The
Lake Louise Ski Resort has well developed facilities and amenities, although sometimes they don’t cope too well with the Calgary weekend crowds. Most of the amenities are located at the main base area near the car park. Facilities include ski and snowboard school, child care, multiple dining options, equipment rental outlets, and a retail shop.
Lake Louise Ski Rentals and Snowboard Hire
The Lake Louise ski resort has its own equipment rental shop located on the lower level of the 10 Peaks Lodge. They have standard and high performance alpine ski and snowboard rentals, and they also have cross country ski equipment. Rates are pretty standard for a western Canadian ski resort.
If you’re staying at
Chateau Lake Louise, the Chateau Mountain Sports shop rents out mid and high performance gear including downhill ski equipment, snowboards, cross-country skis, snowshoes, ice cleats, ice skates, toboggans, clothing and hockey gear. Rates are pretty similar to those at the Lake Louise ski resort.
Otherwise for Lake Louise ski rentals, you can head to Wilson Mountain Sports in the village. They rent out a huge array of gear including downhill skis and snowboards, cross-country skis, telemark gear, avalanche safety gear, ice skates, and camping equipment. Prices for ski rentals are slightly cheaper than the two options above.
Or if you’re staying in Banff, there are lots of options for
Banff ski rentals, and prices tend to be a little cheaper due to the abundance of competition.
Facilities for Children
The Lake Louise Ski Resort has a licensed childcare facility in a building next to the Lodge of Ten Peaks. The child care is for a half or full day. They cater for babies up to 6 year olds, and rates are very reasonable. For ages 3-4 they also offer Kinderski, a combination of daycare and 1 or 2 hours of ski lessons.
The Chateau Lake Louise can offer babysitting or there are other babysitting services in Lake Louise whereby a sitter can come to your lodging.
Lake Louise Ski School
Kids ski school caters for ages 5 to 12. Lessons are either for the full day or half day and rates are pretty standard for a Canadian ski resort. Lessons can also be packaged up with lift tickets and/or equipment rentals.
Adults’ ski and snowboard lessons are also for a half day or full day. The latter, like at Sunshine, are rather expensive. Of course the other option is private lessons, and rates for these are pretty standard.
Eating On Mountain
The beautiful Lodge of the Ten Peaks at the base area has various dining options including a self-serve cafeteria, a sushi restaurant, a coffee bar, and a lounge bar for table service. Next door, the Whisky Jack Lodge has another cafeteria, a brown baggers area for the many ski racing families, and a bistro with buffet options. The latter is a great spot to retreat on the weekends when the cafeterias are jam packed.
Or if you just need a quick bite, the Kokanee Cabin is good for nice weather days.
Over on the backside of the mountain, the lovely log cabin Temple Lodge has another cafeteria as well as a restaurant with table service.
What’s common about the Lake Louise cafeterias is that the selection of food is very ho hum and not particularly healthy. The cafeterias are also often like a zoo on weekends, and you’ll need plenty of patience and assertiveness to find a table.