How to visit Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is the iconic bright blue lake located in Banff National Park.

Visiting this lake can be tricky since the road there is NOT open to personal vehicles.

You must either pay for a shuttle or stay at Moraine Lake Lodge in order to visit.

What you need to know about visiting:

You cannot visit this lake year-round. The shuttle operates from June 1 to October 13, 2025 (weather permitting)

You only need one full day to visit the lake. The most iconic view point that you've probably seen online is called "the rock pile". Once you get to the lake, you go the opposite direction of the lodge and head up the hill, there will be stairs to the viewpoint and then the lookout.

You can also view the lake without going up this viewpoint. You can go right up to the lake from where you will get dropped off.

There is a trail that goes around the lake, you can walk that is easy and gains basically no elevation. That trail is 3.7 KMs long.

You can rent a canoe and go out on the lake for $160 per hour.

Moraine Lake is also a great starting point for a lot of other longer hikes. Our favourites are: Larch Valley Trail 9 KM & Sentinel Pass Trail 11.5 KM

Getting to the lake:

Option 1: Parks Canada Shuttle

You MUST make a reservation in advance to ride the Parks Canada shuttles. Reservations for shuttles are available starting April 16, 2025. You can book the shuttle for the entire year starting on this date. If you missed this date, DON'T PANIC!

Daily shuttle seats are released at 8 am MDT two days prior to departure. Example, if you wanted to visit on Wednesday, on Monday morning at 8am you will go to the parks Canada website and try and snag a reservation for the shuttle.

As soon as you know the dates you want to visit this lake, make your reservation if you can. This eliminates the stress of trying to get a seat during your vacation, check out the Parks Canada reservation system Here . If you don't know the date yet, you can try and snag a reservation 2 days prior to departure. Example: If you arrive to the park on Monday and decide you want to during your week long stay, log into the website Tuesday morning at 8AM MDT and you should be able to grab a seat for the Thursday shuttle.

If you're lucky enough to snag a reservation, the shuttle will pick you up from the Lake Louise Park and Ride (1 Whitehorn Rd, Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0). Free parking is available for those with reservations.

You can choose when making your reservation if you want to do both Lake Louise & Moraine Lake on the same day or just one or the other. If you don't plan on doing any longer hikes at either lake, its a great idea to do both lakes in the same day. You don't need a shuttle in order to visit Lake Louise but its a good idea to take one as its cheaper than parking at the lake & it avoids getting there and the parking lot being full, which happens everyday usually by 8am.

Shuttle Fees: $8 per person (for both lakes!) 18+ / free under 18!

Sunrise: If you want to see Moraine Lake at sunrise, you can still book through Parks Canada. Its called the "alpine start". The only difference for this option is that instead of parking at the Lake Louise park & ride for free, you will need to park at Lake Louise and pay the parking fee of $36.75 on top of the $8 shuttle reservation.

Complete Break Down Step-by-Step

Step 1: Parks Canada Website (click here)

Step 2: Select "Day Use" & "Shuttle to Lake Louise & Moraine Lake" (see below photo)

Step 3: Select date & party size

Step 4: Search

Step 5: Select the "shuttle" option (see below photo)

Step 6: Select which lake you want to go first & the time you want to go (see above photo). Green means there is seats available, red means it is sold out.
Note - this reservation allows you to see both Lake Louise & Moraine Lake, you just choose what lake you want to go to FIRST & the time you want to go. Whenever you are done at the first lake, you will grab the shuttle, and it will take you to the second lake!

Step 7: Confirm reservation details & checkout!

Step 8: Enjoy the lakes!

End of Parks Canada shuttle.

Option 2: Moraine Lake Bus Company

This is a private company that does shuttles to Moraine Lake. Its more expensive than Parks Canada, so I would only use this as a back up option if you can't get a reservation with Parks Canada.

You have the option of getting picked up from either SAMSON MALL or LAKE LOUISE SUMMER GONDOLA. Cost to get to Moraine Lake is $60 per person.

Option 3: Staying at Moraine Lake Lodge

Located directly at Moraine Lake is a stunning resort. Staying at this lodge is the only way to bring your own vehicle to Moraine Lake.

But, this lodge comes with a hefty price tag, it cost $1200 per night to stay here. That price includes breakfast, afternoon tea/snacks & complimentary canoe rental.

Option 4: Riding a bike/walking

The distance to Moraine Lake from the community of Lake Louise is approximately 14km one way. You would have to pay to park at Lake Louise ($36.75) and then walk or bike to Moraine Lake. This option is not recommended since there is no shoulder on the Moraine Lake road. However, I am including it because if you had e-bikes and you went before the road opened to vehicles (before June & after October) it would be a great way to see the lake and you would likely have it all to yourself.

We have now covered all the options for getting to Moraine Lake! The best option is the Parks Canada shuttle, it just requires a little bit of planning ahead.

If you have any questions, please reach out!