Highline trail to Big Beehive and Lake Agnes
One of the best things about hiking near Lake Louise is that your efforts can be rewarded with tea and cake! There are two famous teahouses above Lake Louise. We visited the first at the Plain of the Six Glaciers in the morning. Then, as we still had plenty of energy, we decided to return via the highline trail to the Big Beehive and the other teahouse at Lake Agnes. If you have less time, you could easily just pop up to Lake Agnes and the Beehive as a separate walk.
Our walk involved meeting three grizzly bears (a mum and her babies!) as well as plenty of snow. Once the snow and mist came down, most other walkers seemed to head home, so the highline trail was pretty empty. We had the views from the Big Beehive all to ourselves. Well…almost to ourselves; A cheeky chipmunk joined us for a while.
The Big Beehive and Lake Agnes loop
This map shows the full hike that we did, including both teahouses. However, you could skip the hike to the first teahouse and just visit Lake Agnes if you have less time/energy.
The Big Beehive and Lake Agnes loop – The basics
Distance: 10.8km (from Lake Louise) 18km (if you do the whole loop to both teahouses and the glacier viewpoint)
Elevation gain: 678m
Highest Point: 2270m
Time: It took us 4 hours from the Plain of Six Glaciers along the highline trail to the Big Beehive, down to Lake Agnes and then back to Lake Louise.
What to bring:
Walking boots. In autumn/winter micro spikes will make it MUCH easier too.
Bring warm clothes whatever time of year it is.
The ten essentials (as always)
Bear spray
Facilities:
There is a teahouse at Lake Agnes
There are loos in the car park and up near the teahouse.
Dogs:
Yes, but keep them on a lead.
How hard is it?
Moderate. The steep section up to the Big Beehive was hard with all the slippery ice, but it must be easier in summer.
Extra Tips:
The hike up to Lake Agnes is incredibly popular (and a little boring, as there are so few views through the trees!) If you can, go to the Plain of Six Glaciers first, and hike the way we did. It is a more picturesque, exciting hike.
Getting started – Return from the Glaciers
We started by walking along the Plain of the Six Glacier trail. Then, on the way back to Lake Louise we turned left onto the highline trail (rather than heading straight back.) There were some lovely autumnal views back down to Lake Louise.
Ice time
On our way up to the glaciers in the morning, the cliffs had been covered in icicles. However, after just a little sunlight, they were starting to melt, break off and crash down onto the path! You can see the gaps where the icicles had started to break off! I spent loads of time looking left at the ice…until we noticed that everyone else on the path was looking in the opposite direction…
Banff grizzly bears(!)
We stopped and stared in the direction other people were looking for a while…but we couldn’t really see anything. It turns out the brown colour of grizzly fir is really well camoflaged with the surrounding rocks! It took us a while to spot the three of them. Can you see them all? Hint: one of the cubs likes to hide behind a tree!
How exciting is this!?
We were reeeeally far away (these photos are a little blurry as I had to use the full zoom of my big camera lens.) Marc and I found a really good spot to watch the bears dig things up with their paws and noses. We were there for such a long time that I started to freeze! I don’t even mind being cold when I get to meet bears!
Eventually we tore ourselves away from the grizzly mummy and her cubs and started walking towards the Big Beehive. The views up to the surrounding mountains were looking lovely.
The Highline Trail up to the Big Beehive
The great thing about the highline trail is that we didn’t have to lose much elevation. Once we’d turned onto the right path, it stays at the same elevation for a while. At first we walked through an area of bushes covered in berries. Then we moved into the forest and slowly started to climb back up the mountain.
The steep section
There is one part of this walk that was hard work! Just as we started to ascend to the Big Beehive, it started to snow. The ground was pretty frozen, so this made a very slippery, steep path for us to struggle up. We put our micro spikes back on which made it much easier. I didn’t see any other hikers following the same route as us, but we did meet quite a few French speakers heading back in the other direction. It made me wonder if there is a French hiking guide with this loop in the other direction!?
