Little Beehive Trail

Little Beehive is a rocky, rooty out-and-back spur from Lake Agnes Tea House to a ridge lookout above the Lake Louise basin. The spur is about 1.2 miles (2 km) round trip and takes around an hour. That distance starts at the tea house, not at Lake Louise. Add the Lake Agnes approach and the full walk from the lakeshore comes to about 5.5–6.1 miles round trip, depending on which published distance you use for the approach; allow roughly 3.5–4 hours overall. It is a good extra climb if you have reached Lake Agnes and still want a wider view.

The path leaves the tea house area through trees over uneven rock and roots. An early opening looks toward Mirror Lake, Chateau Lake Louise and Mount Fairview; a larger clearing farther along opens east over the Bow Valley and toward Big Beehive. At the Mount St. Piran junction, keep to the Little Beehive branch. The trail continues through more short forested stretches and clearings before reaching the ridge.

The endpoint is an open edge with a broad Bow Valley panorama, with Lake Louise and nearby lakes below the surrounding peaks. A concrete remnant marks the site of a former fire lookout, and peak-identification signs help sort out the skyline. For the defining view, include the rocky ridge foreground with the lakes and peaks beyond it; the trail itself gives the scene scale.

For this record, start at the Little Beehive junction just beyond Lake Agnes Tea House. The tea house is seasonal, so bring water rather than relying on it being open. Reaching the spur means first climbing Lake Agnes Trail from Lake Louise Lakeshore; parking there is limited and seasonal shuttle arrangements change, so check access before traveling. Snow and ice can linger at this elevation into summer, and avalanche hazard can persist above 2,000 m when snow remains. Dogs are allowed on trail but must stay leashed and under control.