Lake Agnes sits in a hanging valley above Lake Louise's north shore. Named after Lady Susan Agnes Macdonald, wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, Lake Agnes is easily accessed by a 3.4-kilometre hiking trail that will take you around an hour of gradual uphill walking. The reward is not only the satisfaction of a fabulous view. A historic and deliciously cozy teahouse serves fresh scones and hot tea throughout the summer. Lake Agnes is a perfect example of a glacial tarn and was called “the lake in the clouds” by early promoters of the Chateau Lake Louise. The feeling you get sitting on its banks is pretty close to blissful. The teahouse is a good jumping-off place to explore other, less populated trails, including the Beehives that loops with the Plain of the Six Glaciers trail. It’s also fun (and much quieter) to visit in the winter on skis or snowshoes, although both tea houses close after Thanksgiving weekend.

If you're feeling adventurous, it's possible to visit both tea houses in a day. Follow a lakeside trail next to Lake Agnes that takes you up to Big Beehive. After admiring spectacular views of Lake Louise and the Bow Valley, continue on another 45 minutes above glacial moraine toward Mount Victoria and Plain of Six Glaciers lookout. Not long before the lookout, you will reach a second fully operational tea house. The walk from there back to the chateau is a gentle, downhill stroll.

Tea houses have operated on these sites for almost a century, serving originally for the Swiss guides who took clients into these areas that were one remote backcountry. Both were bought from Canadian Pacific Railways around the 1970s by independent women who still run the businesses today. Hiking to the tea houses has become a popular destination for visitors to the area so expect trails to be busy during summer holidays. The most rewarding time to visit is in autumn, when trails are quiet and wood stoves are burning.