Camping at Lake Louise

Several weeks ago I posted a blog about our tour of the Lake Louise Hotel in Alberta, Canada, and the surrounding area, including our hike to the Plain of the Seven Glaciers Tea House. We were camped during that stay at the Lake Louise Tent Campground operated by the Canadian version of the National Forest Service. We had found the campground online and reserved our site when planning our trip months earlier, but our first actual sight of the campground was a bit daunting. Due to the prevalence of bear traffic in the area, the entire campground is surrounded by an electrified chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Campers must get out of their cars and open a cleverly closed gate that has proven bear resistant in order to enter the campground.

When making our reservation, I was asked whether I wanted to include a fire permit with my purchase for $6.00. Knowing we would definitely want a campfire, I chose to do so. Upon arrival, we learned that not only would we be allowed to have a fire, but we were provided with fresh firewood each morning! Quite a good deal we thought!

The kids relaxing while on a hike

We had several other pleasant discoveries during our stay at the campground. Each night the campground/forest service staff put on a program regarding some aspect of nature. One night was focused on the life of a pinecone; another involved several staff members dressed in furry animal costumes. Not great theater, but entertaining none-the-less. Even our teen-aged children enjoyed it in spite of themselves.

Another discovery was the snow. While walking to the bathroom to shower on July 30th during our stay, we happened to look up toward a nearby peak that we had passed each morning. To our surprise, the mountain now had a coating of white; it had snowed during the night, something that is not uncommon in those parts, even in late July! It was very warm at ground level and the icy cap on the peak was a nice treat for us to see.

The last surprise is related to our bathroom trip that morning also. While standing in line for the shower, our youngest daughter Meghan and I had a true multicultural experience. There was quite a long line that morning, made up of women from a wide variety of countries and cultures. There was a group of young women speaking Spanish behind us in line and two older women speaking French up ahead. Two young mothers with little children seemed to be speaking a Scandinavian language by the sound of it. Several others from an Asian country exited as we entered the line. Meghan and I were the only two speaking English while we waited. For the two of us from northeastern Wisconsin it was indeed a pleasure to listen to the lilt and rhythm of such a wide variety of languages.

For more information about campgrounds in Alberta, browse Woodall’s listings of Alberta camping.