Snowshoeing Near Lake Louise

We had what was billed as a better room in Deer Lodge, one of the so-called Tower Rooms. The accommodations were comfortable, clean, well-maintained, and spacious enough for two. The lodge is a bit of a retreat, which means no television except for the one way below in the basement, and one computer available for guests, also in the basement. We didn’t mind these restrictions since we were there mostly to hike. The rooftop hot tub was very nice. The real issues I had with the lodge had to do with dining. The location, up very near to Lake Louise, means that the only dining places available are either in the lodge itself or a short walk down to the Chateau Lake Louise. One look at the prices in the latter convinced me that we would not use that option. The menu at the Deer Lodge is tired. A couple of fish dishes, lots of meat, and game dishes with various sauces. No pasta dishes, no vegetarian dishes, nothing for anyone seeking something interesting or original. We did eat there one night, and found the food well-prepared, but uninspiring, and expensive. Breakfast was actually bad: in two tries, a scorched omelet, burnt toast, and charred bacon (after ordering it lightly cooked). And expensive.

Dining in the village is not a lot better. The hotels have fairly boring menus, and the couple of other restaurants are not much better. In our 6 nights, we drove the 70-mile round trip to Banff three times. There was a much better selection there, better restaurants, and better prices.

However, the lodge does have a great location for hiking and skiing.

Over the 5 full days we stayed in Lake Louise, we had several excellent snowshoe hiking experiences. We are not skilled back-country skiers, that ability would have extended our range quite a bit, but we found plenty to keep us busy. Let me enumerate a few:

Plain of Six Glaciers—immediately across Lake Louise from the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Skiing on the lake or along the path is flat and easy. Once at the end of the lake, the path is well-marked, but steep for climbing in skis. I wish we had brought our snowshoes. We did get up to the cirque that lies at the foot of the ring of mountains, and the views were wonderful. Even with relatively limited back-country skiing ability, we were able to ski down at the end of our hike.

Palmer Ridge—This one we heard about in a random encounter with a guide at a viewpoint. It’s difficult to find a good place to hike up to that takes you beyond the tree line, and this one is just great. It is a few kilometers south of the Columbia Icefields Visitors Center, along the highway up to Jasper. It is up near a pass, and climbs quickly above the trees. There are great views in every direction at the top. It was very windy the day we were there, but thrilling for the views.

Bow Glacier—Tromp across Bow Lake (well-frozen when we were there) and across the moraine, then up to the glacier. Nice moonscape left by the (unfortunately) receding glacier, and a pretty landscape.

Yoho Pass—Yet another tromp across a lake, Emerald Lake this time. This one is well-marked on the maps. Once across the lake, there is a trail across the ski routes and on up to the pass. Beautiful views again, and very accessible.

Not a good experience. See the lodging section of this review. Very few options, with tired menus and high prices. The only other real choice is Banff, about 35 miles away.