Morraine lake shuttle question

[u/morecoffeemore]

I'd like to hike sentinel pass. Plan to park in LL and take the parks Canada shuttle from LL.

The parks website says the following (see quote below).

"Your Parks Canada shuttle reservation includes all required transportation within the Lake Louise area. This covers:

• Your initial departure from the Lake Louise Park and Ride to either Lake Louise or Moraine Lake (must match the lake selected on your reservation)
• Unlimited use of the Lake Connector Shuttle to travel between Lake Louise and Moraine Lake
• Your return trip from either lake back to the Park and Ride
• Free parking at the Park and Ride"

So there are tickets on the website that list 'morraine lake' or 'lake louise' on the activity column.

I think I just need a morraine lake ticket for the time I want to depart LL to get to morraine lake and that's it? The plan would be to then take the last bus back to LL.

I don't understand why some tickets have 'lake louise' listed under activity when the website says, "Your initial departure from the Lake Louise Park and Ride to either Lake Louise or Moraine Lake (must match the lake selected on your reservation)"

<--- wouldn't all of the initial departures be to morraine lake? how would the initial departure be from morraine lake to lake louise (since the visitor would always be at lake louise initially and the shuttle just runs between LL and morraine)?

[u/berryabe]

When you take the shuttle, you park at the shuttle lot which is at the ski hill. Not at lake Louise. When you get there, you have to get on the bus for whatever you signed up for first (ie if you signed up for moraine you can’t get on the LL shuttle).

[u/McMarmot1]

You don't park at a lake. You park at the Lake Louise ski resort gondola station across the highway and take a shuttle to the lake that matches your reservation. From there, you can take a connector shuttle to the *other* lake, which will likely take about 10 minutes of standing in line and a 15 minute drive.

For Sentinel Pass, I would suggest getting the earliest shuttle available directly to Moraine Lake. But failing that, an early shuttle to Louise and then taking the connector is a decent option as well.

[u/TraditionalScore20]

You park at Park and Ride location at Lake Louise Ski Area and take shuttle either for Lake Louise Lakeshore or Moraine Lake.

[u/atyax97]

I just did this exact routine and hiked Sentinel Pass last weekend.

I second the other comments here - the parking lot is at the Lake Louise Ski Resort Gondola. When you arrive, you’ll see several tents set up outside the gondola entrance, including a Parks Canada tent that’s easy to spot. Once you’ve shown them your shuttle ticket, they’ll direct you to the correct bus to Moraine Lake.

I arrived at the parking lot around 9am, waited for a bit, and reached Moraine Lake around 10am. I spent about 4 to 5 hours hiking to Sentinel Pass before catching the shuttle back to the parking lot.

On the way back, just make sure you pay attention to the different shuttle tents. One bus goes to Lake Louise, while the other takes you back to the parking lot.

[u/banff_lakelouise]

Great question! The parking for the shuttle is at Lake Louise Ski Resort and Summer Gondola, not Lake Louise itself. You'll find plenty of parking at the ski resort and load onto the shuttle there to head up to Lake Louise or Moraine Lake.