Mt. Fairview - Lake Louise
You can still take your
vehicle to Moraine Lake and the actual lake at Lake Louise but
parking is limited in the high season and you must get up the
road very early to get one!
New in 2021: Parks Canada is
offering daily shuttles from the Lake Louise Park and Ride (6km
east of Lake Louise village) to the Lake Louise Lakeshore and
Moraine Lake. Available from May 21 – October 11, 2021. Shuttles
must be reserved ahead of time to guarantee a seat. Walk up
seats are not available.
https://www.banfflakelouise.com/explorethepark/transit-and-shuttles

SB - Saddle Mtn

Lake Louise Hotel upper parking lot
West end

Upper parking lot washrooms to the
right of the start of the trail

First intersection take a left for
Saddleback Pass not Fairview Lookout

Pay attention at this intersection

Shortly thereafter the sign for
Saddle Mtn and Saddleback Pass

After 20-25 minutes on the trail
the views open up a bit

Take a right here as the trail
steepens considerably

After the steep section of trail
keep right as this trail takes you up to Saddleback Pass

Everything opens up with Saddle
Mountain on the left and Mt Fairview cliffs on the right

A look at the trail heading up to
Saddleback Pass

Great scenery comes into view

Saddleback Pass and the trail up
the open slopes of Fairview

Looking back at Saddleback Pass
from above

Fairly steep trail up the open
slopes

Views getting even nicer

Trail higher up

Looking down at the Pass from the
upper slopes - some descend here

One of the steeper sections, slope
is foreshortened as what you see here is not the top

Now one crests and see the distance
yet to go

The summit appears at last, only a
few minutes now

Blue sky day but a bit windy

Lake Louise ski hill

The always eye catching Mt Temple!

Lee with Victoria Peak and glacier
in the background

Lee caught some interesting light
on a trail for the horses near the sign for Saddle Mtn
Mt Fairview
Scramble: Class 1 Steep Hiking
Altitude: 2,744m (9,000 ft)
Elevation Gain: 1,000m (3,280 ft)
Ascent Time: 2 1/2 3 1/2 Hours
Best Season to Scramble: June to September
Highlights
This scramble offers a great viewpoint for some of the best big
mountain scenery in the Rockies and is aptly named. The first two thirds of the route is
on a wide well maintained trail.
Getting There
Head west out of Calgary on the TransCanada highway # 1 to the
Lake Louise town-site 187km (116.9 miles). If your base is Banff head west on the
TransCanada for 56km (35.0 miles) to the Lake Louise town-site. There is only one exit so
keep your eye out for it. Go straight through the town-site and up the hill to the Lake
Louise hotel parking lot (around 4-km more). Park in the lower or upper parking lot.
Washrooms are in the parking lot.
Route Description
You need to access the Saddleback trail either from the
boathouse near the lake or through the upper parking lot. From the upper parking lot there
is a side trail that intersects with the Saddleback trail. Once on the Saddleback trail it
is 3.7km (2.3 miles) to Saddleback Pass between Mt Fairview and Saddle Mtn. At .4 km go
straight ahead and do not take the right hand trail to Fairview lookout. At .8km keep
right and at 2.4km the trail splits again, keep right, then
right again on the trail up to Saddleback Pass. From the
Pass head right on the well-worn path as it winds its
way up the southeast slopes to the summit.