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Canadian Rockies July 29, 2023 report

Thanks for this great TR. i appreciate your noting the optional activities at some stops. I have been debating this one but was leaning against because of not preferring some things like the skywalk, as the bypass is not noted in the itinerary. Now I’m thinking this might be one to add to the list. As I read a post, I think of a question to ask and then you end up answering it!

Quick question I didn’t see noted, for the glacier walk, were any boots or shoes provided? Or did folks need to be prepared with appropriate footwear.
 
Quick question I didn’t see noted, for the glacier walk, were any boots or shoes provided? Or did folks need to be prepared with appropriate footwear.
No special footwear needed. I was wearing sneakers.

The glacier surface isn't slippery. It's a bunch of crunched ice.

We did see other guided groups hiking outside of the restricted area where we were. Those groups probably need special equipment.
 
Day 6: Majestic Mountain

An interesting thing about Lake Louise is the appearance changed, sometimes pretty rapidly. I looked out our hotel room window once, and then 15 minutes later the lighting had changed a lot.

This morning the views were clearer:

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Josh said the typical visitor to Lake Louise spends 15 minutes there. Day visitors vastly outnumber the guests staying at the Fairmont. The Fairmont had many signs trying to block off areas of the hotel and limit those to hotel guests, but there's no way to really enforce that. By staying there, we had the luxury of seeing the lake early in the morning and at night when it wasn't crowded.

The breakfast was a buffet, like the other two hotels, but for this breakfast you could also order a main item off the menu (e.g., an omelette).

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Day 6: Moraine Lake

Out of a trip filled with amazing scenery, Moraine Lake is the prettiest sight of the entire trip. Other than my wife. (She reads my reports.)

You cannot drive to Moraine Lake and park your car. You must use a tour, other shuttle service or public transport. So visiting would require some arrangements if you did this on your own. It is a short drive from the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

While there is a hotel here, there are no public restrooms. There are portapotties. I didn't look at them but I assume they weren't the greatest. The lavatory on the ABD bus seemed a better option.

There is a trail on the right side of the lake. If you stay at ground level, these are the kinds of views you get:

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There was still some haze from the wildfire smoke, and you could smell the smoke. While it wasn't as crisp as it would be under ideal conditions, the views were still good.

Or you can climb a rockpile close to the parking lot. There is a trail that leads up to the top. It's around a 100 foot elevation gain.

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From the top of the rockpile you get these views:

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I think in the past, Moraine Lake was printed on Canada's $20 bill.
 
Thanks for the continuing trip report! What a fabulous trip. I am hoping to get back to the Rockies next summer. Lake Louise is a favourite spot. You may not have noticed, but just before you get to the Lake Louise parking lots, there is a little resort of log cabins -- Paradise Lodge and Bungalows https://www.paradiselodge.com/ -- highly recommended! When we stay there we can walk to Lake Louise and enjoy the sights without the $$$$$$ cost of the Fairmont.
 


Fabulous!! These views are just stunning. And that view from the top of the rock pile is DEFINITELY worth the climb!!

Yep, this trip is bumping it's way back up to the top of my list...

Sayhello
 
Do come back again and spend some more time here. If you can brave the cold, it is pretty magical in the snow (and the skiing is amazing!).
In the past, ABD had a "Winter in Wyoming" trip. During our Canada trip, there was brief speculation about ABD doing a version of that for the Canadian Rockies. I assume they would have to change the activities a lot, though. No canoeing on a frozen Lake Louise.

If people are interested in that, let ABD know.
 
Day 6: Hike to Lake Agnes teahouse (optional activity)

The bus took us back to the Fairmont. Josh told us about the history of the hotel, while Lauren collected the bag lunches. We had all picked a particular bag lunch in advance and once we got that we were free to go.

You could relax in the hotel or around the lake until the farewell dinner this evening. Or ABD offers two optional activities. The first is the hike to Lake Agnes teahouse, which Josh led. This is the only strenuous activity in the entire trip. It is a 2 1/4 mile hike, each direction. The challenging part is that it gains about 1300 feet in elevation. And you start at about 5500 feet in elevation. So unless you live in Colorado or some other high altitude location, you will get winded faster than normal. And it was a long time since I had done a climb that high. Still, I was determined to do this. Only about a dozen of the group chose to do the hike, and half were kids. A few guests rode on horseback instead, which they had to pay for themselves.

If you don't want to do this hike, there is a trail on the right side of Lake Louise that goes quite a ways along the edge of the lake. I didn't walk that all the way to the end. And it doesn't suck to just sit and gaze at the lake.

To start, we rubbed a statue for good luck and to wish that a bear didn't eat us.

