are even brighter from a bird’s eye view. Its creamy turquoise pops against the gray haze in the sky and the Chateau on the far end of the lake.

But since the haze does obscure things in the distance, what you’re looking at seems all the more surreal. Am I really looking at four huge mountains with back-to-back glaciers on their peaks, or are those clouds or some other illusion from the fog? You have to squint a bit to know for sure you’re seeing mountains and glaciers — plural!! — looming over the lake.

Looking towards the back of Lake Louise at the surrounding mountains and glaciers. Hey, Jon! 👋

The Beehive Trail can be done as an out-and-back hike or a loop. We opt for the loop so we’re descending past Lake Agnes and the Lake Agnes Tea House as we make our way back to the shore of Lake Louise. The Lake Agnes Tea House is one of the most popular places to visit for both its panoramic views of Lake Agnes but also its cafe with teas, homemade baked goods, soups, and sandwiches.

The appeal of the tea house is obvious — it’s next to a gorgeous alpine lake and offers refreshments you know taste better than almost anywhere else, if only because you eat them after a grueling uphill climb. This side of the loop hike is shorter but much steeper than the side we ascended, so there’s no doubt a tea here tastes better than anywhere else because of how hard you have to work for it.

That said, midday on the Sunday of a holiday weekend is not the time to be at the Lake Agnes Tea House. People are ev-er-y-where! Swimming in the lake. Hanging out on its shores. Seated at tables on the restaurant’s patio. Standing in line for food and drinks to go.

And because it’s a much smaller lake, Lake Agnes feels busier and more overcrowded than Lake Louise, so we happily walk STRAIGHT PAST the tea house to make our way down the mountain.

Lake Agnes — the trail walks down switchbacks on the mountain on the left-hand side, around the edge of the lake at the far back of this photo, and follows the shores on the right-hand side

The view when I turn around LOL — A glimpse at the crowds at Lake Agnes Tea House around midday on a Sunday in September

We get back to Lake Louise around 1:30pm, and not five minutes after letting Lincoln in the lake to cool off, Jon gets a text… Our room is READY!!!!

Allowing no more time to pass, we make our way to room 573, open the door, and head straight to the curtains on the opposite wall.

Behind them lies a private view of Lake Louise in all its glory — turquoise waters, mountains and glaciers, even the gardens of the hotel — and it’s even DREAMIER to see this view out a hotel window than I expected.

It’s truly a “pinch me” moment. And this a… “But am I really here? Is this real?” kind of place!

Our room with a view!!!!! I’ll post a video of the whole room on Instagram @roadtriplocals

On our second trip of unloading things from our car, we get sidetracked by the various shops off the lobby. I didn’t realize just how much I would enjoy simply walking around the hotel.

After unpacking, we grab lunch at the Guide’s Pantry— a chicken Caesar wrap for me and a club sandwich for Jonathan. We take our sandwiches (and a chocolate croissant to share 😋) to the gardens overlooking the lake.

Sitting in red Adirondack chairs in the hotel’s gardens

We’re back in our room by early afternoon. The sun’s shining brightly through the window, and it’s time for us to get ready for dinner. Well, it’s time for me to get ready while Jonathan and Lincoln enjoy the comforts of a traditional bed after two nights in the car and opt for a short nap.

There’s no dress code for the hotel or its restaurants — at least not one where you’ll be turned away for not honoring. But the hotel is “resort casual,” and we’re happy to get out of the hiking clothes we’ve been wearing for the last few days.

Since we’re on the road for months at a time, we try to pack as light as possible, and that generally means leaving behind bulkier items like dress shoes, jackets, and even multiple pants. But we do generally bring at least one nicer outfit each season.

Typically, that outfit is reserved for dinners with friends or family who join us on the road, but sometimes it’s for the occasional travel season date night… like tonight! Jon dons a button-down and khakis while I put on a dress, and we head to the lake about 40 minutes before our dinner reservation to take a couple of photos. (You know… for proof we wore something other than hiking clothes for at least one night of our trip!)

Ignore the sneakers 🤣 Heels don’t make the cut when I’m packing for months at a time, not even for date nights!

Jonathan has the idea to head inside a few minutes before our reservation to see if we can get a table on the restaurant’s outdoor patio. He checks us in with the host and asks for a table outside by the railing.

