Plain of the Six Glaciers
In September we decided to go hiking in the Lake Louise area to catch the larches. Each fall these trees turn the most gorgeous golden colour and lose all their needles, so you kinda have to get the timing right. The second weekend in September was perfect.
We started at Lake Louise and made our way along the trail all the way back to the Plain of the Six Glaciers Teahouse. The teahouse is about 7km from Lake Louise on a well marked and well-travelled path. The trail follows the shoreline of Lake Louise and then goes up a steady but moderate incline up to the teahouse. It would be considered a moderate trail, with some elevation gain (1,600 ft or so), but it was easy enough for our active seven year old to manage (with lots of snack breaks of course).
On the way up we saw a massive avalanche of snow come down off of Victoria Glacier. This was later in the morning, after the sun had been beating down on the glacier for a while. Quite the sight!
We ventured past the teahouse and out into the plain to get a better view of all the surrounding glaciers. The path takes you across the moraine debris and is a bit steeper and rockier, but it was worth it for the view.
After a break and lunch back at the teahouse we ventured back along the path, but took a different route so we could see Lake Agnes and Mirror Lake on the way back. This added some extra kms to our day, but our kiddo was up for it so we went for it. He ended up clocking 40,000 steps by the end of the day.
Some tips for hiking Plain of the Six Glaciers (with kids):
Arrive early. The light on the lake first thing in the morning is gorgeous, and it’s always good to give yourself lots of extra time when hiking with kids. Also - the parking lot at Lake Louise fills up very fast. We arrived at 8am on a Saturday and got one of the last parking spots in the lot. If you’re not able to get there that early, there is a park and ride shuttle run by Parks Canada where you park at the ski hill and get a ride to the Lake - but you have to book your shuttle in advance. Details here.
Wear good comfortable shoes. I find that this trail is established enough that it’s fine to wear a good ‘hiking runner’ - something that is sturdy enough and has good treads. These ones from Merrell are my fav, I’ve had them for about 10 years, and I’m just starting to think about getting a new pair. If you know you have weak ankles, maybe think about wearing a full hiking boot. My son did this trail in just regular runners and was fine.
Bring layers. It was cold in the morning, hot in the sun hiking up the trail, and then cold and windy again up in the alpine. You can get sunshine and rain and snow all the the same day, so come prepared.
Take lots of snack breaks. Breaks where you find a bench and sit down, or breaks where you stand in a nice spot and have some water, kids need lots of breaks and they need lots of snacks. I always have a few things in my pocket ready to share. It’s amazing how a good granola bar or a handful of M&Ms will get a tired kiddo going again.
