Lake Louise opens the men's World Cup downhill calendar every November and then settles into a long winter inside Banff National Park, four mountain faces above the turquoise lake, with the Mt Temple and Victoria Glacier framing every photograph you take from the Whitehorn ridge.
Lake Louise is a ski resort in Canada, in the Canadian Rockies. The village sits at 1646 m and the lifts top out at 2637 m, with 175 km of pistes and 11 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 92/100, and the season usually runs Nov 9 → May 4.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Excellent · 23.7k reviews
Strong value for Lake Louise, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.6/5 from 23,716 reviews). It sits about 3.0 km from the slopes. A mid-range option for Lake Louise, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Great · 3.0k reviews
A long-standing favourite in Lake Louise, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
There is no true ski-in/ski-out at Lake Louise: the resort sits inside Banff National Park and no hotels are built at the lift base. The closest options are in Lake Louise hamlet five kilometres away, and most visitors stay there or in Banff town.
Lake Louise is a domain of four faces totalling 1700 hectares and 175 km of pistes: 25 greens, 48 blues, 35 reds and 37 blacks, the lift system anchored by the Top of the World six-pack, the Glacier Express and the Grizzly Express gondola. The front face hosts the famous Men's Downhill course in late November, fast and steely, while the back side and Larch face open quiet powder runs in the trees and big alpine bowls above the treeline. The Paradise area is a sun-trap for blue-square cruising, the West Bowl reaches glacier-style high country, and Whitehorn 2 is a peak-experience platform with the lake glittering far below. The resort stays inside Banff National Park, so there is no real village at the lift base, only the day lodge. Lake Louise hamlet, with the iconic Fairmont Chateau on the lakefront, is five kilometres away, and many visitors stay in Banff town, 60 km east. The climate is high and dry, snow stays cold and light from opening day, and the season runs from early November to early May.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Lake Louise: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Lake Louise offers 175 km of pistes across 11 lifts, from 1646 m to 2637 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Nov 9 to May 4, with a snow score of 92/100. The best conditions are usually from late January through February, while spring skiing in March and April brings longer days and softer afternoons.
There is no true ski-in/ski-out at Lake Louise: the resort sits inside Banff National Park and no hotels are built at the lift base. The closest options are in Lake Louise hamlet five kilometres away, and most visitors stay there or in Banff town.
Lake Louise has 175 km of marked pistes served by 11 lifts, between 1646 m and 2637 m of altitude.
Lake Louise counts about 145 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
A few of our sister sites cover this destination too.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
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