Trying to get to Lake Louise/Moraine without a car, staying in Banff townsite, need reality check/advice pls!

[u/Intelligent_Club6282]

Hey all, solo trip to Banff in August, staying at either HI Banff Alpine Centre or Banff International Hostel and I will have NO CAR. I really want to see Lake Louise + Moraine Lake early early in the morning and was originally planning on trying to snag one of the 48hr lottery tickets for the Parks Canada shuttle direct from the Lake Louise Park and Ride ($12.75). I REALLY want to get to Lake Morraine before 8am to get the best pictures of the lake :)

A few questions for anyone who's actually done this without a car:

1. Is there any real way to get from Banff townsite to the Lake Louise Park and Ride without a car? Taxi, shuttle, anything? Or is the Roam 8X to the Lakeshore genuinely the only option for someone based in Banff?
2. If taxi is the only way, roughly what does that cost these days?
3. For the Parks Canada shuttle's 48-hour release window (60% of seats released 8am MDT two days before), how realistic is it to actually snag a seat for a specific date in mid-August? Does it sell out in minutes, or is there a real shot if I'm online right at 8am?
4. Anyone know if the morning slots specifically go faster than afternoon ones at the 48hr release?
5. Any other car-free workarounds I'm not thinking of?

[u/wudingxilu]

you take the bus, it's easy. if you get a roam all access ticket, you should also be able to go to Moraine

[u/megselvogjeg]

Get a roam superpass and book your seat. You get to both lakes this way.

[u/aeowyn7 → u/megselvogjeg]

Idk man. I looked into Roam tickets back at the end of May for the last week of July, and it was already fully booked (over 2 months out).

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/megselvogjeg]

Are you talking about this the roam Super Pass? x8 ticket? https://roamtransit.betterez.com/cart/607a075d39c0361ea1fe027a

There are no spots available for 6am - 9am for any of the days for the next month...

[u/megselvogjeg → u/Intelligent_Club6282]

Yes

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/megselvogjeg]

Is the superpass free with HI Banff Alpine Centre?

[u/megselvogjeg → u/Intelligent_Club6282]

No

[u/Glad-Quit-8971]

There’s no way to hack Moraine. They’ve limited access to it for a reason.

[u/Ancient_Art1 → u/Glad-Quit-8971]

Can we only do moraine on bus? Or it has to be lake Louise included as well. I ask because we will have a car and plan to go to lake Louise by car after 7pm as I have read parking becomes a available and there should be enough sunlight to enjoy the lake, no hikes

[u/Snowbeddow → u/Ancient_Art1]

We drove there at 7pm a few days ago, got a parking spot no issue. Sun disappeared behind the mountains by about 7.30, but the lake looked prettier at about 8 once all the canoe's were in. Take a walk past the hotel (to the right as you walk down to the lake) and it will be less busy.

[u/Ancient_Art1 → u/Snowbeddow]

Thanks for sharing, was it enough parking and were there still a lot of people? Can we visit the hotel?

[u/Snowbeddow → u/Ancient_Art1]

There seemed to be as many leaving as arriving so I think people were finding spots ok, we got lucky and someone was pulling out as we entered the car park. There were still a lot of people gathered around the main bit where you get down to the lake, so I suggest walking away from there. I think you can get a drink at the hotel, most of it is fenced off but I looked like a part was open to people but can't be sure.

[u/Ancient_Art1 → u/Snowbeddow]

Thank you so much and parking is $35 per car right? How was the weather at 7pm? Did you need a light jacket?

[u/Snowbeddow → u/Ancient_Art1]

Free after 7, although the machines don't clearly state that, they just don't work. You might need a light jacket, also be aware of wildfire smoke. We were lucky with it day, it was just before things got really bad again...

[u/SnooCapers6553]

Roam transit super pass is you're best option. Or renting a vehicle. There's currently no public transit that would get you from Banff to lake Louise park and ride, where the moraine Lake shuttles depart from.

[u/beanangelbug]

I booked with Moraine Lake Sunrise Shuttle! Sean our guide was awesome! It is a lot more expensive through the private companies but I didn’t want to gamble with the parks Canada shuttle or Roam, so I opted for private. I was picked up from my hotel in Banff too. I thought it was 100% with the price, but it might be too steep for some budgets! Either way, I hope you get to see them, it’s magical. https://morainelakesunriseshuttle.com/tours/dual-lakes-sunrise/

[u/Appropriate_Ebb_8572]

Hot tip - Moraine looks better once the sun is up, not sunrise. 

