Changes coming to Banff shuttles

Park & ride moved to Lake Louise lot

Parks Canada is making changes to the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake shuttle system this summer, as it plans for high visitation to the park.

The biggest change will be relocating the park and ride to the Lake Louise Ski Resort parking lot on Whitehorn Drive. The previous location was along the Trans-canada Highway.

Jed Cochrane, visitor experience manager with Parks Canada, said the change will offer safer and more efficient operation of the shuttles. The ski resort is closer to the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake areas.

“Overall, we think it's going to improve visitor experience and it's going to make access to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake more accessible,” he said. “It's going to offer more parking space and more visitor amenities.”

Reservations for seats on the shuttles will return this summer after a successful trial run in 2021, said Cochrane. Starting May 4, 50 per cent of the shuttle seats for the entire summer will be available for booking, while the remaining half will open 48 hours in advance.

There are no first-come, firstserved seats available on the shuttles, so visitors are encouraged to plan ahead. Seats can be reserved on the Parks Canada Reservation Service at reservation.pc.gc.ca.

“I think what we'll see is high demand for our really busy periods of time. So, the long weekends in July and August, I suspect those weekends will have lots of demand,” said Cochrane.

Visitors to the park can reserve a one-hour window for greater flexibility with departure times. Buses will depart on time, but the reservation allows visitors to arrive at the park and ride any time within their time-slot.

Parks Canada shuttles are also becoming more integrated with ROAM Transit, and ROAM'S “superpass” will allow visitors to access Moraine Lake through the Parks Canada Lake Connector shuttle after arriving at the Lake Louise lakeshore. Visitors coming from Canmore or Banff can then see Lake Louise and Moraine Lake with a single fare.

Parking fees of $12.25 per vehicle per day will be in place at the lakeshore from mid-may to mid-october as part of a two-year pilot program to manage parking levels, but parking lots at Lake Louise are typically full by sunrise.

“We're really encouraging visitors to plan ahead, use public transportation, shuttle buses and ROAM — they're really the only guaranteed way to see some of these places,” Cochrane said.

“Think about when you're coming, making a reservation, and you'll enjoy your trip much more.”