I visited Lake Louise as part of a ski-drive tour of the Powder Highway in Canada.
Accommodation: Mountaineer Lodge at Lake Louise resort.
Lake Louise is part of the SkiBig3. Benefits include:
- Complimentary shuttle service from Banff & Lake Louise hotels
- Free Hot Springs and Whyte Museum admission with a 3+ day SkiBig3 ticket
Lake Louise stats, pros & cons
Lake Louise Ski Resort is a famous ski centre in Canada and famed for its beautiful landscape.
There are three ski resorts located in Banff National Park, and as the second largest resort in the country, Lake Louise is the grand-daddy. Skiers enjoy being amid an UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by the stunning Rockies.
Lake Louise stats
- Terrain: 4200 acres across four mountain faces
- Top: 2637m
- Base: 1646m
- Drop: 991m
- Area: 17km2
- Number of runs: 145
- Green: 25%
- Blue: 45%
- Black Diamond: 30% combined expert
- Longest run: 8km
- 9 uplifts: Mix of gondolas, chairlifts, t bars and carpets.
- Snow making?: Yes
- Average annual snowfall: 4.54m
Lake Louise pros
- Legendary beauty – fabulous views of the Rockies
- Green and blue runs from every chairlift
- Lots of groomers and…
- Lots of steeps. Double Diamonds heaven
- Some lovely long runs
- Great “side country” access
- Good lift service
- Skiing in a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Second biggest resort in Canada
- Open bowls and excellent extreme terrain access
- Fall line skiing
- Great restaurants on-site at the base
- Very friendly
- Great slopes with few people, even on a weekend
- Close to the fabulously scenic Lake Louise. (Make sure you take a trip there.)
- Other things to do, such as ice skating at Lake Louise.
Lake Louise cons
- You need to drive to the resort so unless you are staying you can’t really enjoy an apres ski drink
- Not much in the way of an apres ski atmosphere
- It can be very cold so take face cover, goggles and good gloves .
- Only a couple of on-the-mountain food places as most are back at base
- Reportedly less annual snow than Sunshine Village (but still great).
Also see: My Sunshine Village report.