The Big Beehive Viewpoint
Once we made it up to the ridge, we realized it was just a short walk over to the Big Beehive view point. The Canadian Pacific Railway built a shelter here in 1916. It is still a perfect place to shelter from the snow. We stopped here to eat lunch, and to watch an inquisitive chipmunk. The shelter has a really good view down to Lake Louise, but it was a little too misty for us to make the most of it!
The Devil’s Thumb
One of the other hikes I’d really like to do here is hike up the Devil’s Thumb. We had this fantastic view of it from the Big Beehive, but it didn’t seem like sensible weather for climbing up there! I can add this to my list for next time. This time, we just looked up and admired the larches.
Lake Agnes
The next part of the hike was a set of steep switch-backs heading down to Lake Agnes. This would have been really difficult without our micro spikes, and we didn’t see any other hikers at all. If it looks like there is a possibility of snow, don’t try this without some spikes for your shoes! Once we’d made it down to the lake, the snow calmed down so we could look at the pretty reflections.
This is the view of the Big Beehive that we’d just descended. Doesn’t it look beautiful reflected in Lake Agnes!?
The path to the Big Beehive is the opposite side of the lake to the Lake Agnes Teahouse, so you have to walk almost all the way around the lake. Most people do this walk in the opposite direction. I quite liked having my first view of the teahouse from across the lake. The photo below (left) is the view of the Big Beehive from Lake Agnes. The photo on the right is looking up to the Devil’s thumb.
It’d be rude not to take a jumping photo when the views are this pretty!
Lake Agnes teahouse vs the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse
It might just be because I reeeeally liked that apple cake, but I liked the bright colours of the first teahouse (up at the Plain of Six Glaciers) best. The Lake Agnes teahouse seemed more cozy and a little more modern. Still I LOVE that there are two beautifully built places to drink tea so close together!
Which would you like to visit most? Or would you go to both!?
Heading back to Lake Louise
By the time we’d finished taking photos of Lake Agnes, it was 4:30pm, and high time for us to head back down to our car. The steps and the top of the path were so, so slippy, that we put our micro spikes straight back on. We watched some poor lads slip over countless times as they tried to reach the Lake Agnes teahouse. I hope they were okay on the way down! The top of the path is very steep, with a view of a waterfall.
Once you climb down a little, you get this fantastic view looking back up to the Big Beehive. This must be a little intimidating if you do the walk in this direction…but it was great for us. We could look up and be chuffed that we’d just been up there!
These are by photos of the Big Beehive as we descended. It looks pretty impressive from below. Eh!?
We had one last view out towards the Plain of the Six Glaciers before we made it back into the forest to descend through the long switch-backs.
Mirror Lake
This was our view of Mirror Lake. It was just a little too icy and frozen to look like a mirror. I imagine it must be a beautiful place to see the Big Beehive reflected in the water.
Slightly boring switchbacks
After that, my camera ran out of batteries. Still, it didn’t matter too much because there are not many views at all between Mirror Lake and Lake Louise. The path involves some long switch-backs that slowly zig-zag their way down the mountain. I warmed my camera battery in my hand, so had enough power to get a last couple of photos. The photo on the left was one of the very few views on the way down, and then I managed a final jump shot.
So, we made it back to Lake Louise. Now the sun had moved, the colour of the water was even more beautiful than it had been in the morning. I am so in love with this area!
Lake Agnes teahouse vs the Plain of the Six Glaciers teahouse?
This may be a little controversial, as most people seem to love the hike to Lake Agnes; But, if you don’t have time to do both walks, I think the hike to the Plain of the Six Glaciers teahouse was the nicest out of the two teahouse possibilities. The elevation gain and distance is a little longer, but you have stunning views for the whole walk. The hike to Lake Agnes in comparison is mostly though the forest with no impressive views until you’ve made it up to mirror lake.
Obviously, the very best option is to have a long day out and do both. This extra loop was just over 18km. 😉
Other easy hikes near Lake Louise:
- Plain of Six Glaciers hike (First half of this adventure)
- Moraine Lake shoreline trail
- Johnston Canyon hike (to several waterfalls)
- Exploring Banff in the snow (this involves really good hot choccy!)