“Yeah,” she says, “Let me shuffle a few things around…” before leading us to the last open table on the patio with the most stunning view overlooking the gardens and Lake Louise.

We spend the next two hours around sunset sitting outside in low 70-degree weather, enjoying a glass of red wine and a mango mule alongside our three-course meal.

Jon opts for the lamb kebabs, while I pick the peach salad as a starter. We both choose the striploin steak and potatoes for dinner, followed by the strawberry sorbet with a raspberry glaze and candied basil leaf for dessert.

The only thing that could possibly be better than our dinner with the most incredible view is this bowl of strawberry sorbet. “This is the kind of artsy dish I’d actually want to learn how to make!” Jonathan says as we easily clean our bowls.

Best meal of our lives. Food was good, sorbet was better, but the view was still the showstopper!

By the time we’re done eating dinner, I feel like Laura in The Santa Clause when she stumbles upon Scott sitting on a bench at Charlie’s soccer game with a line of kids waiting to tell him what they’d like for Christmas. She exclaims in disbelief… “I never in my wildest-- Well, no, okay, maybe my wildest-- But certainly never in my normal dreams would l….”

This is pretty much how I’m feeling. It’s a gorgeous summer day and we’re sitting on a patio at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

This is somewhere I never dreamed I’d be… well, clearly in my WILDEST dreams, but to actually BE here? It’s special and surreal. We’re eating dinner at the foot of one of the most iconic lakes in the Canadian Rockies before retiring to a comfortable, decked out hotel room with a private view of said lake.

How is that possible?

And not just how is it possible that we are here (still mindblowing!), but how is it possible that a lake like this is available in this way? It feels intimate and remote, like we should have to backpack to be here.

Sunset at Lake Louise (photo taken from our table at dinner!!)

It’s soon time for bed since we’ll be up early for a sunrise canoe experience on the lake. We take Lincoln outside for one final time and enjoy walking around the grounds of the hotel after those visiting for the day have left.

Day 3: Sunrise Canoe Experience

On our second day at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, we’re up before the sun to take advantage of the sunrise canoe experience offered exclusively to guests.

Generally, the Boathouse is first-come-first-serve, starting around 8:30am. However, guests are able to book a “sunrise canoe experience” in advance to be on the lake while the sun rises.

It’s about 6:30am as we walk to the Boathouse, get fitted for life jackets, and step into one of the hotel’s iconic red canoes — canoe number 35 — for about an hour and a half on the water.

I’m happy to sit in the middle of Lake Louise, turning my head to the left for a view of red clouds as the sun rises over the Fairmont, then to the right for a view of the sun bouncing off the Victoria Glacier, to the left again.

But Jon wants to take advantage of seeing the entirety of Lake Louise by water, so he offers to paddle while I bask in the moment without assisting. (Such chivalry!) We canoe from the Boathouse to the back of Lake Louise by Victoria Glacier, so we can see the entire lake by canoe.

Red clouds turn into pink skies as the sun continues to rise and, little by little, shines a light upon the lake and its surrounding features. It’s as dreamy and magical of a morning as it sounds! We’re gliding on the icy blue water, watching the moonlight, then the sunlight cast a reflection on its surface.

Around 7am, watching the sunrise over the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

About an hour later, facing the opposite direction, watching Victoria Glacier light up more each minute!

We’re on the water for about an hour and a half, so we have plenty of time to canoe the length of the lake and sit smack dab in its center in awe.

Once we’re at the end of our sunrise canoe experience, we exit our canoe and walk past a line of people waiting on the shoreline of Lake Louise. It’s only 8:15am, but many people are already in line to hop in a canoe once first-come-first-serve rentals begin. Many more people are lining the shore of Lake Louise between the Boathouse and the Fairmont Chateau to capture the sunrise over Lake Louise.

As we exit, we’re handed a surprise voucher for the Guide’s Pantry, but we plan to use that later today because first… we brunch! 😁

Perhaps this is just a “me” thing, but when I think of a 5-star hotel stay, I think of an in-room breakfast. This is what my luxury travel dreams are made of, ha!

