Help Please - Recommended Hikes in Canadian Rockies
 

Hi

We are going to the Canadian Rockies the 3rd week in June. We are staying in Lake Louise (Paradise Lodge and Cabins) and will have a car.

My DH and I both like to hike and would appreciate recommendations for good day or half day hikes. We are 50++, but in relatively good shape ( We hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up the next day, last October).

We have a copy of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, which gives good technical information on various hikes but doesn't seem to rate the relative merits of the various hikes.

Also, any information on other things to do, places to visit, places to eat, clothes to bring, etc. would also be appreciated.

And does anyone know how snowy it was this past winter - how much snow cover remains etc. , that information would also be helpful.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide

Pamela

Johnston Canyon is located off hwy #1 on Hwy 1A. This is a very interesting hike up to the Ink Pots. The first part of this hike to the upper falls can be quite busy. It take you on manmade trail and custom metal walkways attatched to the walls of the canyon. Depending on your ability you can conntinue up to Luellen lake??. I prefer to turn around at the Ink Pots.

Another little hike is to the Paint Pots. This is a very easy hike that take you to where the Indians used to get their ochre for paints and dyes. It does have some old machinery that was left behind by companies mining the ochre for paint before it became a National Park. If you do this hike Marble Canyon is also near by.

Hi Pamela
I posted a trip report from our visit last Sept. Click on my name. We hiked everyday. The area is a hiker's paradise so you can't go wrong with your hiking choices. We used the Patton hiking book that you have.

The most popular hikes in Lake Louise are probably to the Lake Agnes Tea House and the Plain of Six Glaciers. Both great hikes. We combined them on our first visit into one hike---this is a long hike.
Consolation Lakes--beautiful short hike through the woods and then, surrounded by the mountains at the lake. All the shoreline hikes are beautiful.

We stayed at Paradise Lodge and loved it. Are you going to Jasper? We love driving the Icefields Parkway and do one hike each way, besides the stops. The views from Parker Ridge are breathtaking but I don't know if that trail will be open this early in the season.

You'll want to visit Moraine and Emerald Lakes. I don't know if Lake O'Hara is open. You reserve a spot on the bus and it takes you to a fabulous hiking area. We got totally rained out on our visit, so will try again next time. That was our only day of rain--and we reserved the bus 3 months in advance. Everyone who just showed up that day without reservations got on the bus--of course it was pouring.

We have fallen in love with the Canadian Rockies. We could return every year--and we rarely return to a destination--too much of the world yet to see.

I agree. Hard to go wrong in that area. I strongly suggest the Plain of Six Glaciers hike at least as far as the tea house. If you feel ok on the return trip, take the Beehive extension.

The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson is excellent. Study it and pick out some hikes that appeal to you. Be sure to note the elevation changes before starting out.

Plain of Six Glaciers is really nice, even better as Bob mentions returning via Beehive/Lake Agnes. Another great hike is Larch Valley from Moraine Lake. If after reaching the valley you feel good continue up to top of Sentinel Pass. Spectacular views into Paradise Valley from up there. Only issues with these hikes is they are very popular and with Larch Valley may be bear restrictions. Check for bear restrictions here: http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/oursges...ho/index_e.asp

As mentioned above it is worth calling to see if there are spots on the Lake O’Hara bus: http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/YOHO/activ/activ15a_e.pdf

Yes Pamela, do look at LindainOhio's trip review. It's excellent! I plan to print it out and take it with us. We are also doing a one week trip in early September and plan to do quite a bit of hiking in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. Is there a good map of trails that's provided by the park? I like an indication of level of difficulty and approximate time it takes. I picked up a book called Adventure Guide - Canadian Rockies by Brenda Keller, that seems pretty thorough, but maybe will have to look at the one mentioned above as well.
I've heard many mentions of bears! We've done lots of hiking in the US Rockies and have only seen a bear once. How likely are we to run into one?

The winter snowpack in the Banff area can be found here: http://environment.alberta.ca/apps/b...n=8&DataType=4

I hope that link works, if it doesn't just back up the address to include the ".ca" portion and then 'drill in'. Click on the green dots to see the recorded snowpacks over the winter. As you'll see, the snowpack was quite a bit less than average this past winter.

Bears? Always a possibility in the mountains; higher chances in remote areas and wilderness hikes but always possible; even around the townsites. Keep your eyes and ears about you, make a bit of noise on blind corners or when cresting a hill, and be even more vigilant when around noisy rivers and streams (the bear won't necessarily hear you coming and get out of your way). Isn't the chance of spotting wildlife one of the reasons why we humans go into some of these wild areas?

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t=100_4238.jpg

Hi

Thanks to all who posted. We leave tomorrow morning and are really excited about this trip.

When I read LindainOhio's trip report (great trip report, by the way), I realized that I had read it (and printed it out) last September when we were planning this trip.

We do have reservations on the Lake O'Hara bus for the 19th - the first operating day this year. Hope the weather gods are happy that day!

Thanks again

Pamela