Date of Hike: November 16, 2024

We were in Calgary for a weekend to see Bruce Springsteen, and I couldn’t go to Alberta without doing a hike. So we got a jeep and planned to hike Big Beehive on Lake Louise in Banff. We had heard of this hike while visiting in August but didn’t want to deal with parking so we never prioritized it (see my Banff/Yoho blog for details of that trip!). 

Steve nor I had ever done a winter hike (well we accidentally did some in Idaho and the Cabinet Mountains). So I guess I should say we’ve never been prepared for a winter hike in snow. We spoke with a local who recommended crampons and poles. I borrowed poles and bought these cheap crampons which worked really well! I agree they are definitely needed, especially the crampons. 

Link for Amazon Crampons: $23.52

 Crampons Ice Cleats Traction Snow… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H4BL4KL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

We had a tight timeline to get to Banff from Calgary and return in time for the concert, so we ended up leaving at 5:30am. The jeep’s thermometer said it was -9 degrees outside and I almost just went back to bed. But once I realized it was Celsius, we made the two hour drive to Lake Louise. The scenery even in the far was spectacular 

This turned out to be such a wonderful thing because we had no issues parking and we had the entire trail to ourselves. 

I thought we had an issue because when we arrived to Banff there was no one there to buy a pass from (and there is a $25,000 fine without a pass). So I bought one online but it clearly states it’s only valid if printed and displayed on the dash. We planned to see if there was a business center at the Fairmont to print but when we parked, we realized there’s a pay station in the parking lot so all was fine. Here’s the site with more information about Banff fees. 

https://www.banfflakelouise.com

The parking lot was mostly empty at this time and I caught a great sunrise shot with the moon! 

We briefly stopped by Lake Louise and joined the others trying to get their sunrise pics. 

Moved along quickly to the nearby trailhead for Big Beehive, Little Bee Hive, Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes. We opted to tackle the Big Beehive and it took us about 4 hours to hike 6.71 miles with 1950 feet elevation gain. 

Here is the AllTrails, noted we followed the posted signs and veered off the AllTrails a few times. 

The Big Beehive on AllTrails

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/the-big-beehive-trail?sh=sxlnu6&u=i

The start of trail was beautiful and felt like a gradual incline through a beautiful forest. I loved walking through the snowy trees. 

I over-prepared for the cold and ended up taking off my rain pants and parka a half mile into the hike. I was pretty bundled up in the beginning. But the microspikes were an absolute must as we started climbing. 

We reached Mirror Lake first and it was completely frozen over (it’s the white in the photo below). This was my first view of Beehive. I guess we missed out on the “mirror” reflection in winter. 

Sunrise over the mountain 

Beehive looking like a beehive

I loved this scene from the icy waterfall⬇️

Then we came to Lake Agnes and the Teahouse (it closes in October). There are bathrooms at this spot. Lots of stairs to get there. Lake Agnes was also frozen over as you can see in the photos. 

The trail got a little scarier here for me as a novice snow hiker. The white of everything was a little disorienting and the path in the snow was narrow and slippery. Then we came to the steepest part of the trail with narrow switchbacks. This is also where there’s a sign warning of avalanche risk so I almost turned around. 

But oh so happy Steve didn’t let me turn around because the views were amazing. There’s an aerial view of Lake Louise and the teeny tiny Fairmont. 

I couldn’t believe we had the little cottage all to ourselves. And the icicles made it feel so dreamy.  

Our way down was only an hour and a half because the micro-spikes let us descend much more quickly. 

By the time we got back down, Lake Louise was fully saturated with people and the parking lot was full. But still got a few nice frozen lake pictures. 

So my best recommendation is to hike this one early!! 

Lake Louise August 2024⬇️

Lake Louise November 2024⬆️

This hike was such a great addition to our quick weekend in Calgary and provided a nice nature escape for the morning. Make sure you check out my other Banff/Yoho blog post for many more great hikes (and separate Calgary post)! I’m always available to answer questions or help guide your itinerary!