Lake Louise Visitor Use Management – Data

Visitation to Banff National Park has grown over the years.

Traffic volumes on Moraine Lake Road peaked in 2017. During that year, the parking lot was overflowing, and vehicles parked for several kilometres down the roadway which restricted emergency access. Since personal vehicles were restricted in 2023, traffic volumes have declined over 70% and the number of visitors using mass transit has increased.

Due to data constraints, estimating the exact number of visitors over the years for Upper Lake Louise is complex. However, we can still look at traffic volumes, shuttle ridership, parking permits and trail use to infer visitation levels.

The graph below shows annual two-way traffic volumes along Lake Louise Drive from 2001 to 2025. Traffic volumes spiked in 2019 and have since seen a 24% decrease.

The graph below shows average daily shuttle ridership to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake from 2013 to 2025. Daily ridership has increased significantly from 2021-2023.

Using active transportation (e.g. hiking, biking) to access Lake Louise and Moraine Lake has increased over the years. Trail use around Lake Louise Drive (which is bisected by the Fairview wildlife corridor) have risen since 2022.

Visitation in the Lake Louise area mirrors trends for Banff National Park as a whole. Visitation peaks during July and August. The shoulder season (April, May, and October) became busier between 2013 and 2025. The exception is the Larch Valley Trail in the Moraine Lake area which sees peak use during the fall larch season.

After the relocation of the Lake Louise Park and Ride to the Lake Louise Ski Area, there was a shift in traffic patterns on Whitehorn Road. Peak use on this road is now during July and August, higher than peak ski season in January through March.

The amount of time visitors spend at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise is highly variable. Visitors stay anywhere from 30 minutes to over 16 hours depending on their activity. Parks Canada estimates that the average length of stay is 2.5 hours at Upper Lake Louise, and 1.5 hours at Moraine Lake.

Traffic volumes can help determine the busiest times of visitation throughout the day. In 2025, visitor use began in the Upper Lake Louise area around 5 am and lasted until 10 pm (May to October). Peak use occurs around 1 pm to 3 pm. During July and August, peak visitation extends even further into the dawn and dusk hours.

During the 2025 shuttle season, visitor use began at the Lake Louise Park and Ride between 6 am and 7 am and declined after 8pm. This aligned with the seasonal overnight restrictions along Whitehorn Road. Mornings are the most popular times for shuttle departures so incoming traffic began to decrease around 2 pm.

During the 2023 shuttle season, visitor use began in the Moraine Lake area around 5 am and lasted until 9 pm. Parks Canada shuttles began operating at 4 am and the last return shuttle was at 7:30 pm. There is a distinct user group arriving for sunrise and departing right after.

Timing of visitation has shifted earlier in the day over the years, shown in traffic volumes and trail counter data. In certain places, such as Whitehorn Road, Parks Canada manages the timing of use with overnight restrictions to ensure a quiet period for wildlife. The shift in visitation to the dawn and pre-dawn hours at Moraine Lake was one of the reasons why personal vehicles were restricted on Moraine Lake Road in 2023.

The graph below displays estimated vehicle accumulation throughout the day, year over year, in the Upper Lake Louise area. Vehicles redirected away when the parking lot is full do not count toward overall accumulations. Traffic volumes in the Upper Lake Louise area have shifted earlier in the day as the years have gone on. The parking lot is filling earlier than in prior years.

The graph below displays estimated vehicle accumulation throughout the day, year over year, in the Moraine Lake area. Traffic volumes in the Moraine Lake area have shifted earlier in the day over the years. In summer 2022, the parking lot was filling between 4 am and 5 am. In 2023, personal vehicles were restricted which led to the Moraine Lake parking lot operating at or below capacity with a move towards mass transit. In 2023, the parking lot was redesigned to accommodate larger occupancy vehicles like mini buses and motorcoaches as well as space for drop off and pick up. This was necessary to better accommodate the size and business models of various commercial vehicles.

Most people visit over the course of a single day. Multi-day trips though still make up a sizable portion of visitors in the Lake Louise area. These multi-day visitors include both frontcountry (residents, hotels, campground) and backcountry (Paradise Valley campground, Neil Colgan ACC Hut, or bivouacs).

Visitors come to the area to participate in many recreational activities between May and October. These include sightseeing, hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, trail running, paddling, and cycling. Many commercial opportunities also exist. These include boat rentals, guided hikes and climbs, horse tours, and photography tours.

Although only a portion of visitors take the Parks Canada shuttle, it offers a representative snapshots of visitor ages and party size in the Lake Louise area. Shuttle reservations in 2023 consisted of 80 percent adults, 10 percent youth, 6 percent seniors and 4 percent children. The average number of people per group was three. This has not changed significantly.

Lake Louise remains a popular place with regional travellers, as well as international visitors. Parks Canada shuttle data is one of the best sources of visitor origin data for Lake Louise. Approximately 45 percent of shuttle riders in 2025 were from Canada, with two thirds of those from Alberta, British Columbia, or Ontario.

Most recent data suggests that 60% of visitors to Banff National Park are Canadian and of those 38% are from Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan.