Even if you have little not no interest in US or Canadian National Parks, chances are you’ve seen photos of sunrise at Moraine Lake at Banff National park in the Canadian Rockies. Sunrise at Moraine Lake may be one of if not THE most incredible view in North America, at least that doesn’t involve a long or strenuous hike to get to. Moraine Lake is located in the Valley of Ten Peaks at Banff National Park. The closest town with lodging, gas stations, gift shops and a small expensive grocery store is Lake Louise.
Possibly like you, I’d seen photos of Moraine Lake and could find it on a map but had no idea of the logistics to actually get there. After about 4 years of photographing and experiencing the national parks in the United States, I decided it was time to head up to the Canadian Rockies and see what there was to see. I’d just spent a month or so around Glacier National Park. In East Glacier I ran into a guy who was also from Pennsylvania who spent much of his summers in East Glacier and then headed up to Lake Louise. Based on his recommendations, I decided to book a place to stay in the Lake Louise area and start my Canadian adventure.
With a passport and travel documents in hand I sailed right through the Chief Mountain border crossing into Canada and headed up to Lake Louise. Lake Louise is the PERFECT location for exploring Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, and the Icefields Parkway up to Peyto Lake and a bit beyond. If you stay in the Lake Louise area, be prepared for sticker shock as gas, groceries and most anything else are pretty pricey.
When I first started going to Lake Louise, Facebook, Instagram and social media were still rather small and the insane crowds of 2021 and beyond had not yet descended on Moraine Lake, the Canadian Rockies and National Parks in general. When staying in Lake Louise back in 2014 I could wake up a little before sunrise, hop in the car and drive 20 minutes or so to get to Moraine Lake. From the Moraine Lake parking lot, the hike up the “rock pile” was a steep, sweaty 15 minute scramble to a nice vantage point to take in and photograph sunrise at Moraine Lake.
Unlike many other wall art quality photo prints highlighted on this site, it is not as challenging to get a great photo at Moraine Lake as it is at other spots. I’d say one out of three trips to Moraine Lake for sunrise will yield a colorful sunrise view that you might actually want to hang on your wall. Sunrise at Moraine lake is such an amazing experience to take in that I’ve probably gone 40+ times over the years. Even though it is a relatively short drive, it is a good idea to look at the weather forecast. Minimal cloud cover and calm winds are good things to look for. Rain or snow at sunrise will often reduce the crowds but will usually result in the less than spectacular view.
For this particular shot, I hiked around the back of the rock pile and stayed down at lake level. This results in a shot a bit different from the standard rock pile shot with none of the pine trees in the background. The winds were calm and there was moderate cloud cover. Soon the sun started rising and the color started dripping from the peaks of the mountains in the Valley of Ten Peaks. As the sun rises and the color begins to drip down the mountain peaks, the intensity of the red/orange glow fades. The greater the portion of the mountains that are colored by the rising sun, the less intense the color becomes. The color intensity seems to peak and the best photo opportunity seems to occur when the sun paints the center mountains about halfway down to the water.
This particular shot is a stitched panoramic image. For Moraine Lake, I use the Nodal Ninja panoramic tripod head with a DSLR (in this case a Canon 5D MK II) and a 50mm lens. Something longer than a 50mm could work but in order for it to stitch well but it would require a sky rather full of stationary clouds in order for there to be enough texture for something like Hugin to easily stitch it all together.
If you can arrange the tip to Banff National Park and secure a place to stay near Lake Louise, getting a good to awesome photo of sunrise at Moraine Lake is fairly easy. In 2022 and beyond, the crowds descending on the Canadian Rockies and this gem in particular have increased dramatically. If you can still drive up and park in the lot, chances are you will have to get up and get there way before sunrise to get a spot. There may be permits coming and there are already shuttles in place because the parking lot is perpetually filled almost any time of day.
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