Lake Louise is just a 40 minute drive northwest of Banff, and being smaller makes the wild moose, elk, deer, bears and other large mammals a little more obvious. Lake Louise is much cozier and less commercial than Banff; it feels like the doorway to the ruggedness of the Rockies on both sides of the Albert-British Columbia border. Lake Louise itself has two parts: the townsite in the Bow River Valley, and the famous Lake itself on a plateau up the road. Be sure to enjoy both parts of Lake Louise.
The town is also the starting point of the Icefields Parkway, and the town’s visitor centre is “Mile Zero” of the road that winds past the Columbia Icefields up to Jasper.
Lake Louise Shuttles
The demand for visiting Lake Louise, Chateau Lake Louise & the Teahouse to walk around the lake, and Morraine Lake & the Larch Valley Hike that are up the 22 long Morraine Lake Road are such that access for private vehicles is severely limited for the Lake area, and private vehicle access is not at all possible for Morraine Lake. If you arrive early (meaning before 6 or 7 am in the summertime — and possibly earlier on weekends) you may get parking in the lot beside the Lake.
The solution that Parks Canada provides is park at the Skiing Louise ski hill (which has parkling for seeral thousand cards) and take a pre-booked shuttle to Lake Louise or to Morraine Lake. These shulttles are $8 (round trip) per adult and $4 for children and seniors. Call Parks Canada at or book online at https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/parkbus/louise
You can also take the ROAM Transit bus (Route 8X) from Canmore or Banff to Lake Louise for a one-way adult fare of $10 and kids/seniors fare of $5. Riders who upgrade to the Roam Super Pass ($25 /12.50 for one day) can access the Parks Canada Lake Connector shuttle to Moraine Lake (see above) that operates daily from June 1 to October 9, 2023 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). IN THE FALL , there is a Morraine Lake Express bus from Banff (Route 10)for a one-way adult fare of $10 and kids/seniors fare of $5. See ROAM Transit online at https://roamtransit.com/reservations-2/
Another option is the WOW Suuttle, which has an open top double decker to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. It is about $43 (round trip) but allows you to bring your dog. It is typically not booked-out as far in advance. Call WOW at (587) 722.2929 or book online at https://wowbanff.com/