FAQs

Visitor use management is a proactive and adaptive process to ensure that recreation in protected areas is sustainable by planning the type, timing, amount and distribution of visitor activities. Actions are guided by desired conditions, or what we are trying to achieve, for visitor experiences and opportunities, for natural and cultural resources and for facilities and services.  

Strategically managing visitor use helps Parks Canada provide meaningful opportunities for visitors to discover and connect with nature and history while protecting natural and cultural resources – the very things that draw so many visitors to special and iconic destinations.

Visitor use management is undertaken in protected areas around the world. Parks Canada is using the Visitor Use Management (VUM) Framework developed by the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council in the United States and recognized as a best practice for sustainable tourism in protected areas by the International Union for the Conservation of Biodiversity (IUCN) and is now used worldwide. 

The 2022 Banff National Park Management Plan calls for a visitor use management plan for the Lake Louise area. This plan will provide a long-term approach to managing visitor use in a way that protects nature and history, ensures safety, and helps visitors have positive experiences.

Nearly 2.6 million people now visit Lake Louise each year, approximately 70 per cent more visitors than in 2010.  In 2010, most visitors could drive to Lake Louise and find parking. Today, parking lots and facilities are full from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from May to October. In summer 2025, approximately 75 per cent of all vehicles arriving to Upper Lake Louise were turned away because the parking lot was full while 1000 vehicles found parking. 

From 2016 to 2019, traffic volumes on Lake Louise Drive increased by 70 per cent, peaking at 2.1 million vehicles in 2019, mostly in the summer months. This causes increased congestion, crowding and wildlife conflict, impacts facilities and ecosystems, and makes emergency response more difficult. 

Parks Canada has taken action to manage visitation in the Lake Louise area with reservable shuttles, paid parking, road improvements, infrastructure upgrades, education campaigns, and collaboration with partners and stakeholders to encourage visitors to plan ahead and take transit.  These strategies have helped reduce vehicle volumes by 23 per cent since the peak in 2019 while accommodating more visitors than ever. 

Visitation has continued to increase, and new approaches and tools are needed.  

In fall 2024, Parks Canada sought feedback on desired conditions or goals for the Lake Louise area. The current phase of public engagement seeks feedback on proposed strategies and actions to help achieve or maintain desired conditions. 

No single solution will resolve all issues. An integrated suite of actions is being considered. Public engagement is essential to ensuring Parks Canada’s actions reflect what Canadians want for these special places. Parks Canada is inviting feedback on:

• four area-wide strategies and on 
• specific actions for managing congestion and access at three key locations. 
  1. Upper Louise
  2. Moraine Lake
  3. Paradise Valley

Visit LetsTalkMountainParks.ca by Monday, March 9, 2026 to comment.

Your feedback will help guide how visitor use is managed in the Lake Louise area for the next five to seven years. The results of public engagement will be shared in a What We Heard Report anticipated in summer 2026 with the final Visitor Use Management plan in late 2026.

In summer 2026, Parks Canada will publish a What We Heard Report to share the results of public engagement with Canadians. Engagement outcomes will inform the remaining steps of the Visitor Use Management Framework, which include: 

• assessing the feasibility, desirability and viability of strategies and actions; 
• identifying visitor capacities where necessary; 
• developing allocation mechanisms; 
• and building an overall monitoring strategy for desired conditions. 

Monitoring will allow Parks Canada to assess the performance of actions and strategies over time and adapt them as required for changing visitation patterns

The final Lake Louise Area Visitor Use Management Plan is anticipated as early as fall 2026 with implementation of some strategies and actions as early as summer 2027. Notice of any significant changes will be provided to the tourism industry with 18 months’ notice.