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Josh leading the way

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Spot where you can see the lake because a previous avalanche knocked down the trees

Josh had us stop frequently so we could catch our breath. Apparently my son instigated the kids into singing "99 bags of tea on the wall," to the tune of "99 bottles of beer on the wall" except these were kids and we were going to a teahouse. I don't know if singing that drives bears away, but it did a good job of driving people away. I'm pretty sure we annoyed everybody we passed or who passed us.

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Mirror Lake: One of the rest stops along the way

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Small part of a waterfall

At some point before this, my son abandoned the group and just kept heading up instead of waiting with us at our rest breaks. By the time I reached the teahouse and found him, he announced that he had arrived 15 minutes before I did.

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Lake Agnes teahouse

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Lake Agnes

There was a long line to get (presumably expensive) drinks, but Josh knew the staff and got expedited service and got us all a drink (tea, lemonade, etc.)

This area has a lot of chipmunks. They come right up to you, looking for food. But don't feed them. Josh said the most common animal injury is getting bitten by a chipmunk.

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Chip?

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Dale?

It took about an hour to get to the top, and another hour to go back down. Since I was being careful with footing on the descent to avoid tripping.
 
Day 6: Canoeing on Lake Louise (optional activity)

The other optional activity was canoeing on Lake Louise. ABD provided each room with a certificate covering an hour of canoeing.

It was nice that this was included as part of the trip, because otherwise we would have thought quite a bit about the cost. That one hour canoe experience was about the same price as the entire Columbia icefields experience.

So for one, you have a big icefields center, multiple buses, specialty vehicles to go onto the glacier, walking on the glacier, and walking on a skyview that probably cost tens of millions to build.

For the other, you have canoes, paddles, a lake, and the guests do all the work.

The line for the canoe was pretty long, but Fairmont guests have a shorter line, and Lauren was holding some spots for ABD. I got a message to get down to the canoe stand. The staff gets you into life jackets, holds the canoe while you board, gives you a bit of instruction and then off you go.

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It's best if you are familiar with how to steer and handle a canoe. Or you learn quickly. While it is a big lake, there are many other canoes out there and sometimes it wasn't obvious where others were going. Plus you must navigate your way back to the dock.

One person gets a whistle. If you get into trouble, blow the whistle and someone will come out to help. If you hear whistles, you are also supposed to blow your whistle to relay the signal back to the staff at the dock.

They said you had an hour, but I don't think they wrote down the time when you launched so I doubt they really tracked that. We paddled about 3/4 the way down the length of the lake before turning around and came back about 15 minutes before the hour was up.

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View of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise from the lake

It's a nice experience, and nice to not be nickel and dimed with many smaller expenses. Just gotta do that huge payment to ABD before the trip even starts...

There is one spot on the lake you must avoid: the outflow. It was a small spot and I think you'd have to be trying pretty hard to actually get your canoe to go out that way. But if you "succeeded" in that you would fly down rapids that eventually reach the Bow River, headed back towards Banff...

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Don't go there
 
Day 6: Farewell dinner

All good things must come to an end. Our farewell dinner was in the hotel, in the newer wing where they hold conferences. It was in the Lago restaurant, which the itinerary said was supposed to be the location of last night's dinner, but Lago is closed. They held our private dinner in that space and we had the entire facility just for us.

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It was a little emotional for Lauren because this was her last ABD trip for this season.

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Each guest could get two drinks from the bar.

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Dinner was interrupted when law enforcement arrived to arrest a scoundrel:

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This was Bob (yes, a different Bob), a retired member of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), unofficially known as the "Mounties." No, his name wasn't Dudley.

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He explained the details of his dress uniform and the role of the RCMP. It's a federal police agency. Most police forces in the US are local, but the RCMP has jurisdiction over all of Canada. The FBI might be the closest US equivalent but not really, because the RCMP covers many other roles that in the US are handled by different agencies, such as customs, ATF, DEA, Secret Service and others.

He mentioned that RCMP members on horseback were part of the state funeral procession for Queen Elizabeth II, and he also described a time when he personally escorted Prince Philip while visiting Canada.

This was the final activity of the trip. Other than returning to Calgary the next day...
 
Day 7: So Long Pardner!

The only activities today are breakfast and our return to Calgary airport. Luggage had to be ready at 6:30am and we were on the bus at 7:45am.

Yes, on the bus. For most ABD trips, each family gets its own shuttle or limo transport to the airport, at different times depending on your flight. But Lake Louise is a long way from Calgary. It's about 2.5 hour drive. Everybody gets on the bus, which takes the entire group to Calgary airport at the same time. ABD says your return flight should leave no earlier than 1pm. There is no bathroom break along the way, but the bus has a lavatory.

