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Plain of 6 Glaciers & Lake Agness Hike
- petermorley200
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
We lived in Vancouver for 8 years where I worked for Canadian Pacific. My very first assignment involved staying at the Chateau Lake Louise for 3 weeks! I did some hiking at the weekends but never hiked to the Plain of 6 Glaciers or Lake Agness.
In late August 2025 we came back to Vancouver for a month's holiday. We did a 3 week road trip from Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies (see my blog) and I finally did the Plain of 6 Glaciers and Lake Agness circular hike.
I had set out intending to just hike to the Plain of 6 Glaciers as I thought the Lake Agness trail would be too busy and forested for my liking. I changed my mind at the Plain of 6 Glaciers tea house and hiked back via the Big Beehive and Lake Agness. It was a good decision.
It was a fantastic circular hike and it wasn't busy as I went at a good time of day and hiked clockwise. Read on for information about this hike including how to avoid the crowds, the route, how to get there etc.
Contents
1. Getting to Lake Louise
Advance planning is very important when visiting Lake Louise as access is restricted due to its popularity.
Visitors can drive to Lake Louise but the car park often becomes full by 06.30 in the peak summer months and costs $37 for the day! I assume most of these early visitors come for the Lake Agness and Plain of 6 Glaciers hikes. Parking becomes available again in the afternoon once the early hikers have departed.
The cheapest way to visit Lake Louise is by booking in advance a Parks Canada shuttle which costs $8 plus a $3.50 admin fee (with discounts for over 65's and children). A private bus service costs $55 but it may be a bit cheaper if booked online.
Parks Canada's shuttle buses to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake depart from the free park and ride at the Lake Louise Ski Resort. It's a huge parking lot and capacity isn't an issue. The expensive private buses also leave from the Lake Louise Ski Resort.
At the Lake Louise Ski Resort proof of the reservation has to be presented at the Parks Canada booth. They issue a ticket (see below) to be shown to the bus driver. The ticket doesn't state whether the destination is Lake Louise or Moraine Lake.
It isn't necessary to buy separate Parks Canada shuttle bus tickets to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake when visiting both lakes on the same day. After visiting the lake specified on the Parks Canada reservation there are 2 options: a shuttle bus back to the Park and Ride or a shuttle bus to the other lake. After visiting the second lake the shuttle bus to the Park and Ride can be taken.
Reservations for the Parks Canada shuttles are for 1 hour departure time slots from the Lake Louise Park and Ride. Any shuttle bus can be taken back to the Park and Ride or the other lake. The ticket must be presented to the driver. There isn't so much flexibility with the private buses as the return time must be booked when purchasing tickets.
In 2025 the shuttle buses for Lake Louise and Lake Moraine could be reserved from 08.00 Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on 16th April. It's advisable to create a Parks Canada account well beforehand and to gain an understanding of how the reservation process works.
We flew to Madeira on the 16th April 2025 and couldn't make reservations until the evening. The very earliest shuttle departure times had been taken but there was still plenty of space for departures from 09.00.
For early shuttle departures times log in before 08.00 MDT on the day the reservation process begins as they get booked quickly by hikers. The first departure of the day is at 06.30.
Parks Canada releases additional tickets 2 days before each departure day for the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake shuttles. I logged in before 08.00 MDT and at exactly 08.00 tried to purchase tickets to Lake Louise. The site churned and after refreshing the page the morning tickets had been taken. I managed to buy tickets for the early afternoon.
If you can't make a reservation for Parks Canada's Lake Louise shuttle try to book the Lake Moraine shuttle instead. The shuttle tickets issued by Parks Canada at the Park and Ride car park don't state which lake they are for. You can therefore take the shuttle from the Park and Ride to Lake Louise even if your shuttle reservation is for Lake Moraine.
2. When to do the Plain of 6 Glaciers & Lake Agness Hike
Time of Year
Lake Louise is covered with ice up to late May and sometimes early June. The ice on Mirror Lake and Lake Agness melts slightly later as they are at a higher altitude. The lakes are far more attractive when they aren't frozen.
Snow is often on the trail until mid June and by late September it can begin snowing again. If it's icy the trail is more difficult and micro spikes might be required.
Therefore mid June to late September is the best time of the year to hike to the Plain of 6 Glaciers and Lake Agness but it's unfortunately when it is the busiest. The hike to Lake Agness is the probably the most popular hike in Banff National Park. Reviews of the hike indicate that it can be unpleasantly crowded in peak season.
Time of Day
The starting time and the route followed are very important factors in determining if the trail will be busy.
Hikers arriving by car will usually arrive between 05.30 and 06.30 in summer in order to obtain a parking place. The majority of these hikers will hike to Lake Agness and then return to Lake Louise on the same route. Some people continue hiking from Lake Agness to the Big Beehive and the Plain of 6 Glaciers.
The early hikers to Lake Agness and the Big Beehive will usually return to Lake Louise in the mid to late morning. This makes the Lake Agness trail busy later in the morning as there are hikers ascending and descending.
Not as many people hike to the Plain of 6 Glaciers. I hiked there in mid September and started at 10.00. After leaving the lakeshore there were other hikers on the trail but is wasn't at all bad. That's coming from someone who dislikes busy trails.
I therefore recommend hiking to the Plain of 6 Glaciers first and then continuing to Lake Agness. I wouldn't start before 09.00 as otherwise you will encounter crowds at the Big Beehive and back down to Lake Agness and Lake Louise. The later the better if you like quiet trails.
Unfortunately if you are parking at Lake Louise you probably either need to arrive very early in the morning or in the afternoon after some of the early hikers have left.
