Video of Great Hikes in the Canadian Rockies, near Vagabond Lodge Kicking Horse Resort

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

Some of the Best Hikes in the Canadian Rockies are in and around the Golden BC Area. Golden is only 1 hour from Lake Louise and an hour and a half from Banff. In between is Yoho National Park which features the "Iceline Trail, Burgess Pass, Emerald Basin, Lake O'Hara, MacArthur Lake, Wapta Falls just to name a few of the great spots to Hike to. And on the other side of Golden is Glacier National Park. There are a number of great hikes outside the National Parks too, including Mummery Glacier and Gorman Lake.
If you want to follow the "almost daily" goings on, around Golden BC in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, check out Ken's Blog.

Yoho Lake

One of the many nice hikes in Yoho National Park near Golden BC is to Yoho Lake. It isn't a tough one. You start at Takakkaw Falls which is one of the highest waterfalls in North American and it is a pleasant climb for about an hour and a half or so to the pass where you come across Yoho Lake. There is a small picnic area and primitive camp ground. We continued over the pass towards Emerald Lake and then followed the Burgess Pass trail for about another 45 minutes until we had a great view of Emerald Lake and then returned the same way. It took about 4 hours overall. Very pleasant. If you have 2 cars you can leave one at both sides of the pass(Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls and then you don't have to retrace your footsteps. I have done this a few times and is very nice.

Abbot Pass

One of the great grunt hikes in the Canadian Rockies is Abott Pass.
The video is from Travel Alberta but well worth a look if you are looking for that Special Bucket LIst Hike. It involves a major scramble to get to the top and is not for the "Faint of Heart." And you need to be prepared for all sorts of weather any time of the year. The start of this hike is only about 45 minutes East of Golden BC and Vagabond Lodge. If you are looking to stay overnight you need to book your stay through the Alpine Club of Canada.

Wiwaxy Gap in Yoho National Park

Yoho National Park features some of the best hikes in the Canadian Rockies. And the showpiece of the Park is Lake Ohara. The area is very fragile and as a result about 200 people a day are allowed into the area. There is a bus service but you need to make a reservation in a lot of cases, months in advance. The hikes are pretty special and one of them is to the top of Wiwaxy Gap. It is considered one of the steepest hikes in the area with an elevation gain of over 500 metres(1500 feet) in just 1.9 km. In other words, straight up. We went up in a September 10th snowstorm which added to the challenge. Do it with better weather.

Balu Pass Hike

There are a number of great hikes in Glacier National Park(Canadian version). They are all a pretty good grunt and most of them are pretty long. Balu (Aboriginal word for Grizzly Bear) Pass is a good one. The trail head is at the top of the Rogers Pass, about 45 minutes West of Golden on highway 1. You start just behind the Parks Information Centre. The Parks hiking guide says this hike is 4 hours return. Don't believe it. It is over 12 km return and is a steady climb. We made it in 6 and a half hours return and except for a 20 minute break for lunch kept a pretty steady pace. Even on the return trip it took us 2 and a half hours with no stopping. The views are breathtaking from the top and well worth it. When we went it was a restricted hike because of the Grizzly Bears in the area. We needed to go in groups of 4. I suspect this is always a restricted hiking area. The upper alpine meadows is a major feeding area for the Grizzlies and we did see one across the valley. It saw us and hung around for awhile and then went up into the trees. We never felt we were in danger of any sort. This hike is considered moderate and is a great trail all the way to the top. Lots of wow factors along the way with waterfalls, wild flowers, beautiful views.

Hike to Top of Terminator 2(T2)

A great hike to do near Golden BC, is to the top of Terminator 2(T2). The best part is the Gondola gets you to the top of the mountain. So the grunt work is basically done. After that, it is a nice ridge walk into the opening of SuperBowl(15 minutes). The next section is having to follow more or less a goat trail for about another 20 minutes to the top of the mountain. It is a trail that the Resort should work on but so far haven't unfortunately because it truly is a fabulous spot at the top. There are a few tricky sections where the rock is loose and you have to be a little extra careful with footing, but nothing serious. There are no big drops or anything like that. If you miss a step, you may slide a bit. Walking sticks are really helpful. The views from the top are outstanding looking in every direction. From the top of the mountain you can actually hike all the way to the canyon and down into Nicholson which is just south of Golden. But here is video of our hike. Hope you like it. Well worth it.

