after seeing photos of lake louise it's very obvious that this is a must stop if you are in the banff national park area. when we arrived it was jam-packed with tourists snapping photos – the good news is, if you have the energy to hike you can avoid having someone taking a selfie in the back of your pics.  

we heard from locals that the real way to see the views was to hike up to the "big beehive", with a stop at the tea house for lunch. i could not have been happier with our decision to do this! the hike was challenging and rewarding, the tea house was cute as can be, and we had some of the most gorgeous views I've ever seen. 

some tips for the lake agnes & big beehive hike:

• go early to avoid the crowds during, especially on weekends.
• there is limited seating inside and on the tea house patio, be prepared to share your table with strangers.
• it's much cooler up at lake agnes, bring layers to adjust to the temperature as needed.
• the distance from lake agnes [this is where the tea lodge is] to the summit of the big beehive is 1.6km. allow approx 40 minutes each way.