3. Clockwise or Anti Clockwise for the Plain of 6 Glaciers & Lake Agness Circular Hike
Parks Canada and most travel guides recommend hiking anti clockwise. The only reason seems to be that the steepest part of the hike is from Lake Louise to Lake Agness and it's best to do it before becoming tired. As a result virtually everybody hikes anti clockwise.
Following the herd is a disaster if you dislike busy trails! If you hike clockwise to the Plain of 6 Glaciers, and start mid morning, the trail shouldn't be that busy. By the time you reach the Big Beehive in the early afternoon the majority of trekkers will have returned to Lake Louise or be well on their way back.
I also think the view is better when hiking clockwise. When descending from the Big Beehive to Lake Agness there are excellent views of the lake and mountains. If you do this section anti clockwise you are facing the wrong way.
4. Choosing between Plain of 6 Glaciers & Lake Agness Hikes?
More people hike to Lake Agness than the Plain of 6 Glaciers. However, most travel guides say that the views on Plain of 6 Glaciers hike are better as the trail to the Lake Agness teahouse is forested! If I had to choose between the 2 hikes I would choose the Plain of 6 Glaciers hike as it's less crowded and more scenic.
The view from the Big Beehive is spectacular and the trail between Lake Agness and the Big Beehive is beautiful. Therefore the best option is to do a circular hike covering the Plain of 6 Glaciers, the Big Beehive and Lake Agness. The hike isn't that long or demanding.
5. Description of the Circular Plain of 6 Glaciers Hike and Lake Agness Hike
The first section of the trail to the Plain of 6 Glaciers follows the northern shoreline of Lake Louise and there are excellent views. This section of the trail will usually be busy as many visitors who are only visiting Lake Louise walk along the lakeshore.
At the western end of Lake Louise the trail ascends 370 metres to the Plain of 6 Glaciers teahouse. It's a gradual ascent and there are excellent views most of the way. It takes about 1.5 hours to reach the tea house from the Chateau Lake Louise.
The official trail terminates at the popular Plain of 6 Glaciers tea house but there is a good unmaintained trail for another half an hour past the tea house. It's worthwhile continuing on the trail even if you don't go to the very end.
The trail terminates soon after running along a ridge of moraine. Some hikers go further up on the scree. I didn't as the views wouldn't have been better views and I hadn't brought hiking poles.
The same trail has to be taken back to the tea house. About half an hour past the Plain of 6 Glaciers tea house the trail to Lake Agness and the Big Beehive branches off to the left. Initially the Highline trail is through open terrain and then it becomes forested. There were very few hikers on the Highline trail in the early afternoon.
After 15 minutes the Highline trail turns off to the left and ascends steeply for 45 minutes to the Big Beehive. The Big Beehive is a large free-standing rock outcrop in the shape of beehive. They were very few hikers on the Highline trail but quite a number at the top of the Beehive.
The area on top of the Beehive is quite large and there are fantastic views of Lake Louise. The best view of Lake Louise is obtained by slightly descending to the far cliff edge. It was also more peaceful there with no other hikers.
From the top of the Big Beehive it's a 15 minute steep descent to Lake Agness. It's a beautiful trail and surprisingly there were virtually no other hikers. Most people seem to hike to Lake Agness and the Big Beehive in the morning and I descended in the mid afternoon.
There is a popular tea house at Lake Agness and there were quite a few people there. From the tea house there are 2 trails back to Lake Louise and they converge at Mirror Lake. I took the left trail which is less steep. At Mirror Lake there is an excellent view of the Big Beehive.
The trail from the Lake Agness tea house to the Chateau Lake Louise wasn't busy but it was more forested than the trail from the Big Beehive to Lake Agness.
I had thought the Lake Agness hike would be too busy and forested for my liking. Neither were an issue and I really enjoyed the circular hike to the Plain of 6 Glaciers, Big Beehive and Lake Agness. The hike was well signposted and I had no problem route finding. The hike took 5.5 hours.
6. Refreshments
I took a packed lunch but many people have something to eat at the Lake Agness or Plain of 6 Glaciers tea houses. The Lake Agness tea house is the busier of the 2 tea houses and the waiting time can be an issue at both of them.
The tea houses generally receive good reviews but the food is pricey due to the remote location. Both the tea houses will accept credit cards if the internet is working but it often isn't. Therefore bring cash and bear in mind that USD is probably only accepted at a 1:1 ratio.
7. What to Take
It obviously depends on the time of year and the weather forecast, although weather forecasts can be unreliable. The following should be considered:
Bear spray
Hiking poles. I didn't bring any and they would only have been useful at the very end of the Plain of 6 Glaciers hike.
Water as it is very expensive at the tea houses
Food and snacks
Sun block
Sun glasses
Micro spikes when there is snow and ice.
Waterproof jacket
Phone for photos and internet. There was internet most of the way from the Big Beehive to Lake Agness and Lake Louise.
I wore zip off trousers and was pleased to be able to convert them to shorts when it became hot. I wore lightweight boots but walking shoes would be fine in the summer.
8. Other Hiking Options
The trail up to the Little Beehive starts near the Lake Agness Teahouse. It's an easier alternative hike than the Big Beehive as it's only 1 kilometre to the top and the elevation gain is 100 metres.
There are excellent view of Lake Louise and the surrounding mountains from the top of the Little Beehive. It is definitely worth the short hike if you aren't hiking to the Big Beehive.
Some hikers go up Devil's Thumb after the Big Beehive. Devil's Thumb is much more difficult and some scrambling is required.
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