We’ve been to Moraine Lake in Banff National Park numerous times and it’s beautiful in every season and all types of weather. The color of the water is unreal and is even more mesmerizing in person.
Moraine Lake is one of the most photographed lakes in all of Canada. It’s situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks in the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park. The scenery is absolutely incredible, and the color of the lake is more vibrant than any other glacier fed lake I’ve seen. Depending on the time of day you’re there, the lake varies from a glacial blue to a glacial aqua in color, either way it’s stunning!
Several great hikes take off from this area, but beware that it’s required to have at least 4 people on most of these trails because there is often lots of bears in the area. Most people wait for additional parties to come along, and ask to join their group if they’re lacking the right amount of people.
If you’re not into hiking, the scenery is still remarkable from the parking lot. There is a small hill of rocks that most people climb called the Rockpile Trail, it’s 300 meters long and it only gains 79 feet of elevation. From the top of the rock pile, Lake Moraine stretches away from you to the end of the Valley of Ten Peaks.
Update: I uploaded new photos and tips to this post as of June 20, 2017. The original photos on this post were on an old cropped sensor 12 megapixel camera, and I was so excited to take my new camera set up to Moraine Lake and try to do it some justice!
Moraine Lake in Banff National Park is popular for obvious reasons! Photos don’t do this gorgeous lake justice.
As you can see from this photo, the color of the lake changes even depending on the angle you’re looking at it. This angle is the true color of Moraine Lake. The other photos in this post have some of the blue sky reflected in the lake making it more on the blue side rather than an aqua/teal color.
I love taking photos at both sunrise and sunset at Moraine Lake. It would seem this lake is photogenic in all it’s moods. The last 3 photos in this post were taken in the evening after the sun went down and it had just stopped raining. We sat at the top of the Rockpile Trail and watched the night come in.
The next morning we woke up before dawn hoping for some better weather…
… and started up the Rockpile Trail again.
The sun broke over the peaks, and the light was so gorgeous I started running for the top. I paused just for a moment to turn and snap this photo of Tyler calmly walking to the top.
After a really spectacular morning photographing as the light changed…
… we headed back down just as the crowds descended to make coffee in the parking lot.
And from there, it was on to another day of adventuring in some of the most gorgeous scenery on Earth!