We often get asked by people planning a trip to the area whether they should stay in Lake Louise or Banff. They each have their pros and cons, it depends on what you’re looking for.
To clear up what can be confusing, Banff National Park is a massive expanse of land and mountains that most people see only a dent of. Within the park are the village of Lake Louise, Lake Louise (the actual lake) and the town of Banff. The tiny Lake Louise village is located off the Trans Canada Hwy and the lake is located up a steep and winding road 4 km’s from the village. The Lake Louise ski hill is across the Trans Canada Hwy from the village, close enough that you could walk to it if need be. The town of Banff is approximately a 45 minutes drive east of Lake Louise. Lake Louise has a population of just over 1000 people, but in the peak summer tourist season it likely increases to a couple of thousand with the increased amount of seasonal workers. The town of Banff has a population of approximately 8000 people.
Where To Stay, Lake Louise or Banff?
Lake Louise
Lake Louise accommodation is limited and cheap options are even more scarce. Rooms book up quickly in the summer, during holidays and in peak ski season. There’s only on hotel at the lake, that’s the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. There’s a few other options on the road to Lake Louise and the rest of the accommodation is 4km’s away in the Lake Louise village. There are only a handful of places to eat which can be expensive. The couple of cheaper deli/cafe style restaurants in the village often have line ups to get food in the busy summer tourist season. They close as early as 6 pm in the evening. See our post on Cheap Eats In Lake Louise. for more information.
Nightlife and evening entertainment is virtually non-existent. There is one pub/night club called Explorers Lounge in the Lake Louise Inn that is frequented mostly by young workers in the area. The other places of note for an evening drink are the Alpine Social at the Chateau Lake Louise and the Outpost at the Post Hotel.
The area is isolated with few amenities and limited public transportation. Even though it is remote, be prepared to share the lake shore with hundreds if not thousands of other people and tour groups in the summer months.
After hearing all this negativity you might wonder why anyone would want to stay in Lake Louise. Well, it is a hikers paradise with a myriad of excellent trails starting right from Lake Louise itself as well as nearby Moraine Lake. It’s also a cross-country skiing mecca with kilometers of groomed trails. If you have come for downhill skiing, the Lake Louise ski hill is right there. Lake Louise can also serve as a good base for exploring nearby Yoho National Park just minutes to the west and there’s quick access to the Columbia Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93N). Outside of the peak tourist and ski season it is a very tranquil place. Even in the summer months you can beat the crowds by getting up in the early morning or waiting until just before sunset to have a peaceful stroll along the lake shore.
Banff
The town of Banff is much more expansive than the village of Lake Louise, but it still has a small feel to it and is quite navigable by foot. Banff has many options and styles of accommodation. It isn’t necessarily cheap, but there are more budget choices than Lake Louise. There are more restaurants, cafes and coffee shops than you could possibly try during your stay. You can find anything from Greek, Italian, Sushi, Thai, Vegetarian, traditional Canadian fare to burgers and seafood. There are several pubs that serve great food in addition to locally brewed beer. See our post on Our Favourite Places To Eat In Banff.
Banff has a movie theatre, a bowling alley and plenty of tourist shops. There’s even a few nightclubs. The Banff Center has theatrical and musical performances. There always seems to be something going on in the way of entertainment, check the Banff calender of events to see what might be happening during your stay.
Banff can serve as a base to explore nearby Canmore or Kananaskis Country. You have quick access to Mount Norquay and the Sunshine Ski hill. If you are looking for some easier hiking there are more lower level trails and walks around the town. Due to the lower elevation the trails also clear of snow earlier than the Lake Louise trails.
The downtown core of Banff can be crowded in the summer, during holidays and ski weekends. On the main drag of Banff Avenue the sidewalks can be shoulder to shoulder with people, it can be noisy and overwhelming around town amenities and attractions. Even though there are a lot of places to eat, due to the amount of tourists in the area the popular spots can have long wait times. It’s a big enough park that there are ways to get away from the chaos, see our post on tips for getting away from the summer crowds in Banff and Jasper National Parks.
If you’re looking for something with a feel that’s in between the two places, compare Jasper National Park versus Banff National Park and it might be just what your looking for. You can also compare nearby Canmore versus Banff as a base in the Rocky Mountains.
I am interested in camping for Jasper, Banff and the Ice Fields. Is it possible to do this late in August without prior campground reservations? I am using a tent, not an RV. Any suggestions on scenic or preferable campgrounds for any/all of these areas would be appreciated. Thank you
It will be very busy in August, the weekends even more so. If you are not really picky about where you stay and arrive early at the campgrounds you might be okay without reservations. Some don’t take reservations. I don’t believe any of the ones along the Icefields Parkway do, they operate on a first come – first serve basis.
