Alberta’s Mountaintop Lake Agnes
Hidden in the Forest High Above Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies
Imagine a half-day hike in Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks where the reward is a glacial lake surrounded by rocky peaks, with a log cabin teahouse overlooking it.
The variety of outdoor activities in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks is one of the reasons to stay at Lake Louise, and one of the best activities is a hike to the small Lake Agnes. The little lake literally hangs above larger Lake Louise, dropping off in a high waterfall that seems like something out of a movie set.
From the park at the head of Lake Louise, in front of the Fairmont Château Lake Louise, a trail leads off to the right along the wooded shore of the lake. Just after it enters into the forest, a branch to the right begins its steady uphill route to Lake Agnes Hiking time to the lake is about three and a half hours, round trip, allowing time for tea and biscuits overlooking the lake.
The entire length the trail passes through a forest of tall trees -- mixed conifer and deciduous at the base, becoming predominantly conifer as the altitude rises. Along the way wildflowers and various ferns line the sides of the path. A careful observer may even find scars on a trailside tree where a bear scratched and left his mark.
Climbing steadily, the trail never takes a break from its upward slant, climbing the steep mountainside in a series of long switchbacks. One very sharp switchback provides a rare chance to see the neighboring mountainsides from the trail, but the rest of the route is in the cool forest.
About two-thirds of the way to the top, the trail passes the high Mirror Lake, actually a fair-sized pond, at the very foot of a bald rock sugarloaf peak called Honeypot. Climbers stop here to admire the view and rest their legs on the way to the top.
After the lake is the only really steep climb, but it is short, and soon rewarded by the first sight of the goal -- a spectacular waterfall that seems to plummet out of the tree tops. Its source is Lake Agnes, a short distance beyond via a staircase. The stairs end suddenly on the shores of a pristine lake, high in the mountain tops. The lake literally sits on the edge of a high mountain cliff. The view here extends over forests to the mountains on the far side of the town of Lake Louise. At its outlet end the lake narrows to a small stream, suddenly dropping over the edge in a long filmy stream.
Around the lake rocky peaks are close, as they fall in steep slopes to the tree-rimmed edge of the glacial-blue lake. The small log cabin teahouse sits above the falls, serving tea, coffee and snacks.
A stony narrow trail to the right leads along the edge of the lake, where some hardy trekkers have been know to dive, however briefly, into its frigid waters. To the left a trail leads down around the far side of Mirror Lake, rejoining the original trail at that point. From the steepness of this trail, it’s easy to see why the stairs were added as an alternative.
Lake Agnes, although a small lake, puts the towering mountains all around Lake Louise into a smaller, more intimate scale, and makes a satisfying half-day hike in the Canadian Rockies.
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