LAKE LOUISE, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

View from Lake Louise Hotel, Banff National Park

One of our most memorable trips ever was to Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Canada, during Easter week in 1996.

Lake Louise Hotel and Ski Slopes

In the lobby of the hotel there was a display with spring flowers and live bunnies and chicks in honor to the season, but outside it was still ice and snow, with all the pleasures of winter sports–skiing, skating, bobsledding, snowshoeing and more, in one of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth.

Sleigh Ride around the lake

We had brought with us our cross-country skis, which we used on the miles of trails across the lake and through the woods, and our ice skates, which we used on the cleared frozen lake ice right in front of the hotel. In the evening, hot cocoa was served at the skating rink. One afternoon we went on a dogsled ride through the forest.

Athabascan Glacier

 Another day, I took a tour bus through the park, stopping at the giant Athabascan Glacier.

Icefall

Nearby we saw an enormous frozen waterfall where we could see tiny figures of ice climbers ascending the ice. Along the way we saw elk, moose, and mountain sheep near the road.

Lake Louise landscape

Every morning as we woke up and looked out our window at the surrounding peaks, it felt like another day in paradise.