Overview
A brief introduction to Banff - Lake Louise National Park
Lake Louise (named Ho-run-num-nay (Lake of the Little Fishes) by the Stoney Nakoda First Nations people) is a glacial lake within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Situated 11 km (6.8 mi) east of the border with British Columbia, Lake Louise is located 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).
Lake Louise was well known and visited by Indigenous Peoples prior to the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway survey crews in the 1880s. Thomas Edmonds Wilson was the first non-Indigenous person to visit the lake, having being led there by a Stoney Nakoda guide named Edwin Hunter in 1882. Wilson named the lake "Emerald Lake" and promoted it as a development opportunity, although the lake was later renamed to Lake Louise.
Lake Louise is named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883.
The turquoise colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake. The lake has a surface of 0.8 km2 (0.31 sq mi) and is drained through the 3 km long Louise Creek into the Bow River.
Fairmont's Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada's grand railway hotels, is located on Lake Louise's eastern shore. It is a luxury resort hotel built in the early decades of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Moraine Lake and Lake Agnes are also accessible from Lake Louise.
Read more about Banff - Lake Louise National Park at Wikipedia
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- Canada National Parks
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Other nearby parks
Open to camping at other nearby parks? Here are a few other parks you'll find in the vicinity.
- Yoho National Park
- Banff, Kootenay and Yoho Backcountry National Park
- Banff National Park
- Kootenay Lake Provincial Park
- Kootenay National Park
- Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
- Kootenay Plains Provincial Recreation Area
- Bugaboo - Backcountry Camping
- Ram Falls Provincial Park
- Ghost Airstrip Provincial Recreation Area
Reviews
Camper reviews for Banff - Lake Louise National Park
It works!
Found a camp site at Lake Loiuse two weeks before my trip. I even extended my stay cause there was an additional day found by campnab.
I also got another site at Two Jack Lake 2 days before flying out to Alberta from Toronto. We were so lucky to find campnab. It saved us a lot of stress and money. Awesome find and love love love it!
Map
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