This is more than Lake Louise’s less famous, camera-shy sister. While the debate about which of these two has fairer waters, Moraine’s got that ""je ne sais quoi""... an edge, a mystery and a severity that brings its own charms. Moraine Lake's colour is a deeper blue and it's backdrop, the menacing cliffs of the Wenkchemna Pass and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, are indeed rugged. Formerly the picture on Canada’s twenty dollar bill, the best place to get a photo of Moraine Lake without walking too far from the parking lot is at the end of the interpretive trail on what’s known as ‘Rockpile’. Was the lake really formed by a dammed moraine at the bottom of the Wenkchemna Glacier? That’s what Walter Wilcox thought when he named Moraine Lake in 1899. These days, geologists say the lake is a result of a rockslide that left debris on top of glacial ice, forming the ‘Rockpile’ you just hiked to the top of in the last paragraph.
Access Moraine Lake on a winding road (open from May to October only) accessed just before hitting the Chateau Lake Louise, on the road up from Lake Louise Village. The 12.5-kilometre (7.8 mile) path ends with a parking lot beside Moraine Lake Lodge. There’s also a boathouse where you can rent canoes. This is the trailhead to some fabulous hikes, including Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass.