- Hoodoos trail along the Bow river
- Emerald Lake Loop
53 thoughts on “Highline trail to Big Beehive and Lake Agnes”
Plain of the Six Glaciers wins for me. It’s a nicer hike to get there, though Lake Agnes is pretty. It was rainy and snowy when we were at Lake Agnes (early one September) so it’d definitely be nice to go back and hike up to the Big Beehive – it looks so intimidating from Mirror Lake!
And grizzlies too… I keep going back to look at those photos – what a fantastic day 🙂
You would have loooved it Andy!
Your camera zoom would have captured them better than I did! I took about 50 photos, but most of them had bear heads in the ground…or fetching photos of bear bottoms!
Any bear photo is better than no bear photo 🙂 I really love seeing bears in the wild, it’s one of the things I like most about living over here.
Lake Agnes teahouse is cute though it looks distinctly Tibetan! Now how could that be?
I like the thought of treks that keep teahouses in mind! Which did you like more of the two teahouses?
And the grizzlies are super cute, especially the cub. The final bits of foraging before they hibernate then, eh. xx
I thought that too. Maybe the folks who built it last century had also been hiking in Asia? I loved the colours and the Tibetan prayer flags!
I definitely like the Plain of Six Glaciers teahouse best out of the two…but I think that was mostly because the hike to that teahouse was so spectacular!!
Well you hiked with tea and cakes as reward at the back of the mind. To me that is ace. And then the views, one could live with them. 🙂
Once again, lovely photos and narrative about the journey. I can’t help but wonder though, how do they get supplies (and employees) up to the tea houses? Do the employees have to hike in and out every day?
Fun stuff. Especially the bears.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Yep! The employees hike up and down to bring supplies, and if you have to pay by credit card, then they charge an extra $4, and take your card details, then charge you next time they are down in the village!
All the food is then cooked up at the teahouses (rather than cooked below and reheated up at the teahouse!)
They are really hardworking and deserved the extra tips we gave them!!
I guess so. Not the job I’d want.
Patricia
Look at those bears wow! I would’ve been terrified.
No, they were so far away that it was hard to see them! Each time I looked away, I had to really concentrate to find them again!
I’d be worried if they were closer, but this was perfect for seeing them, without disturbing them!!
Yay for the bear sighting!! One of my favorite things when hiking is when you meet people coming the other way who will whisper “there are deer (or moose, or bears, or elk, or whatever) up on your right!” We quietly enjoy the sight and get our pix, then of course, pass on the news to whomever we meet. It’s like a wonderful, nature-loving game of telephone! As long as there isn’t some idiot getting too close to do a selfie or irritate the poor animal, that is…
YES!! I love it when people do that too!
We tried tell people to watch out for the cutest marmot in Whistler, but no one seemed interested(!) Bears are different though! Everyone was keen to see them!!
I’ve never seen a marmot, so I would have been interested! 😉
They are really cute fluffy dudes!!
That was some great trek….looking at those pictures I can easily imagine how exciting it must have been for you…..:)
Thanks Anindya! Yep, I was excited for the whole day! 😀
Lake Louise is on my bucket list for sure!!! Gorgeous!
You would love it Katie…also, I could totally get you hiking here. The cake at those tea houses was so, so good!
OOH. Sign.me.up 🤣😍😋
This is terrific – how cool to see bears – and far enough way not to be in danger!
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to meet them much closer, especially as there were two babies!!
You are so lucky to see the grizzlies at just the right distance! Thanks for all the great info on the hiking options.
Thank *you* for visiting Caroline! I was sooo excited about those bears. I’m so chuffed to share them with you!!
It would be so nerve racking to see Grizzly Bears! I have hiked a few times in Whistler along similar trails but I have always wanted to see Lake Louise. Although I think I would be totoally fine without seeing a Grizzly Bear in the flesh!
Yeah, I always think of Whistler as being less wild, but there are quite a few bears around there these days too. All the trails to rainbow lake were closed this October due to bear activity!
