Lake Louise Hacked: Big Beehive & Plain of Six Glaciers

Canadian Rockies Series — Part 5

If you've ever been to Lake Louise in the summer, you already know: the water is turquoise, the mountains are massive, and the crowds? Also massive. But we discovered a little trick that completely changed our experience — biking to the lake instead of driving.

We spent one unforgettable week exploring Lake Louise and two of the most iconic trails in the area: The Big Beehive and The Plain of Six Glaciers. And somehow, between avalanche echoes, alpine lakes, ice caves, and eight-mile elevation grinds, we fell even harder for this place.

🚲 Getting Around Lake Louise (Without Losing Your Mind)

Parking at Lake Louise during peak season is… well, chaos. Biking, on the other hand, is pure bliss. We rode from the Lake Louise Hard-Sided Campground up the Tramline Trail, a steady but totally manageable ride that landed us lakeside in under 30 minutes.

It instantly became our favorite way to explore — peaceful, scenic, and zero time spent circling a parking lot.

🐝 The Big Beehive Hike

Distance: ~8.3 miles (our route)

Elevation Gain: ~2,000 ft

Highlights: Mirror Lake, Lake Agnes, Tea House, switchbacks, insane summit views

Our first major hike started right at the lakeshore and climbed toward two of the most photographed viewpoints in Banff: Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes.

🌊 Lake Agnes & the Tea House

After a steady climb, we reached Lake Agnes — one of the famous “Lakes in the Clouds.” The tea house was buzzing with hikers, so we wandered down the shoreline to find a quiet spot for lunch. Honestly? One of our favorite moments of the entire week.

🔀 The Big Beehive Switchbacks & Summit

If you've done Walter’s Wiggles in Zion, imagine that — but twice as steep and twice as long. We didn’t find a rhythm so much as a pattern: hike, lungs explode, stop, breathe, repeat. But each pause revealed another slice of turquoise far below.

At the summit ridge, the views went from beautiful to unreal. A short walk brought us to the famous gazebo, where Lake Louise looked like a tiny gemstone way, way down the valley.

🏔 The Plain of Six Glaciers

Distance: ~9 miles

Elevation Gain: ~1,800 ft

Highlights: Ice cave, avalanche echo, scree scramble, glacial source

Three days later, with fresh legs and a sunny forecast, Will, JoJo, and I biked back up to the lake to tackle the Plain of Six Glaciers — a longer trail that follows the shoreline before leading deep into a glacial valley.

❄️ Ice Cave Surprise

On the way up, we stumbled across a massive snow cave in the hillside. Even in July, pockets of ice linger in the shade, creating these temporary formations that melt and collapse throughout the summer. We admired from a safe distance… and even JoJo knew better than to go inside.

🪨 Final Push to the Glaciers

The last stretch of trail turns into loose scree and steady climbing, but the payoff is unreal. The valley wraps around you, the air cools, and you can literally feel and hear the ancient meltwater that feeds Lake Louise.

It’s one of those views that earns your silence — the good kind.

💛 Final Thoughts on Lake Louise

This week was one for the books — glacier valleys, endless turquoise, trails that surprised us at every turn, and experiences that felt both humbling and exhilarating. And biking to the lake each day made it all even more enjoyable, giving us a calmer, more connected way to explore.

🏕 Next Up: Banff!

Next week we’re heading back toward Banff to settle into Tunnel Mountain Campground, explore more trails, and dive deeper into this incredible region of the Rockies.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to catch the full video on our YouTube channel — and stay tuned for Part 6 in the Canadian Rockies series!