Help w/ quick Lake Louise itinerary
 

Hey all -- my husband and I are escaping our two young children to celebrate our wedding anniversary in Lake Louise. The trip is shorter than we'd prefer, but such is life and we are thankful for generous grandparents helping us out.

We are going in mid-June. Our current itinerary is below -- would love any thoughts or suggestions on what to do. We would primarily like to relax & explore -- with only a short amount of time, what should we do?

Wed night:
Arrive very late in Calgary, stay at airport hotel

Thursday:
Drive to Lake Louise -- stop in Banff for 4-5 hours to explore and have lunch.
Question: What should we do with a 1/2 day in Banff?
We check-in Thursday afternoon to the Post Hotel, where we are staying for 3 nights

Friday:
Get up early and do the Plain of Six Glaciers hike up to the tea house
What to do Friday afternoon and evening? Where is your favorite spot for dinner -- back at the Post Hotel?

Saturday:
No plan yet for the daytime -- considering visiting Lake Moraine or doing an Ice Walk tour on the Athabasca glacier. Any other ideas?
We have dinner reservations at Walliser Stube at the Fairmont Chateau - I heard it was great

Sunday:
By late morning we need to drive back to the Calgary airport -- have time for a quick activity or just a leisurely breakfast

I would love any recommendations. Thanks!

Welcome!

FYI, this should be tagged Alberta, not British Columbia. This whole trip is in Alberta.

For Thursday, it depends on the weather and your interests. Are you hiker? cyclists? shoppers? You could stop at Lake Minnewanka, then walk around Banff township, perhaps take the gondola and/or go to the hot springs. After lunch, you might want to check out Johnston Canyon on your way to Lake Louise - drive along 1A to get the best chance of wildlife sightings.

On Friday, I suspect the teahouse hike will take more than a half day, depending on when you start and how quickly the kids move. Take your time - you can make it as long or as short a day as you want. Take a nice break at one of the teahouses for tasty treats - the fresh baked goods at Lake Agnes are my favorite. I suspect you'll probably want to head back to the hotel to wash up & have naps before dinner. If you have extra time, you could rent a canoe. Not much else but hiking/walking in Lake Louise, so I'd probably make the day a relaxing hiking day.

For dinner, the Outpost Pub at the hotel would be fun. The main dining room there is not really a kid place - quite pricey (mains start around $42) and there is a dress code. The pub downstairs is very relaxed and family friendly with a much more affordable menu. For good basic food, the cafe at the hostel is nice, and is the place at Lake Louise Inn. The Mountain Restaurant gets good reviews as well.

Saturday - were you actually able to get a reservation at the Chateau Lake Louise as a non guest? Or just a spot on the wait list? Interested to know if you did actually get a reservation because that would be a change from previous policy when non-guests were not given reservations.

If you got to Moraine Lake, you probably won't be able to hike beyond Larch Valley. That would probably be a half day. Going to the Athabasca Glacier would be a very long day - probably a 2.5 hr drive each way. You'd know best whether this would work with your kids, or whether a shorter drive would make more sense.

Other options would be going as far as Bow Lake/Peyto Lake - nice hikes and you could have a bite to eat (or better, a picnic) at Num Ti Jah. That could also be a Johnston Canyon/Lake Minnewanka day. Or you could head over to Yoho NP and explore around Emerald Lake.

The OP isn't traveling with the kids.
Eagles Eye restaurant at top of mountain, Kicking Horse Resort. Was awesome about 6-7 years ago. Not sure about now.

Thanks for the replies. On the reservation at Walliser Stube, I just called to double-check my reservation was valid. Apparently they give preference to guests staying at the hotel, but if they have space available anyone can dine.

Sorry - misread about the kids.

In that case, the main restaurant at the Post would be an excellent choice.

Thanks for the info on the Chateau LL - when we tried, non-guests couldn't make reservations at all. We were placed on a wait list, and they would call that evening if space was available. Perhaps that's only at peak times, or maybe they've relaxed their policy a bit.

Kicking Horse would be a fair way to go for dinner from Lake Louise.