Moraine Lake is absolutely beautiful. My wife and I preferred it over Lake Louise. It is a smaller lake, but the mountain peaks rise straight up from the lake and surround you. It is absolutely stunning. There are also several great short hikes that head out from Moraine Lake, Consolation Lake is a great hike to do while there.

The lake with the $20 view...

Moraine Lake is a stunning lake with a beautiful hotel / lodge on it.

Hiking at the lake: Before going on our trip, I knew that this area was especially known for Bears. So I did not have a specific hike here in mind to hike… There are about 4 or so hiking possibilities here. I just thought that when we got there we would know which one to take… or I was thinking that maybe they have someone there putting hikes together for people. We were a bit leary about hiking here with the bears. And decided that the hike along the lakeshore, where there were many other people – and then the hike to the top of the rock pile would be great.

The hike along the lake was great.

The hike to the top o f the rock pile was fairly easy and quick…. The view is worth the effort. We stayed up on the top for a while – and took many photos. We definitely saw the “20 dollar view” and it was EXCELLENT. (the $20 dollar view is the view point of where they took the photo of the lake that was for a very long time on the Canadian twenty dollar bill.)

The color of the water is awesome. I liked this lake better than Lake Louise, but both are fun.

Moraine Lake is just a short walk from a very crowded parking lot. The view is beautiful. There are some trails for hiking and a lodge where you can rent a canoe.