Generally the closer a campsite is to town the faster it fills up, such as the ones close to the town of Banff and Jasper. For the best chance of getting into any campground arrive at 10:30 am or 11am at the latest. Most campsite checkouts are 11am, some are noon.
The Tunnel Mountain campsite near Banff fills up quickly, you can try the Two Jack Lake campgrounds which are about 15 minutes outside of town on the Lake Minnewanka Road, but they can fill quickly too. The campground across from where you park to hike at Johnston Canyon can be easier to get into because it is more isolated. It’s on the Bow Valley Parkway (highway 1A) that runs between Lake Louise and Banff. It would be approximately 25 minutes to Banff.
In Lake Louise the campground it is not at the lake, it’s in the village of Lake Louise 4km’s away. It is right near the train tracks and it sounds like a roar of thunder when the train goes by, which happens 24/7. A nicer option is Mosquito Creek Campground which is up the Icefields Parkway about 25 km’s away from Lake Louise. Also on the Icefields Parkway are the Wilcox Creek and Columbia Icefields campgrounds, both good locations for seeing the nearby attractions. In Jasper there are Whistlers and Wapiti.
If your trip is near the very end of August or into September keep in mind the Labour Day holiday weekend is early this year on Monday September 1st. People will start filling up the campgrounds on Thursday and Friday to secure their spots through the weekend.
Hope that helps you a bit.
Cheers,
Audrey
Thank you for all these wonderful tips! Your website was really helpful when planning our short trip to Banff a couple weeks ago. We ended up staying in Lake Louise, and hiked Johnston Canyon thanks to your info. Looking forward to visiting again in the summer!
Glad our site was of help to you. It looks like you enjoyed your time in the Rocky Mountains, you’ll love it in the summer even more!
Thanks for the great tips! We are planning our honeymoon and are looking at flying into Calgary and driving to Banff and Lake Louise. Is six nights too long of a stay? We don’t mind a laid back honeymoon, but will we get bored and run out of things to do?
Thanks!
Megan and Matt
There’s lots to do in the area, I don’t think anyone would regret spending 6 days. It depends on what your interests are? What time of year you are visiting makes a big difference as well.
Love the blog, very helpful tips helping me plan for a trip between Jun 15 – June 20.
Are the campsites likely to be filled up early at this time of the year?
Also is there any places where you can rent basic camping gear?
Thanks, glad you are enjoying our blog and finding it helpful. The tourist season starts to kick off on the holiday long weekend in May, but May and June are never as busy as the summer months. How busy it is in mid-June will depend a lot on the weather. If you are camping around Banff it’s always going to be the sites closer to town that fill up the fastest. I don’t think you will have any issues, looks like your visit starts on a Monday. It would only be the weekend that you might need to be a bit more concerned with.
You can rent camping gear locally in Banff at Backtrax http://www.campingbanff.com/ and from MEC in Calgary http://www.mec.ca
Note that you will need to rent gear appropriately, it can be quite chilly in the mornings and can get down below freezing at night in June.
Cheers,
Audrey
We are coming to Banff/Lake Louise for a six day skiing trip in mid February,2016. we are flying to Calgary from Nashville with a transfer to and from the airport. We will stay at one of the Fairmonts- reservations are pending. We would like to ski all areas,poss. snowshoe, sleighride,etc. We like to go out and eat, also mix with locals and nightlife. Please advise and help us decide where to stay and how to get around-town/ski areas, crowd situation in Feb., etc.
If you are looking for nightlife and variety of places to eat you will want to stay in Banff over Lake Louise. There is really no nightlife in Lake Louise and only a few options for places to eat. To get to the ski areas you can either use the ski shuttles offered by the ski hills or rent a vehicle. The town Roam bus system can be used to get around most areas of the town of Banff. For more public transportation info you can read our post here: https://banffandbeyond.com/how-to-get-around-the-rocky-mountains-without-a-vehicle/ If you want to be on the ski hills with less people they will be quieter during the week days.
Cheers
We are coming to the area in march/April, for 7 nights, first time skiers. My kids are 7 and 13. We will need lessons and equip. Where would you recommend us to stay? Do we rent a car? Is it wise to stay 3 nights in one place and the other 4 in the other? We are travelling from Mexico.
Your feedback would be appreciated
With children I would probably recommend you stay in Banff, as you read on this post there’s not much in the way of amenities in Lake Louise. You’ll have many more options in Banff for when you are not skiing. There’s shuttles that will take you to the ski hills, you don’t have to rent a car if you don’t want to. If you do not have any winter driving experience it might be best to just use the shuttles and public transportation available in Banff. I don’t know if there would be any benefit in splitting up your stay? It depends if there are winter activities you want to take advantage of in Lake Louise. If you want to try a day of skiing there you can always take a shuttle in for the day.