Visiting Moraine Lake By Bike

Moraine Lake is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and a must-see when visiting Banff National Park. With that being said, it is also an extremely popular location and getting to the lake takes some planning. One option for visiting Moraine Lake is by taking a bike. Here’s all you need to know if you’re considering this option!

The Route

The primary option for visiting Moraine Lake by bike is to depart from the town of Lake Louise. The ride from here is approximately 8.5 miles one way to the lake. There are bike paths that lead to the town of Lake Louise itself if you’re looking for a longer journey. Some notes on the route:

• The way to the lake is a consistent incline. The first couple miles are very steep and then things level off to a more gradual climb with a few small steep sections. The good news here is that your way back is almost all downhill!
• Given the incline, plan your options according to your abilities. We’d highly recommend an e-bike unless if you are taking a road bike and you are an experienced cyclist.
• The first mile from the town’s center is mixed use traffic and often congested. This is where personal vehicles are allowed to drive to Lake Louise along with shuttles going to both lakes. Use extra caution during this stretch. After you turn onto Moraine Lake, given the new restrictions you will primarily encounter shuttle vehicles and the traffic won’t be as congested.

Bike Rentals

There are 2 main locations for renting bikes while in the town of Lake Louise. Both of these locations primarily offer e-bikes but also offer some mountain bike options if you’re looking to explore off the beaten path.

• Wilson Mountain Sports – located in the main town center of Lake Louise. Plenty of free parking nearby and easy access to the roads. This is who we rented through and we were very pleased with the friendly service!
• Lake Louise Ski Resort – located slightly out of town, the ski resort offers various rental options but will also add a few miles on to your overall journey.

Rental Tips:

• Both of the above locations offer online reservations – you’re best to plan in advance!
• If you missed out on a reservations and these locations are fully booked (which happened to us), there is an alternative option! Many people take out their rentals first thing in the morning and there are often bikes returned around noon-2pm. If you can pike up a bike in this time frame, there’s still plenty of time for you to make the journey to the lake. We stopped by Wilsons around 1pm and there were a handful of e-bikes already returned that were available for us to rent.
• Pay attention to the return times for these rental locations. They recommend having 3 hours to go to the lake and back including plenty of time to enjoy the views. For our rental at Wilsons the latest return time was 5:30pm (with late fees coming after that).
• Once at the lake, there are plenty of bike racks and spots to lock up your bike. The rental companies provide a lock to use.

Best Time To Visit

We didn’t realize this until planning our impromptu trip to the area, but there are a few weeks a year that are the perfect time for planning your biking trip to Moraine Lake – luckily for us we visited during this time! With Moraine Lake Road not opening to vehicle traffic until June 1st, the last few weeks of May offer a time where the road is clear of snow and are available to bikers. Even in a heavy snow fall year, plow typically start clearing the road the last few weeks in May in preparation for June’s traffic. Not only is it nice to be on the miles of road with no vehicles in sight, but it also limits the amount of people that are at Moraine Lake at the same time as you. When we visited, there were less than a dozen people at the lake with us!

We hope this helps you plan your next trip! For more advice and inspiration, check out our outdoor travel blog posts.