Late September or early October can be a wonderful time to enjoy Lake Louise. The air can have a definite chill, but many of the days are bright and sunny. The surrounding mountains often have a dusting of snow that adds an extra element of beauty and contrast to the scenery.
The number of tourists drastically thins out, just a few weeks prior the shoreline trail would be bustling with people. Visiting during the shoulder season allows you to enjoy the lake in serene and tranquil atmosphere.
If the weather continues to be favourable the boathouse remains open allowing visitors to canoe on the turquoise waters of Lake Louise. Instead of the lake being dotted with dozens of canoes you may find yourself sharing the lake with only a few others.
Although the accommodation prices are still somewhat high, the have dropped from the peak summertime prices and the rates will continue to fall through the month of October and throughout November.
We’ll be visiting the area next fall and your website is giving us wonderful ideas! I understand some trails have minimum group numbers requirements due to bears being in the area. Do the trails around Lake Louise have these restrictions? Thanks!
The trails around Lake Louise itself do not have restrictions, such as the lakeshore trail and tea house trails. There are several trails in the nearby Moraine Lake area that have require a minimum group number and would be in effect during your fall visit. You can see a map marking the group access area and the names of the trails here: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/mtn/ours-bears/gestion-management/ours-bears/moraine.aspx
Enjoy your visit to the mountains, fall is a beautiful time to visit.
Cheers
Hi my partner & I were thinking of visiting the rocky mountains in the first week of October this year. we are from Australia and I was just wondering if you have any experience with other areas of the Rocky Mountains at that time of the year? We were thinking of driving from Calgary to Vancouver
September and October are our favourite months of the year. Early October is a great time to visit any of the Rocky Mountain areas such as Banff and Jasper or Yoho National Park. The weather is still quite favorable. It is chilly in the mornings and when the sun goes down, but the daytime temperatures are great for hiking. The summer crowds have gone and the accommodation will be a bit cheaper around the Rockies. Early October in Vancouver is still considered somewhat high season so expect that prices may not have dropped much. We’re originally from Vancouver Island so we’ve done the drive back and forth many times from Banff to Vancouver to visit family. You could drive there from the Banff area or head up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper and onto Vancouver from there.
Cheers,
Audrey
Cheers,
Audrey
We would like to Visit Banff the end of September/beginning of October. We have a small self contained RV that we drive. Are there camping areas open and accessible ?
Thank you
You can find the list of campsites and their closing dates here: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/camping.aspx The choices become less after the first week of September, but there are still a few options until October 10th.
We will be in the Banff area September 20-25, 2016. Have been checking the long term forecast for the past few days and it seems to be different & changing on every site we look at. In general, are the long term forecasts accurate? (or is it best to take a wait and see approach?) Is any particular website the best one to check for weather? Also, if rain is indicated for late September, is it usually just a shower, off and on, or does it stay socked in and just pour all day long? (like it does where we live!) The reason I am asking “weather related” questions is we have paid for some sight seeing excursions in advance, but have to reserve the actual days and times once we get out there…Thanks!
There’s not really any one better weather forecast source to look at and as far as reliability and you can even count of the short term forecast as being written in stone. The Rocky Mountain weather has a mind of it’s own. This article will help you understand it a bit better. https://banffandbeyond.com/what-to-expect-for-weather-and-temperatures-in-the-canadian-rocky-mountains/ If it does rain there is a tendency for it t be isolated showers for shorter periods of the day as the weather moves over the mountains. By late September if it’s raining in lower elevations you’ll start to see the precipitation falling as snow or a mix of rain and snow as you get into higher elevations like Lake Louise, etc.
Cheers