The best hikes in Alberta (Banff and Jasper)
Hiking is one of the main activities in Banff and Jasper, especially during the summer months when the snow has melted and the trails are easy to access. There are so many routes, I don’t know if it would be possible to complete them all in a year or even in a lifetime. But these are the hikes we picked (and loved) during our eight days in the area.
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is one of the most famous and most popular places to hike in Canada. As a result, it’s very expensive and during our visit it was very busy with tourists. Usually, you need a Parks Pass to enter the area which costs $11 per day per adult. But we were lucky to visit during a time that Park Passes were not required.
Find out more about our week in Alberta including Banff and Jasper here.
Little Beehive Loop, Lake Louise
We did the little beehive out and back trail at Lake Louise, which is about 10km and took 3 hours. However, our moving time was only 2 hours 15 minutes as we took a lot of photo stops and had a snack break at the Lake Agnes tea house (which doesn’t sell coffee!) as we weren’t in a rush to complete the hike.
We arrived at about 8am and it was already getting busy with tourists. There are a number of hikes you can do here, including much longer loop walks but we knew we wanted to see Lake Moraine on the same day so we went for something shorter.
The views from the top of Little Beehive are amazing, and you can stop at Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes along the way. Near the top, I started to get altitude sickness and felt fairly lightheaded so this is something to be aware of if you know you’re prone to it. This was a great walk, but it’s fairly steep as you go up so it could be challenging if you’re not used to longer walks.
It’s also important to research the different shuttle options around Lake Louise and Lake Moraine, as the area is now closed to private transport. You can get a pass through Parks Canada, but if you miss the sale (they go very quickly) there are plenty of private options, too.
You can book a private shuttle bus around Lake Louise and Lake Moraine here.
Lake Moraine
By the time we arrived at Lake Moraine we were pretty tired from our 6am start and the 3-hour Little Beehive hike, so we decided to just wander along the shore of the glacial lake. However, there are plenty of hiking options around Moraine Lake, from long loop walks to shorter out-and-back routes.
It’s also worth taking 10 minutes to walk up the Rockpile, which gives you stunning view across the lake.
Sulphur Mountain
You can hike up Sulphur Mountain (and get the Gondola back down for free) but we didn’t. The two-hour uphill walk takes you through pine forests, which you’ll see a lot of in Alberta. And the issue with pine forests is that there’s not much of a view. We have friends who have done this hike and told us to save our time and take the Gondola… So we did! Once you’re up there, there’s a boardwalk with incredible vistas across Banff and the surrounding mountains, so we took that as our exercise for the afternoon.
You can book your tickets for the Banff Gondola here.
We also stayed for the 6pm sunset festival, where there’s live music at the outside bar with a view across the mountains. Even in summer, the good weather quickly turned into a rainstorm out of nowhere, so be prepared and bring layers.
Find out what you should pack for two weeks in Canada here.
Peyto Lake
As far as hikes go, this isn’t the best. But the view is worth the uphill walk. It’s busy, but you’ll soon see why. Peyto Lake is absolutely stunning. The waters are bright blue and surrounded by beautiful forests and mountains. The walk there took us about 15 minutes and the downhill walk back to the carpark was much quicker. The viewpoint (and the car park) gets very busy, but it’s worth waiting to get a proper view across the beautiful lake.
Kananaskis
The Kananaskis are very popular with locals, and it’s easy to see why. The nature here is absolutely stunning, and it’s much quieter than the nearby Banff National Park. It only takes an hour or so to drive from Canmore, and the drive itself is beautiful, surrounded by mountains and forests.
Grassi Lakes
The Grassi Lakes Upper hike was the first walk we did in Alberta. It’s a short drive from Canmore, and the loop is only about 4km. We took the interpretive trail up and the flat route back down which took about 50 minutes. We covered 3.5km with stops for photos in that time, but if we weren’t heading to Sulphur Mountain for sunset we could have spent 1.5-2 hours here. The walk is steep but not challenging, and the flat route is suitable for pushchairs.
