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There are two Lake Louise Tea House hikes. The first being the Lake Agnes Tea House, and the second, the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. Both have functional tea houses in the summer months. The staff hike up to the tea houses with groceries a few times a week. Both have amazing views along the way.
If you are doing the hike early or late in the season you will want to check their websites to make sure they are operational. The dates change each year, especially the opening dates. However, you can still do the hike even if the tea houses aren’t open.
Now if you are dedicated, it is possible to do both in one day, on the Highline trail, as they trails are connected. But for those of you who aren’t looking for a long day hike, this article is for you.
Completed: August 2012
Length: 10.3 km return. Lake Louise shore to tea house. 3 – 5 hours.
Elevation Gain: 7005 feet
The trail head for the Lake Agnes Tea House starts along the Lake Shore Trail of Lake Louise. From the trail head on you are consistently gaining elevation via, and will eventually hit a series of switchbacks.
I would suggest to arrive early as this tends to be the busiest of the tea house hikes.
This trail is scenic, with varies photo opportunities on the way up.
This is a great hike to do if you want to combine a short additional hike to it. Popular ones to choose from are: The Little Beehive, and Big Beehive. When I did this hike we chose to combine it with the Big Beehive.
After completing the first part of the hike you will arrive at Mirror Lake.
After arriving you don’t have much further to go. Below is a picture of the Big Beehive that you will be hiking to the top of. You will see it right away after arriving at Mirror Lake.
Right before you continue on the trail to Lake Agnes there is a waterfall that make for a great photo op. You have about 20 minutes left to go.
After completing the switchbacks to the top of the beehive you will be treated to panoramic views. You can even see the Chateau from the top.
Now all you have left to do is make you way back down.
Completed: June 2020
Length: 5.3 km
Elevation Gain: 1215 feet
The trail head for the Plain of Six Glaciers hike begins where the Lake Shore trail ends. Literally go all the way to the end, past the trail head for the Agnes Lake Tea House. This hike took my mom, brother, and I 4 1/2 hours to complete, and we spent about a half hour at the tea house.
I found this trail to be a lot easier than the Lake Agnes Tea House hike as there is less elevation gain. Even my mom who has pretty bad asthma didn’t find the hike to be too hard.
After getting off the paved Lake Shore trail, you will spend less than a hour going through pine trees. If you are really into waterfalls there will be one on the left hand side. Personally, I would probably describe it more as a strongly flowing river.
Once you reach this landscape you are almost at the tea house. The trail heads back through the trees, and that is your indicator that your close.
Due to COVID, you could not eat in the tea house, however they do have tables outside to use, as well as benches and tables in the public area.
I ended up getting the soup, and a tea here, while my mom and brother got the chili. Both were good.
View from the resting point, right next to the tea house. Once you get to this point in the hike there are bathroom facilities. You can also continue on with the Plain of Six Glacier hike that gets closer to the glacier. However when we were here the trail was still covered in snow, and it is not maintained.
One thing to consider is that I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to being cold. So maybe the trail would seem alright to you… Sometimes I have no idea how I grew up in Saskatchewan.