Hiking to Lake Agnes

Our plans to go to Moraine Lake didn’t pan out, and we ended up at Lake Louise instead, which is never a bad backup option.  Although we arrived into Lake Louise around 9:30am, the place was already packed with people.  I had always heard that it gets crazy busy in the summer time, but I’ve never actually experienced it myself. 

It was an overcast day and the lake was more turquoise in colour than normal.  We soon left the crowds behind and started our ascent towards Lake Agnes.  It is a very popular 7.6km (roundtrip) hike that ends with a cute little tea house at the top. The trail is rated as moderately difficult with very few flat areas, but the most difficult part is at the beginning.  Once you get past the first third of the trail, the incline is not as noticeable. 

Throughout the first half of the hike, you can catch glimpses of the lake peeking through the tall trees, but close to the top of the trail there is a wide opening where you are treated to some fantastic views.

From this viewing platform, the incline begins to get steeper again, but by this point, you are very close to Mirror Lake.  Mirror Lake is a small lake where many hikers stop for a photo opportunity.  From here, it is only another half mile to Lake Agnes, which is much nicer in my opinion. 

The path between Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes is heavily used by horses.  You can tell due to the very unpleasant smells and sights of horse poop all over the place.  We also passed about 8 horses as we were making this final stretch towards Lake Agnes. 

At the end of the trail, we were greeted by a beautiful waterfall right before a final stair climb up to Lake Agnes.  It took us a total of 2 hours to reach the top but we made numerous stops to rest and take pictures.  The tea house is a very popular place and it was filled with people by the time we arrived. It was also lunch time, so the lines for the tea house were quite long.  Even the “to go” line was a minimum of a 20 minute wait.  We had decided to pack our own lunches so we were able to enjoy the views up at Lake Agnes instead of waiting in line for food. 

The hike back down took us about an hour, and we had barely made any stops along the way.  Overall, the trail to Lake Agnes was perfect for a nice, cool day in the mountains.