Ptarmigan Cirque
One hike that was open in Kananaskis despite bear warnings was the Ptarmigan Cirque trail. This part-loop, part out-and-back route took an hour and leads you up through forests into a wide open meadow among the mountains. It was fairly steep going up but overall was an easy walk and people of all ages were doing it while we were there.
Remember to pay for your Kananaskis Conservation Pass, which costs $15.75, before you head into the national park.
Blackshale Creek Suspension Bridge
The great thing about Blackshale Suspension Bridge is that it’s free. There are a number of similar bridges in Alberta which can set you back up to £50. But walk just 10-15 minutes uphill from the road in Blackshale Creek, and you’ll find this lesser-known bridge. As far as hikes go, it’s not strenuous and it’s fairly quick. But it’s worth doing. We even saw a bear as we drove down the gravelly highway here!
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Full disclosure, the hike we wanted to do here was closed due to numerous bear sightings. But we stopped for lunch at the lake and it was beautiful so it deserves a mention. If you’re visiting at a time when the lakeside hikes are open, these would definitely be worth looking into. Alternatively, it’s a great place to paddleboard, sail, or just relax by the water.
Yoho National Park
Yoho National Park is about an hour from Canmore, and is highly underrated compared to its neighbouring Banff National Park. The good thing about this is that it means it’s far less busy with tourists…
Emerald Lake
Emerald Lake is one of the most popular sights in Yoho. The car park was so busy that we had to park on the road and walk about 10 minutes to the lake. In fact, it was so busy here we decided to just stop for lunch by the shore rather than completing any of the loop walks that take you around the lake. But it was still very impressive to see and the scenery here is breathtaking. If we weren’t fitting multiple sights into one day, we could easily have spent hours here.
Wapta Falls
We hiked the 3-4km out-and-back trail to Wapta falls, which leads you through a peaceful forest to the massive waterfall. We only walked to the viewpoint, as we were trying to fit quite a lot into our day. This meant the whole walk took under an hour. But you can go down to the riverbed at the base of the waterfall, if you have more time to extend your hike.
Columbia Icefields and Jasper
Summer is a great time to visit the Columbia icefields, as there are still glaciers in the mountains but the warm weather makes it possible to hike in the area rather than viewing it all from the window of a car.
Wilcox Pass hike
One of the most best places to see the iconic Columbia Icefields is from the Sky Walk that takes you over the Athabasca Glacier. This includes a tour with more information about the glaciers, which you can book here.
Instead of going on the Icefields tour, we walked the 10km Wilcox Pass hike. This out-and-back route takes you through pine forests and mountain meadows, bringing you out with an incredible view over the Athabasca Glacier. I’m not always a fan of out-and-back routes, but as you head back into the forest, the view on your way back is actually very different on this hike which made it far more enjoyable. It took us about 3 hours including stops for photos and snacks and while there were plenty of others doing this hike, it never felt busy.
Maligne Lake
Would have done Bald Hills hike near Maligne Lake, but we did the Moose Lake Loop instead as there were wildfires in the northwest of Canada filling the air with cloud-cover and smoke. This meant that spending too much time outside wasn’t advisable, so a short 45 minute loop walk seemed like a better idea than a 10km trek. The Moose Lake Loop was a very easy and relaxing trail through forests. We weren’t lucky enough to see a moose, but this is known to be a great place for sightings!
Sunwapta Falls
This isn’t exactly a hike, but it takes about 15 minutes to walk over rocky terrain to see this waterfall. Along the road towards Jasper you can easily stop in at both Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls as easy, short walks from their respective car parks.
Canmore
There are plenty of hikes around the Canmore area, but we mainly drove out of town to explore the national parks instead.
Canmore River Trail
One of the highlights of staying in Canmore was spending an afternoon wandering along the Bow River. There are a few trails you can take in town, and we followed the river out and back for about an hour. The walk was quiet and relaxing, and there were lots of locals chilling out next to (and in) the water on a Friday evening.
Find our full two week Canada itinerary here.
Note: I chose and paid for my Parks Canada bus pass and Banff Gondola ride independently. This post is not an advertorial and is a true reflection of my experience with these excursions or the Columbia Icefields Sky Walk. However, if you book yours through my Viator link, I might make a little bit of money through affiliation.