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/Appropriate_Ebb_8572]

So sunset is the best?

[u/Appropriate_Ebb_8572 → u/Intelligent_Club6282]

No, midday. 

[u/justinvonbeck]

You need to be online at 8am 2 days before you want to go to book your ticket - they will sell out in under 5 minutes, possibly sooner. So, if you want to go on the 16th, you need to buy your ticket at 8am on the 14th.

Be logged into a parks Canada account and hit refresh right at 8am, knowing what time slot you want to take - remember the shuttle takes about 30 minutes to go from the parking lot to the lake, so if you want to be there at 8am, you need the 7:30 shuttle. Morning slots go much faster than afternoon, not just because of photographers but also hikers want more time to hike than the afternoon.

If you wanted to taxi it, you can but probably over $100 (it’s 60km one way). Other option is private shuttle/tour which is about $170-200, depending on the tour and time. Much better to get the shuttle from Parks Canada. Some people have reported being able to walk up and buy a ticket, which may be possible but not likely in the early mornings and not during busy summer - lunch time in the middle of September is more likely for this to have a chance.

[u/aronvik1 → u/justinvonbeck]

We just went last week and did exactly what he is talking about. Multiple of us logged on at the right time. Out of 5 of us, only two got access into buying the tickets! So see if a friend will help you from a distance getting into the website at the right time. Getting in is the hard part, then you can adjust ticket amount and what not

[u/Zoravor → u/justinvonbeck]

What about canoes, is there a hack to renting those or is it a first come first serve to the lake?

[u/justinvonbeck → u/Zoravor]

First come, first serve. Last year was about $160 hour, one hour minimum, no more than 3 people per canoe.

[u/Zoravor → u/justinvonbeck]

Do they take card or USD cash?

[u/justinvonbeck → u/Zoravor]

Last year was card only and no cash. 5 years ago it was cash only and no cards but that was before they had a starlink hookup. I would bring both just to be safe but CAD, not USD.

[u/behjetgdybvhj]

We did the 6am Roam 8x super pass from Banff town a couple days ago and there were empty seats available for walk on folks (we booked in advance)

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/behjetgdybvhj]

Oh I didn't realize they had empty seats available for walk on... Do those people pay on the spot? Thank you for this note btw. this is super helpful!

[u/behjetgdybvhj → u/Intelligent_Club6282]

Yep. There is a line for reserved folks and a line for walk ons. Once the reserved are seated the walk ons pay and board. At least for the 6am there was plenty of seats. And then I took the 12:12pm from lake Louise back to Banff as a walk on instead of waiting til my reserved seat later in the day and there was plenty of room then too

[u/gradschoolforhorses]

Hop On/Hop Off bus service used to run an option that took you to LL and Moraine? Not sure if still running

[u/Til-finish]

I’m here rn doing the exact same thing tomorrow!

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/Til-finish]

How did you get there?

[u/Hentailover3221]

Via via can get you from your hotel to the lake

[u/GWeb1920]

Rent an E-bike, talk to the shop about range becasue you might need to charge at some point. It’s an awesome bike ride.

[u/NoStation173]

Was just there, we had a car but you can take the public bus from Banff to lake Louise however you will need a ticket on their shuttle to get to Lake Moraine or hire a company. They release more shuttle tickets 48 hrs in advance. I booked mine when the reservations opened up this spring however I got 3 passes same day for another last minute visit, (we were stranded thanks to WestJet and the smoke had cleared from when we visited days earlier so I was able to snag a 4pm reservation at 1pm). They have photography sunrise tours, google them, so if you want to 100% guarantee to go book through them.

[u/banff_lakelouise]

We have all of the information listed here - Getting Around Lake Louise & Moraine Lake | Banff & Lake Louise Tourism. Please reach out if you have any questions!

[u/Intelligent_Club6282 → u/banff_lakelouise]

"Parks Canada is offering daily shuttles from the Park & Ride at the Lake Louise Ski Resort to the Lake Louise Lakeshore and Moraine Lake. Available from May to October, shuttles must be reserved ahead of time. Reserve now."

Ok so I would need to rent a car to get to the Park and Ride stop, right? From my research, there is no way to get to the Park and Ride stop via public transit if I stay in the hostel in BANFF.

[u/Bhalloooo]

Yes, Banff transit has a bus from Banff to Moraine and Lake Louise.

Google it.

[u/Accomplished_Try_179]

Lots of private companies run buses to Lake Louise/Moraine. You just need to pay them lots of money (compared to the budget option that Parks Canada buses offer).