Parks Canada eyes ways to get people to Moraine early, and help those who miss the last bus

After closing Moraine Lake road to private vehicles, Parks Canada has encountered two issues officials want to address before people begin boarding shuttles again in the summer. 

One for early birds and the other for the ambitious but tardy crowd. 

"It was actually surprisingly frequent," said François Masse, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent responsible for Lake Louise.

"We had quite a number of people who were getting a bit excited, really wanting to get their objective even though they were missing their safe turnaround time, and they would come back down to the lakeshore very late after the last shuttle had left." 

In 2023, the agency banned private vehicles from the busy road to Moraine Lake, and moved to have visitors access the scenic destination on Parks Canada Shuttle, Roam Transit, commercial buses, and taxis from June to mid-October when the road is open to vehicles. 

This was in response to the sheer volume of people competing for few parking spots — the lot was at capacity nearly 24-hours a day during the summer. About 900 vehicles a day were finding parking spots, while more than 5,000 were turned away, causing frustration and anger that was directed at employees. 

But the lake isn't just a big tourist destination. Climbers, skiers and hikers also want to use it as a jumping off point to explore the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Some of these treks, the outdoor community pointed out, require an early start — to chase the sunlight and ensure a safe descent.

Masse hopes to address this with two new shuttles: one at 4 a.m. and one at 5 a.m. 

"What we're really hoping will come to fruition for this summer is to have an Alpine start option," he said.

"So that people can get up there a little bit sooner than they could with the regular shuttle system and they'll be able to come back down using the regular shuttle system." 

This brings peace of mind to the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG). 

Learning from last year

Evan Stevens is the assistant technical director for ACMG and said last year there were some pain-points as Parks Canada rolled out its shuttle, commercial vehicle, and transit-only approach for Moraine Lake. 

Last year guides relied on private companies to bring them to Moraine, which added uncertainty and cost. Stevens hopes that having a service provided by Parks Canada will make the ride a reliable option.

"We all know these public spaces are getting loved to death and something has to be done," Stevens said.

"Somewhere like this is, you know, the one of the crown jewels of mountain culture and climbing objectives … we want to be able to offer those experiences." 

Stevens said the best bet for the climbing community is to have as many hours as possible made available to them, to help mitigate the worry of missing a weather-window, or risk cutting corners on safety to hustle back to the lakeshore because of another time crunch. 

"Not for professional guides like myself, but everyone who wants to go out there and climb the peaks and see the sun rise, whatever else, just more time to make sure you can accomplish the mission safely," Stevens said.

Another safety concern: those who miss the last bus.

Masse said this happened more than Parks Canada expected, and it's not just inconvenient; getting stuck high up in the Alpine after sundown isn't safe. Groups in this situation, Masse said, weren't always prepared to be out there after dark. 

"We're going to try and make this a little bit easier by having a dedicated operator that would receive a special license to be able to pick people up," Masse said. 

"It's not going to be cheap though, so hopefully people don't plan and bank on that." 

That service is needed, Masse said, because last year there was no guaranteed ride for those left behind. Instead, they had to resort to making calls to any and all shuttle or taxi services around, without the guarantee that someone would be there on the other end of the line willing to give them a ride. 

"That's something that we're trying to fix. We want to have a certain level of certainty that there will be a service available for people if they call," Masse said.