Staycation Alberta: The Lake Louise Teahouse Hikes

I love the beach. But I love the mountains nearly as much. In Alberta we are lucky to have the Rocky Mountain range to the west of the province that travels all the way down to the southern border. Mountains are majestic, mysterious and untamed wilderness. I imagine the creatures living out in the dense forests and hidden up in mountain caves; all there but unseen. The air is so fresh, everything is so much more peaceful but also more grand than I find life in the city. For years I’d been wanting to do the tea house hikes near Lake Louise in Banff National Park. In addition to being an avid tea drinker and enthusiast, I like to stay active, try new things and confront fears. I have a fear that keeps me from hiking. I admit it. I have an irrational fear of bears. I say irrational because I know my odds of being attacked or killed by a bear is extraordinarily low. I have better odds of winning the lottery. Based on the number of actual bear attacks vs. other things that can kill you, you’re approximately one million times more likely to die of something other than a bear attack. It was a personal goal of mine to actually do this hike to confront my bear fear and have a great cup of tea on a mountain. We had a few days in August and decided to finally do the hike.

There are two tea houses to chose from in this area. I had it in mind that if I could make it to the closer, Lake Agnes tea house, it would be a success. The Lake Agnes tea house sits at an elevation of 2135 meters (7005 feet) and was built in 1901 by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a shelter for hikers. They began serving tea in 1905 and it has since been expanded from its original size.

Looking down at the tiny looking canoes on Lake Louise

We started out from the Chateau Lake Louise parking lot at about nine o’clock in the morning. We packed sunscreen, bug spray, BEAR SPRAY, water, hats and a ton of snacks. I don’t have proper hiking boots, but my cross trainers did the trick. We layered our clothes as temperatures in the mountains can go from one extreme to another very quickly, even in August, but fortunately it was a warm day with a nice breeze.

Mirror Lake and the little beehive

The path up to Lake Agnes is wide and well groomed and for most people, considered fairly easy. It’s definitely a steady uphill climb of about 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles). I struggled with the elevation and stopped to huff and puff and attempt to regain my composure every 5 or so minutes. My husband was barely out of breath. Don’t take my progress as indication of the trail’s difficulty though; there were young children, and parents toting young children on their backs, passing me at an astonishing rate. While I found the uphill part quite strenuous, the views were amazing with lots of lookout stops. The path is very well traveled and is especially busy during peak season (June-August) so I found I really wasn’t concerned about bears. We stopped at Mirror Lake for a rest and took in the amazing views of the big beehive and the waterfall that runs from Lake Agnes.

Lake Agnes tea house

Lake Agnes tea house

Lake Agnes

It took about two hours for us to reach Lake Agnes where we stopped for lunch at the tea house. It was crowed with a long wait for tea, but the views were absolutely stunning.

Some hikers decided to take a cold dip in the lake

After a rest, some lunch and a delicious cup of tea, my husband and a staff member suggested we do “the loop”; a trail that connects the Lake Agnes tea house with the trail to the more remote Plains of the Six Glaciers tea house. Now I was thinking about bears. This Plains Of The Six Glaciers tea house is the lesser traveled of the two (and much farther from civilization). I was thrilled with how much I’d already accomplished but I was already tired. The staff member assured me that the rest of the hike (now a one kilometer hike to the Highline Trail that connects to trails, and then another five kilometers to The Plains of  The Six Glaciers tea house) was mostly downhill, as the latter tea house is at a lower elevation. I reluctantly agreed. I still felt daunted by the amount of ground left to cover and slightly concerned if we’d make it back before dark but husband convinced me I could do it.

Looking back at Lake Louise

the big beehive

For the first ten or so minutes we were mostly alone. I started to panic about the possibility of bears and if this trail really would be this quiet all the way to the second tea house. The first set of hikers we ran into on the way to the Highline Trail were less than thrilled when I asked if we could “hike near them” due to my bear fear. They agreed with a certain lack of enthusiasm, assuring me that it was a busy trail, especially at this time of year. They all but guaranteed me I wouldn’t see any bears. Within about 20 minutes it became clear that they were right. There were plenty of people on the trail, and in some spots it was so busy, we had to wait for people to pass on the narrow paths before we could go. The hike to the “Six Glaciers” while, not as strenuous at the start, was a long hike. However, I was constantly distracted by the ever changing mountain vistas, valleys and glaciers ahead of us, and how small the Chateau Lake Louise seemed to be getting behind us. There were amazing flowers, stunning rock walls and gorgeous mountain meadows.