Dogtooth Ridge Hike

This hike is so good and nobody knows about it. And the best part there really isn't much grunt-work since you take the Gondola up to the top of the Resort to access it. From there you basically follow an old goat track below the ridge until it finally disintegrates due to a slide. From there we just went more or less straight up the slope to the top where the views are breath taking. You can go a lot further into Gorman Lake and other spots by following the ridge. That is on my to-do list. After spending some time at the top we followed the ridge back to the Gondola. The distance was about 6km return which isn't much and took us about 3 hours or so.

Iceline Trail in Yoho National Park.

One of my favorite hikes in the Area and one of the best in the Canadian Rockies is the Iceline Trail in Yoho. The trail head is about a 30 minute drive from Vagabond Lodge at the Whiskey Jack Hostel near Takakkaw Falls. Most people do it in one day which is probably a 9 hour hike. Not sure if you can really enjoy it to the full extent if you try and do it in one day. The best is to go the first day into Little Yoho and either camp or stay at the Alpine Club of Canada's cabin. And then the next day, hike down through Twin Falls and the Whaleback Trail. It is fabulous. Our son Kori and his fiance Elaine did the hike earlier this summer and I put a video together for them. It will give you a good idea of what to expect. If you have a bucket list, this is one to put on it. I have done it about 5 or 6 times and never tire of the scenery.

Valenciennes Canyon/Kinbasket Lake

This is one of the most spectacular areas, I have seen in the area. Kinbasket Lake as we know it now, was formed in 1973 when the Columbia River was dammed up at Mica and the lake is enormous. It is about an hour drive(46 KM) to get to the lake itself at Bush Harbour. You travel west on Highway#1 for about 15 minutes and then the rest is on forestry roads. Very few people are in the area where at one time, there were a number of small towns and the major road through the Rockies "Big Bend Highway" used to go through here prior to the building of the Rogers Pass. Now it is a no-man's land or virtually. We ended up at the end of one of the arms of the lake and then hiked into Valenciennes Canyon which is spectacular. A person could spend all summer exporing this area with numours hikes. I am definitely going back. Supposed to be a "natural hot spring" in the area. I am saving that for next time.

Dawn Mountain Nordic Trails- Kicking Horse Resort

On a great fall day, there are many nice easy hikes in and around Golden BC at the Dawn Mountain Nordic Centre. It is about 10 minutes from the town of Golden at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Most of the trails are about 3 km and except for some long wet grass in a few spots it is a very serene spot. There are a number of small ponds created by a beaver population. Pretty amazing what they can build with a little mud and twigs. There were a lot of signs of deer, moose and bear but I didn't see any on this day. Visually there are not great views for the most part but the hike is very peaceful and relaxing. If you go in July, this is a great spot to go for picking Saskatoons, and Huckleberries. Get them before the bears get them.

Gorman Lake Hike- Golden BC

Gorman Lake is one of the many Hidden Gems around Golden and outside the National Parks. More detail on how to get to this Lake is at www.goldenhikes.ca. And it is important to read the instructions on getting here, because it is easy to take the wrong turn. Give yourself about an hour to get to the parking lot. It isn't a long drive but it is on a forestry/logging road that isn't great, especially the last few kilometres. If you have a low clearance car, take it especially slow. From the small parking lot, it takes about an hour to get to the lake itself. There is a small picnic area and campsite. And if you are a fisherman, make sure you take a reel and licence. There are a lot of trout in the lake and you can see to the bottom of this lake it is so clear and cold. You can hike to the end of the lake and beyond, to the top of Kicking Horse Resort(about 9 hours) or you can walk around the lake. This is not a national park hike, so the trails are not quite so well marked or maintained. But it is well worth the hike.

Takakkaw Falls- Yoho National Park

Takakkaw Falls is one of the truly Spectacular Spots in and around Golden BC. It is an easy 30 minute drive east down Highway#1 to the turn0ff to the falls. The road from the Highway is pretty impressive too, especially the switchback up a cliff. You travel down a great newly paved road all the way to the falls. From the parking lot you can take an easy walk to the base of the falls or you can go on a number of hikes from there including the Iceline Trail, Twin Falls, Yoho Glacier, Yoho Lake or across the pass to Emerald Lake or Burgess Pass. Some of the best hikes in the Rockies start from Takakkaw Falls. An easy 2 hour hike round trip, is to Laughing Falls. There is one short incline, but other than about 10 minutes it is pretty flat. It is always a good time to go and see the falls, but especially spectacular in the early part of the summer when there is a lot of water coming down.

