Moraine Lake is one of the most photographed places in the Rockies – in the summer. In the winter however you can have the place all to ourself. A set of well maintained cross country tracks lead past a majestic landscape of mountains and forest taking you into the silence you will only find at Moraine Lake in winter.
The road to Moraine Lake Lodge is closed during winter and instead you will find perfectly groomed cross country skiing tracks. There is no greater happiness for a couple of Norwegians in the Canadian Rockies! Even better was it that we were out skiing on a Wednesday and had the tracks almost all to ourselves!
The tracks starts close to Lake Louise, just head up the road towards Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and about halfway up you’ll find the road to Moraine Lake on you lefthand side where you will find a parking lot. The tracks are on a gentle upwards slope and are suitable for all skiing skill sets.
You will have Bow Valley and Lake Louise Ski Resort in your lefthand side while skiing towards Moraine Lake. The further in you get on the tracks the more the view will open up.
After about 9 kilometres the groomed tracks end due to avalanche danger, but we kept on going the last 3 kilometres to Moraine Lake. Make sure you have checked avalanche conditions before you go, stop by the tourist information in Lake Louise and they will be able to tell you if it is safe to continue beyond this point. At this point the view opens up into the Valley of the Ten Peaks.
The Moraine Lake Lodge is closed during winter, but the area is draped in winter magic with a heavy lid of snow on the rooftops and surrounded by mountains and large pine. We had a cup of warm peppermint tea and my husbands homemade cinnamon rolls before we headed back home again.
Where to find more information?
Parks Canada have free downloads on their webpage for winter trails in the Banff and Lake Louise area, link here.
My somewhat subjective trip rating:
Trail: You begin your trip at the parking lot on the Moraine Lake Road turn off from Lake Louise Drive towards the Chateau. The tracks have a slight incline from the parking lot until you reach the avalanche sign/end of groomed tracks at 9 km. After this the last 3 km to Moraine Lake Lodge is not groomed, but there are usually some ski tracks to follow. Easy return as it is mostly downhill from the avalanche sign to the parking lot again.
Worth it? Yes – views are magnificent compared to many other cross country tracks, and the quality of the tracks up to the avalanche sign (9km) is excellent.
Difficulty: Medium, but no steep ascents. Easy return as it is mostly downhill from the avalanche sign to the parking lot.
Length: 24 km roundtrip
Duration: 4-5 hours including break
Where do you find your winter magic? Or do you have any trails you can recommend for us this winter? We would love to hear about it!
Thanks for visiting!
Moraine Lake was one of my mother’s favorite places. We have an oil painting of it that she painted 20 years ago. When we visited after she passed away, we saw a rainbow there. Mom was smiling down on us!
That looks like a nice proper place for skiing. You are lucky you have snow. I was supposed to travel this evening for a weekend away skiing, but the trip was cancelled because there is still no snow at our destination. Imagine! I hope we get snow sooner than later. It is just not winter with some snow.
I hope you get some snow as well! Too me as well it’s not proper winter without the layer of white magic;)
Moraine Lake is just beautiful and I bet the area is even more beautiful under a layer of snow. I will be spending this winter in Taiwan and since temps never fall below freezing, I will find joy in the fact that I don’t have to shovel any of that white stuff! 😉
Yes – the best part about going there in the winter is the silence! We were totally alone. During summer it is always buzzing and crowed (due to easy access). Enjoy winter in Taiwan! Look forward to hearing from Taiwan winter:)
Beautiful! I’m not a cross country skiier but if I was I’d try to get up there for sunrise to get some photos – of course that would mean I’d have to get up REALLY early in the morning
I bet it is quite nice there during sunrise – light is usually much more exiting at that time. But yes – that would be a very early morning! 🙂
Stunning!! Looks like brilliant skiing!
Yes Laura – it was a perfect day and the groomed tracks couldn’t have been better! We really enjoyed it:)
It looks like a scene from a postcard!
I’m so looking forward to try this! Love Morraine lake and haven’t seen it in winter yet. I think I’ve read that they recommend to carry avalanche kit (for the last 3km), do I really need it? What do you think? You might be interested in cross country skiing near Shark mountain in Kananaskis 😉