As discussed in my Moraine Lake Paddle post, parking here is insane. On the first morning of our stay in Banff, our original plan was to have my dad and I drive here at 6am to get our paddling in, and the rest of the gang will take a shuttle bus later at 11am after a leisurely breakfast. We got to the parking lot at 6:15am, and it was completely full. We didn’t know that we could park at the bus parking spots, so we turned back, defeated. Thankfully, we were able to get two more seats on the shuttle bus, so we still managed to get a quick hike in on the Moraine Lake Shoreline Trail.

It’s a very easy, mostly flat 2.6km out and back trail along the magnificent Moraine Lake. It showcases many different angles of this beautiful lake with several little beaches where you can access for a photo.

It’s a mostly compact dirt trail with a few wooden bridges and boardwalk at the end. It is not stroller friendly as there are steep sections with tree roots that are probably impassable.

After Junior finally woke up from his nap, he walked a little bit of the trail today. Not his best effort but toddlers are expected to have good days and bad days. That’s why we always bring a backpack carrier as Plan B.

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There aren’t that many places to sit down for a proper breastfeed, but Tina has mastered the art of standup feeding on the trail.

After we finished the Shoreline Trail, we had a few minutes before the shuttle bus came. So Tina and I rushed up the steep 0.8km Rockpile Trail as a bonus photo-op.

The view from the Rockpile is the most famous angle of Moraine Lake.

Shoreline Trail

• Difficulty – easy
• View – great to see many different angles of the beautiful Moraine Lake
• Traffic volume – heavy traffic
• Facilities – pit toilet at the parking lot
• Overall score – 9/10

Rockpile Trail

• Difficulty – easy, but tiring if rushing it. It’s basically flights of stairs going up under direct sun.
• View – spectacular. Best angle to see as much of the blue waters of Moraine Lake as possible.
• Traffic volume – heavy traffic
• Facilities – pit toilet at the parking lot
• Overall score – 8/10

Continue reading about our 2020 Rockies Road Trip!