Terminator Hike- Kicking Horse Resort Golden BC

This is a basically a new hike at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden BC with very little grunt work involved. The resort is opening up some new terrain for skiing and built a new access path into "Super Bowl" as it is called by the Resort. It takes only about 15 minutes to talk into the opening of the bowl. The best part though are the views which are outstanding on a nice sunny day. In every direction there are great views of the big Rocky Mountains and the Purcells with snow covered peaks and hanging glaciers, along with the Columbia Valley to the South. During the main summer season the Gondola operates at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort so you can take the Gondola up to the top of the mountain, go for an easy hike and then head back to the Eagle's Eye Restaurant to sit on the deck with a glass of wine or cold beer or whatever, before taking the Gondola back down. Civilized Hiking at its best.

Burgess Pass- Yoho National Park

One of the great Hikes in the Canadian Rockies is Burgess Trail located in Yoho National Park. It is breath-taking and takes you high above Emerald Lake which is about 45 minutes from Vagabond Lodge at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The trail crosses below the Burgess Shale at one point; a protected area only accessible with a National Park's Guide. The fossils imbedded in the shale prove, the area at one time was at the bottom of an large sea. Paths are very well marked. You also have an option of going over the pass into Yoho Valley. This is a great hike too, if you have someone to take you back to your car or you can go down a slightly different route into Field rather than Emerald Lake. I have done them both and both are great hikes. This is a full day hike and would have to be considered a difficult hike as there is about an hour and half climbing to above the tree line and then when you come back down it takes a couple of hours. Overall this took me 9 hours. Go early and enjoy the day. You won't regret it.

Lake O'Hara- Yoho National Park

This hike is to McArthur Lake in Yoho. The trail head is from Lake O'Hara after about a half hour bus ride from the parking lot near Wapta Lake. You need to make a reservation well in advance to get on the bus or you can take a chance and just show up, but it is so popular there usually is a lineup thinking the same thing. The hike to McArthur Lake and back is about 4 hours. Really some great views along the way and the lake is quite spectacular. If you are looking for a spot to get away though, this is not the place unless it is a really crumby day. Lake O'Hara is very popular and all the hikes are quite close together so you are coming across people a lot. There certainly a lot of hikes that are just as nice without the crowds close by. But if you can score a bus ticket, you should go, just to say you were there. A little over-rated in my estimation.

Wapta Falls- Yoho National Park

If you are looking for a nice easy hike, especially in the Early Summer when the water level is really high, this is the one. It is about 15 minutes east of Golden BC and Vagabond Lodge on the Transcanada Highway #1 just as you enter Yoho National Park. It is well marked and the walk in, is pretty flat. On a nice day it is usually a pretty busy spot. If you are needing a quick stretch after a long drive this is as good a place as any. The parking lot is just across the highway from the trailhead to the Mountain Hunter Lookout Hike.

Mummery Glacier/ Blaeberry Valley

This is a sweet place to go if you are looking for an "off-the-beatan-track" spot to go. It is North of Golden BC in the Blaeberry Valley which is on the west side of Howse Pass, one of the more historical mountain passes. It was the main fur trading route used by the aboriginals in the area and David Thompson and early explorer in the area. On one side is the North Saskatchewan water shed flowing into the Arctic Ocean and on this side the water flows into the Pacific. It was the original route CP rail was looking at to go through the Rockies. It ended up going through the Kicking Horse Pass instead. Good for Howse. Whichever way you look it is "wow." Nobody around, amazing scenery, glaciers, waterfalls. You easily could spend months in the area exploring. More on this hike can be found on Golden Hikes where exact detail is given on how to get here. Since this video was done, the forestry road has been washed out which makes it a lot more challenging to get here but still can be done.

Thompson Falls/ Blaeberry Valley

This really isn't a hike but more a great spot to stop on your way to some hikes and on your way to Mummery Glacier. These falls are on the Blaeberry River about 45 minutes from Golden BC on a forestry road. In the spring it is really spectacular and you can walk up or downstream along the falls. Just be super careful as there are not barricades or walkways as this is outside the National Parks. You are at your own risk. A small dog went over a few years ago, never to be found. Keep your dog on a leash if you are checking this out.
You can get more information on exactly how to get here at www.goldenhikes.ca