Lake Louise and the chateau getting smaller

Headed to the Plains Of The Six Glaciers tea house

The busy trail to the second tea house

As we got closer to our goal, the uphill portion began again and I was starting to tire. We had hikers on their way back from the tea house give us words of encouragement: “keep going!” “You’re almost there!” “Just around the corner!” That last push was really challenging for me. I was breathing pretty hard and a few swear words escaped me. Just as we were about to make the last corner, a loud mechanical whir interrupted the nature sounds as a medical helicopter swooped up from the valley below and up to our destination, just a bit out of sight.

My morbid curiosity peaked (I’ve worked in medicine for nearly a decade now) and finding out what the medical emergency was gave me the energy for the final push. The rumor mill at the tea house was strong and it seemed that a young girl who’d made it up to the top was feeling too unwell to make to 5 km trek back down. Luckily it didn’t seem to be a life threatening emergency, however I imagine it was an expensive helicopter trip…

Mt. Victoria and the Upper Victoria Glacier

Once the excitement subsided I was actually able to take in the INCREDIBLE scenery before me. Towering mountain cliffs that were so high, yet seemed so close. Stunning glaciers, huge moraines and even though there were many people there, still a sense of peaceful isolation being in such a remote place.

The Mitre

We had sandwiches and local tea at the two story, wooden building built in 1924 by Swiss mountain guides. It originally served as a rest stop for climbers on their way to the Abbot Pass. Both the Lake Agnes tea house and the Six Glaciers tea house to this day have no electricity or running water. Supplies are flown in by helicopter in the spring, and additional supplies are packed in (and waste packed back out) by staff. Baked goods are made in wood stoves fresh each day. We learned in chatting with staff members at both tea houses that they usually work a week at a time at the and live and sleep there for the week. At the end of their week they hike out and take supplies down with them. As I recall, even the outhouse waste gets shipped back down the mountain at the end of the season.

Plains Of The Six Glaciers tea house

We explored around the area after our meal and watched across the valley as huge chunks of ice sporadically detached from the mountain sides and caused avalanches below; a delayed, low, rumbling noise that sounded like thunder and explosions in the distance. We didn’t do the additional one kilometer hike from the tea house to the Abott Pass viewpoint as I was concerned about the five kilometers hike back and it was getting a bit later in the day. If you leave time to do this, most people we spoke to recommended the view.

Once of many avalanches we witnessed high up on the glacier

I hoped the hike down would be easier, but alas, the leg muscles you use to walk down (instead of up) were also fatigued by this point. It was at least a change from the uphill climb, and a gradual downhill hike to get back to lake Louise, but my knees were getting pretty wobbly by the time we hit flat ground again.

Lake Louise and the chateau in the distance

I never thought about a bear the entire way back, and again, the scenery was just stunning. We made it back to our car by about five o’clock and had logged 18 kilometers, 29,803 steps and the equivalent of 95 flights of stairs. It was an amazing day and an exhausting one. I was definitely hurting going up and down stairs and getting in and out of the car the next day but I can honestly say it was worth it to get out there and do something that scared me, physically challenged me and allowed me to experience such stunning beauty. The photos could never do this hike the proper justice it deserves. I highly recommend you get out there and do one or both of these hikes. If you live in Alberta, go explore our beautiful rocky mountains.If you don’t live here, you really should visit. As usual feel free to comment or ask any questions. Have you done this hike? What did you think? Other hikes to recommend?

Until next time, happy travelling!

Getting back to civilization

Lake Louise

A staff member who was still on shift when we left beat us back down all while hauling out her pack plus luggage

Chateau Lake Louise