Lake Louise Road Conditions
No closures are in effect near Lake Louise right now. Live conditions, incidents and construction on the Trans-Canada and both Highway 93 routes.
Updated Mountain Time.
No closures on the roads into Lake Louise right now.
Road and camera data from 511 Alberta.
Roads
8 min ago511 Alberta is not returning road reports right now.
Road and camera data from 511 Alberta.
The three roads that matter
Highway 1: Banff to Lake Louise
Fifty-seven kilometres of divided highway, about forty minutes in good conditions. It is fenced and gated for wildlife, ploughed first after a storm, and the route almost everyone takes. The Bow Valley Parkway runs parallel and slower, with a lower speed limit and seasonal travel restrictions to protect wildlife.
Highway 93 North: Lake Louise to Jasper
The Icefields Parkway, 230 kilometres with one fuel stop at Saskatchewan River Crossing that closes for the winter. Allow three hours without stopping and most of a day if you want to see anything. It closes for avalanche control and storms, sometimes for days.
Highway 93 South: Castle Junction to Radium
Leaves the Trans-Canada east of Lake Louise and crosses into British Columbia over Vermilion Pass and Sinclair Pass. It holds snow later than the valley and has long stretches with no services.
Winter tyre and chain rules in Alberta and British Columbia
British Columbia requires winter tyres or chains on Highway 93 South from 1 October to 30 April. The tyre must carry either the three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol or the mud and snow marking, with at least 3.5 millimetres of tread. The rule is enforced and the fine is real.
Inside Banff National Park, Parks Canada requires snow tyres or chains on the Icefields Parkway and on the Alberta end of Highway 93 South from 1 November to 31 March, or whenever the road is snow-covered. Alberta itself has no such law on the Trans-Canada. That is a legal fact, not a safety one: all-season tyres behave badly on a mountain pass in a storm, and the stretch from Castle Junction to Lake Louise ices first. The Highway 93 page carries the live status and the winter rules for both routes.
A rental car in Calgary does not come with winter tyres by default. If you are driving in the winter, ask before you book.
Seasonal closures and the dates they usually happen
Moraine Lake Road is closed to personal vehicles year round, and closed to everyone outside the shuttle season. The Bow Valley Parkway carries seasonal travel restrictions to protect wildlife, which change from year to year, so check before you plan a drive along it.
The Icefields Parkway has no scheduled seasonal closure. It shuts without notice for storms and avalanche control instead, sometimes for a day at a time. Its only fuel stop, at Saskatchewan River Crossing, closes for the winter, which means a 230 kilometre run between fills.
What to do if the highway closes while you are up there
Stay in the village rather than queueing at the closure. Lake Louise has accommodation, fuel and food, and a Trans-Canada closure for a crash or avalanche control usually clears in a few hours.
Do not attempt a detour on a forestry road or an unploughed side route. There is no practical alternative to the Trans-Canada through this valley in winter, which is exactly why the closures matter so much.
If the closure is on the Icefields Parkway, plan for longer. It is cleared last and it has no services along most of its length.