The jewel of the Rockies. The Stoney Nakoda knew it as Ho-run-num-nay (Lake of the Little Fishes). Tom Wilson was guided there in 1882 by Edwin Hunter (Goldseeker); Wilson named it Emerald Lake for its colour, and it was renamed Lake Louise in 1884 to honour Princess Louise. George Mercer Dawson’s GSC maps formalised the name and Laggan station. Early scientific visitors included Mary Vaux Walcott, who documented the Victoria Glacier and painted alpine flora; including the endemic Lake Louise Arnica.

The lake drains via Louise Creek to the Bow River; the Victoria Glacier meltwater and rock flour give the water its turquoise colour. W.A. Johnston’s 1922 study first explained the rock flour mechanism and established the varve chronology that turned Lake Louise into a laboratory for understanding glacial and climate history. See Gog Group and Lake Louise Geology for the stratigraphy, Laramide thrusting, and the McConnell–Walcott synthesis.

Most visitors enjoy the view from the Lake Louise Lakeshore Trail (trail) along the north shore; for a heritage experience many continue to hike to the Lake Agnes Tea House (trail) or the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House (trail). The Big Beehive and Little Beehive; Cambrian quartzite peaks shaped by the Victoria Glacier; bracket the hanging valley of Lake Agnes above. Mount Fairview (2,744 m) on the south shore and Mount St. Piran (2,649 m) on the north offer the most popular hikable summits. The Bow River Loop Trail (trail) and Louise Creek Trail (trail) connect the lake to the river corridor. The Icefields Parkway begins 7 km north at Herbert Lake, running 232 km to Jasper.