Things You May Not Have Known About Lake Louise

Lake Louise is the highest permanent settlement in Canada.

There are two distinct areas, the small hamlet (Lake Louise Village) 1540 meters (5052ft) and the actual lake 1731 meters (5680ft) which is situated 4 km (2.5 miles) uphill from the village.

People who work in Lake Louise live in accommodation provided by their employer. There is a “need to reside” requirement in Lake Louise and all of Banff National Park. To be an eligible resident you must be employed or operate a business within the park, or be a spouse or dependent of someone who meets the criteria.

Lake Louise is one of the most photographed sites in Canada and possibly the world.

In the busy summer months up to 15,000 people a day visit the shore of Lake Louise between dawn and dusk.

There are small fish that survive year round in the lake, such as Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout and Mountain Whitefish.

Water from Lake Louise eventually ends up across the country in Hudson Bay, which is part of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Lake Louise doesn’t thaw until the first week of June and it can and has snowed during any month of the year.

Lake Louise was the third name given to the lake. It was first named Horâ Juthin Îmne (translating to lake of little fishes) by Stoney First Nations people that were the first inhabitants of the area. In 1882 a Stoney First Nations person led a Canadian railway worker named Tom Wilson to the lake. He named it Emerald Lake. Two years later it was renamed Lake Louise after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), the daughter of Queen Victoria. Louise was married to Marquis of Lorne, the Governor General of Canada from 1878-1883.

A simple, single level log cabin was the first accommodation in 1890 at the shore of Lake Louise, a far contrast to the Fairmont Chateau hotel that stands today with over 548 rooms.

With 11 square miles of terrain on four mountain faces, Lake Louise is Canada’s second largest ski area and one of the largest ski resorts in North America. It also has one of the longest consistent ski seasons in Canada from early November to late May.

Like most of the lake in the Rocky Mountains, Lake Louise is not a lake you would want to swim in. The temperature of the water would rarely get above 5C. (41F.) The water is so frigid that the Lake Louise Polar Bear Dip is held during the Canada Day Celebrations on July 1st.