(Although we saw those bears from faaaar away, so for me it was just exciting, not scary at all…)
What an incredible hike! I don’t know what I love more – the tea houses (definitely an amazing find!) or those bears! Wow, thanks for sharing lady!
xoxo,
Andi
http://www.ouiwegirl.com
Yeah, those Victorian hikers were very smart to add so many teahouses into the landscape! It’s definitely a good incentive to make it up a mountain if you know they’ll be tea and cake for you at the end of the hike!
I love hiking, but to have tea and cake involved too, what a dream! Seeing bears is incredible enough, but tea too?! Incredible photos too 🙂
Thanks Nat!
If I’d know how good the food looked, I wouldn’t’ve packed sandwiches, so we could have had a hot lunch at the teahouse….and then cake at the second teahouse. 😉 You can never have too many teahouses or slices of cake!
I’ve been hearing so many great things about Lake Louise lately. This was such a perfect guide on what to expect when visiting there. I also had no idea about the teahouses… sounds lovely!
Yay! Well, now you know more about it, I hope you can visit (and eat cake!) 😀
Thanks for taking me on a virtual trek with you. This is indeed a complete guide of everything we will come across in the hiking trail. Awesome pictures
Thanks for coming along Sinjana! 🙂
What a fun adventure, though I’d be terrified about running into bears. Sounds like you were safely far enough. What is bear spray through? How close do you have to get to use it? Beautiful shots of the glaciers and lakes. Lake Louise is stunning. Always great when you have the reward of a teahouse waiting for you, Great article.
Yeah, running into bears was the thing that scared me most when we first moved here. The thing is, bears normally know where you are, and try to avoid you. Especially in places like Lake Louise, where there are sooo many people around. Those bears were far enough away, and not interested in the humans on the trail at all!
Bear spray is like pepper spray, so you only use it as a last resort (you’d have to be very close, and in danger to use it!)
Oh my goodness, these pictures are gorgeous! I would have been staring at the icicles hanging off the cliffs and completely missed the bears. And I can really imagine the reflection in Mirror Lake (even though it is iced over).
Yeah, I have a feeling that would look gorgeous with the beehive reflection!
I looove icicles too. I took waaay too many photos in the morning! I was less keen in the afternoon when they kept melting and crashing down from above!
This sounds soooo cool. I was recently in canada but didn’t make it to Banff. How can somewhere so pretty as Lake Louise exist, it’s gorgeous!
Thanks Elle! Come back to the Rockies! I love everywhere in Canada, but the Rockies blew me away with their prettiness.
A teahouse awaits hikes at Lake Louise!? OMG, if the idea of visiting Lake Louise couldn’t get any better, it just did! I am a bit worried about encountering grizzly bears, especially momma bears being protective with her cubs. But I’m glad to hear you were at a safe distance and that you were more excited than anything! 😀
Yaaay, it gets even better – there are two teahouses! 😀
I was worried about meeting bears too, but sooo happy to see them from far away. If you go hiking in some of the quieter trails, you have to wait for other walkers, and go in groups of 4. If you’re in a group, bears won’t come near you.
i always dread hiking, while hiking hahaa. But, once I get to the peak I’m always so grateful I did it. I’m sure this hike would be no different. The views are so incredible! Also, what an awesome experience to see, not one, but three bears! Luckily, you were at a far enough distance to stay safe, but still close enough to get those awesome photos!
I love a good tea shop! I’d likely stop at both 🙂
Argh Colby! I am so sorry I never replied to your lovely comment!
Although I totally feel the same way! I never want to get up while I’m comfy in bed, but as soon as i’m out on the trails I love it. I love it even more once we make it up to epic views!! 😉
I just rediscovered this post and how nice that you had golden larches! We did the Devil’s Thumb and Big Beehive last August and really enjoyed them both. Big Beehive is a great view for the effort. Devil’s Thumb would not have been a good idea in those conditions – the route traverses steep ledges with a steep climb near the end. But the view is incredible! And terrifying…
Yeeees! I’ve been wanting to go back and visit the Devil’s thumb (it would not have been safe at all in the snow) but it looks amaaaazing.