Even if the name Moraine Lake does not ring a bell, you've likely come across an image of one of the most sought-after lakes in Banff National Park. A particularly coveted spot to witness the sunrise over the valley of ten peaks. Or you've seen stunning images of larch valley during the peak fall season spying golden yellow larches in front of magnificent mountain peaks.

However, if you have yet to visit Moraine Lake, you may not know that actually getting to see it has been a real trick in recent years.

To witness the sunrise, people often travel down the 16km road as early as 2 am to secure a coveted parking spot in the small lot and car camping until daylight begins to break. These start times for when the road closes for the morning have been edging earlier and earlier, recently filling the parking lot as early as 3 or 4 am. Between hikers, photographers, and boaters - everyone is just trying to take in the beauty of this spot. It is hard to blame them.

However, yesterday Parks Canada announced, "New in 2023 - Moraine Lake Road is closed to personal vehicles. Moraine Lake road is closed to personal vehicles year round. Parks Canada shuttles, Roam Public Transit, and commercial buses are permitted from June to mid-October."

A change has been needed for the parking situation for a long time. However, I didn't expect a solution as drastic as this. In my opinion, for a day trip, the bus transportation and shuttle system work rather well. But to witness the sunrise, sunset, or evening stars, the current bus schedules don't allow. It is doubtful these are subject to change. Based on the current schedule, visitors will only be permitted at Moraine Lake from 7:00 am to 7:30 pm.

Parks Canada Website Screenshot Jan. 6, 2023

Additionally, many unanswered questions are left with hikers, climbers, and backpackers. While this change will ideally allow more accessibility, improve traffic management and minimize the damage of people going off-trail, it may leave many trails unable to be hiked. The trail most talked about with this announcement is Temple Mountain. This beast of a trail is 15 km out and back with 1,706 m of elevation gain. If you're speedy, it takes about 9 hours to complete, and the trailhead starts off the Moraine Lake parking lot. With these new regulations, I'm unsure how hikers can continue to take this trail, along with several others.

Since Covid, we have seen many parks implementing more and more restrictions due to overcrowding. For example, Yosemite requires reservations throughout most weekends of February due to the influx of photographers visiting to photograph the Horsetail Fall or Firefall. Glacier National Park requires vehicle reservations to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road to minimize traffic and parking limitations on the coveted road. When these reservation requirements first emerged, many people were up in arms. In my experience, they have been quite successful. But unlike Moraine Lake, reservations are only required during peak daytime hours and allow visitors without reservations early morning and late evening - the problem Moraine Lake was already facing, to begin with.

As a whole, National Parks and outdoor recreation areas across the world will have to continue thinking of new innovative ways of striking the balance of letting people recreate in the way they want and providing access while ensuring the wildlife and the land continues to be respected. A solution that many of us are still working to find.

Please share your thoughts on the new Moraine Lake change and how you think we can work to fix this issue as a whole across the outdoors landscape!

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