Our flights did not depart until mid afternoon so we had plenty of time at the airport. There is a terminal dedicated to flights to the US. You actually clear US customs in Calgary, so when you land in the US it's just like a domestic flight. This is helpful if you must make connections to your final destination. The terminal was roomy and had shops, restaurants and a food court.

The final bus trip, airport experience and return flights were uneventful. Which is just the way I like it. Compare this against the last day of my New Zealand trip report...
 
Final thoughts

This trip went really well and is a great way to experience Banff and Lake Louise while learning more about our northern neighbor. The main characteristics were:
  • Spectacular scenery and locations (I consider Banff and Lake Louise to be "bucket list" level destinations)
  • Three luxury hotels
  • Only one physically strenuous activity, which is optional
  • Good pacing
  • Comfortable temperatures
  • Shorter flights and less time change than other international ABD trips
  • The activities aren't exclusive to ABD, but they do add many little surprises and treats. I described some but not all.
How does this compare to the other North America trips? Southern California is in its own category so we'll exclude that. I haven't been on the other ABD trips but I have traveled to some of those locations on my own.

Wyoming is more active, with different scenery and more rustic lodging. I think this was the first ABD trip? And it remains popular.

Alaska: Hotel Alyeska is nice, but I think Canadian Rockies has more luxurious hotels overall. This seems similar in activity level but with different sights and activities (Alaska Railroad, meet huskies).

Arizona/Utah: Red Cliffs Lodge is nice but more rustic. Looks like a lot of bus time. Heat could be a problem, depending on when you go. Has whitewater rafting and the hike to Delicate Arch can be a challenge.

I don't see Montana listed for 2024?
 
Thanks you, @Eastridge, for your trip report. I really enjoyed reading and reliving my Banff/Lake Louise trip. My husband and I spent a week in mid-June 2023 and LOVED it. We want to go back. My husband was supposed to attend a conference in August 2020. Well, we all know what was happening in August 2020 - it was postponed. Because it was an international conference, it kept getting postponed till June 2023. The conference was at The Banff Centre - an incredible location. The only downside was that it was at the top of a hill/higher elevation from the town so it was a workout to get back to the hotel - but that meant (in my eyes) that we could eat whatever we wanted the whole vacation. :-) My husband was at the conference for ~5 days and then I joined him. We were soo lucky because the Centre honored the same 2020 room rates for attendees AND agreed to extend the room at the same rate for my husband post-conference! I don't think the general public can book rooms at The Centre unless they're attending an event. I would've loved to stay at the Fairmont Banff or Lake Louise, but the rates for either of those were $1,200 USD per night or $1,400 USD per night respectively. Our rate was $260 USD per night soooo yeah - still feel good about our decision! We did eat at Waldhaus at the Fairmont Banff Springs one night (I made a ressie far in advance), which we loved. And we somehow got into the Fairview Bar + Restaurant at the Fairmont Lake Louise without a reservation, without being a guest, and looking 100% disheveled, as it was after our Plain of Six Glaciers + Beehive + Lake Agnes hike. I would love to return - during off season - and stay at one of the Fairmonts. Banff Springs sounds (from your experience) and looks much nicer. However, I'm sure Fairmont Lake Louise will look great post-renovation. When we were there, there was massive construction occuring outside for the new spa facility that they are building. Per the website, it looks like the construction is still ongoing? Did the construction affect you at all during your stay?

I'm so glad the smoke didn't affect you too much. Interestingly, the first day my husband arrived, and my first day that I arrived in Calgary was horrific. Like 300+ AQI index. I remember not seeing the ground when we approached Calgary for landing because it was just brown smog. I feel for all the Canadians who had to deal with the smoke and wildfires this summer. I live in Boulder, CO and we experienced massive fires (evacuated once) in 2020 and 2021-2022 and smoke from other parts of the US so we understand absolutely what it is like to live through. Fortunately, the smoke cleared up for us and we were very very fortunate to not have to deal with it much at all during our time there. I hate this new normal.

I'd love to return - ideally not during peak season. We didn't get to do Peyto Lake and had an issue with a rental car that we were going to rent so we didn't get to drive Icefields Parkway to Jasper (which in hindsight wasn't the worst thing in the world because the weather for that day ended up being not great further north closer to Jasper). I would also love to bring my dog, who would love the hikes and open space. What a lovely area!

ABD truly is top notch. The thoughtfulness in the itineraries, the fantastic guides, etc. Definitely creates incredible memories. Thanks for sharing!
 
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Per the website, it looks like the construction is still ongoing? Did the construction affect you at all during your stay?
Glad you enjoyed the report.

You can see a photo of the Fairmont Lake Louise in the report, taken from the lake. There is a big construction crane on the left side. I think the construction was mostly outside the main building. Our room was on the right side. We did not have any problems due to construction during our stay.
 

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