I want a rolling cart. With a stack of blueberry pancakes dripping in butter and maple syrup. And an artsy but delectable avocado toast topped with fried eggs over easy… yolks just one tap of a fork from running over the edges. I’m craving a hot coffee (and perhaps a hot chocolate for Jonathan because this weirdo doesn’t drink coffee - what?!), orange juice, waffles or french toast, crispy bacon, and whatever else I can order from a room service menu. 😋

So… partly because I’ve been dreaming about this in-room brunch since we booked our night at Lake Louise… that’s what we do when we get back to our room after the sunrise canoe experience! We pull up the hotel’s in-room brunch menu and request every. single. item that sounds good this morning.

And then, when our rolling cart full of plates, mugs, and garnishes arrives at our room, we ask for it to be rolled right over to our window with a view and position the two chairs in our room directly behind it.

What dreams are made of!!!!

We watch as people stroll the shore of Lake Louise, canoes scatter among the lake, and guests walk through the gardens below our window as we slowly dine on the delicious food and drink in front of us.

The FIFA Basketball World Cup is taking place, so Jon puts the Canada vs. Spain game on in the background, and we watch as Canada comes from behind to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000. It’s a fun moment, not only because we’re in Canada right now but because one of the Dallas Mavericks players, Dwight Powell, is on the team. You can feel the emotion on his and all of the players’ faces as they qualify and become Olympians for the first time!

Once we finish eating, we walk the hallways and floors of the hotel that we haven’t explored yet, finding more wings with shops, ballrooms, living rooms, and dining options. Finally, our noon check-out has arrived, so we reluctantly (but contentedly 🤗) turn in our keys and pack up our car once more.

It’s raining now, so we grab umbrellas to hike around Lake Louise one more time before we leave. This time, we opt for the Fairview Lookout Trail, a short walk through the forest on the opposite side of Lake Louise (opposite the side we explored yesterday). It leads to a shorter but similarly beautiful overlook of the Chateau.

We use our vouchers from this morning’s sunrise canoe experience to pick up a to-go lunch from the Guide’s Pantry on our way out and officially leave the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and all its glory. We’re feeling grateful for an abundance of time in a place so beautiful.

Fairview Lookout Trail

We eat lunch in Lake Louise Village — the fanciness is over for now; we’re enjoying our sandwiches in a gas station parking lot, ha! — to catch up with family before starting our trip along the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper National Park.

Before hitting the road, we quickly detour to a sports and camping store nearby to grab two pads for our car camping setup… you know, to make the transition from Chateau Lake Louise to a campground sans running water a little bit easier! 😆

About four minutes after turning onto the Icefields Parkway, we pass a sign that reads, “No cell service for the next 224 km”.

This is where we’ll be for the next three nights, so we flip around to call our families back and let them know we’ll be out of touch. Hopefully, we’ll have service at our motel along the parkway, but we’re headed to a campground tonight, so we definitely won’t have service for the next 24 hours or so.

Along the Icefields Parkway, we first pass Herbert Lake but decide not to stop because we’ve already seen so many beautiful lakes in the Canadian Rockies. (This says something because Herbert Lake is often seen on the sides of RVs that highlight various scenic destinations around the world!)

We do make a stop at Bow Lake, which we pass next, and follow a short path to the shore of the lake overlooking a glacier waterfall in the distance.

Next, we stop at Peyto Lake, one of the most popular destinations along the Icefields Parkway, and spend an hour or so trying to find the best viewpoint of the lake and its dogs-head silhouette. We feel like wilderness explorers from the movie “Up,” holding a photo in front of us, trying to find the vantage point from which it was taken.

Peyto Lake along the Icefields Parkway. Do you see the dog’s head silhouette in the lake??

But as the sun is going down and clouds grow darker, it’s time for us to give up the search and head to Silverhorn Creek Campground to set up for the night.

Like most campgrounds on the Icefields Parkway, there’s no running water or cell service. We eat PB&J sandwiches while waiting for the rain to stop so we can set up our car camp in the backseat.

The fog dissipates slightly when the rain lets up, and we’re able to see the creek running next to our campsite and the huge mountains surrounding the campground. We’re in a valley with mountains on both sides. Our research told us this is one of the most beautiful campgrounds on the Icefields Parkway but unfortunately, the fog’s still hiding most of the view.

Soon, it’s time for sleep, not knowing that in just 12 short hours, I’d find myself sobbing on top of a nearby mountain… Stay tuned for (#3) Roadtripping The Rockies: The Icefields Parkway!

Settling in for the night at Silverhorn Creek Campground on the Icefields Parkway. Comment below when you spot Lincoln! 🐶