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10 Best Hikes In Canada: Traversing The Canadian Rockies

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The Canadian Rockies are a hiker’s paradise. Whether you like alpine lakes, mountain tops, canyons with waterfalls, or glaciers, the Rockie’s have it.

If you’re wondering what are the best hikes in Canada, then you’re going to want to look to this mountain range.

The best hikes in the Canadian Rockies are definitely the best in the country, since they span across multiple provinces and regions.

Athabasca Glacier Wilcox Pass

The Canadian Rockies encompass Kananaskis Country, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Yoho National Park, and Kootenay National Park, all of which are famous for their jaw-dropping landscapes.

However, each hike can vary in difficulty, from easy to strenuous, as well as have varying lengths and times to complete, not to mention your fitness level.

So if you’re thinking of hiking in the Canadian Rockies and not sure which trail is right for you, below are the best of the best, in order of easiest to hardest!

Get ready to be mesmerized by the landscape and colours of the Canadian Rockies!

Best Hikes in the Canadian Rockies

1. Galatea Lakes Hike

A body of water with a mountain in the background
Galatea Lakes, Calgary
  • Distance: 16.4km (10.1 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: out and back
  • Time to complete: 6 hours
  • Trail map

Galatea Lakes in Kananaskis Country is just an hour from Calgary, the closest big city. It’s the perfect trek on a hot summer day as you mostly hike sheltered in the forest and visit three stunning lakes.

The trail starts flat, crossing a few wooden bridges where you can cool off in the Galatea Creek. After an easy 6.2 kilometres, you reach Lilian Lake, a quiet emerald lake with a backcountry campground.

Only 1.5km (900 metres) of uphill with one steep rocky section, and you reach Lower Galatea Lake. Most hikers enjoy the view, have a snack and return, but I highly recommend hiking a bit further.

Hike around the lake and across the small hill, about 1.5 km (0.9 mile) more, and you arrive at Upper Galatea Lake, another stunning lake which you will probably have all to yourself. Swimming in the alpine lakes in the Rockies is always very refreshing, and I highly recommend it.

Overall it’s an 18 km (11 mile) roundtrip hike with moderate difficulty and rugged terrain. If you’d like an easier lake hike that is family-friendly, Grassi Lakes near Canmore is amazing, featuring two emerald lakes, and it’s only 4 km (2.5 mile) roundtrip.

2. Sulphur Mountain Trail

person sanding on edge of lookout looking at Banff and snow capped Sulphur Mountain
What a view on the Sulphur Mountain hike, Banff
  • Distance: 10.8 km (6.7 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: out and back
  • Time to complete: 4 hours 30 minutes
  • Trail map

Sulphur Mountain is a classic hike in Banff National Park. If you ever saw any pictures of Banff, chances are you saw Sulphur Mountain.

It’s mostly popular due to Gondola leading to the summit, but you can also take the more adventurous route and hike up the slopes.

The trailhead is located at the Upper Hot Springs. Through a series of switchbacks with continual incline and an occasional view of Rundle Mountain, you reach the top of Sulphur Mountain in about two hours.

The 5.5 km long trail ends at the upper gondola terminal at 2,300 meters.

You can visit a café, restaurant, gift shop, or an interpretative display inside the terminal. There’s an observation deck providing a breathtaking panoramic view of the peaks around the town of Banff and Bow Valley. If you’d like to go a bit further, you can take the 1 km long boardwalk to Sanson’s Peak, an old weather station.

The great thing about Sulphur Mountain is that you can hike up the mountain year-round; wear microspikes in winter due to possible icy conditions.

But the trail is usually in good condition and well-trodden; it’s a favourite among locals looking for a day hike near Calgary.

TOUR IDEA: Sulphur Mountain Highline trek

A guided hike along a little known trail offering a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding mountains. Click to learn more here.

3. Johnston Canyon to Lower Falls

Lower Falls Johnston Canyon Banff National Park
Lower Falls, Johnston Canyon
  • Distance: 2.3 km (1.4 miles)
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Trail type: out and back
  • Time to complete: 45 minutes
  • Trail map

A great family-friendly hike in Banff National Park is Johnston Canyon. It features several cascading waterfalls while walking through a deep canyon.

The trailhead is located along the Bow Valley Parkway, a great road for wildlife watching.

Johnston Canyon is an extremely popular hike, so aim to arrive in the morning, so you end up waiting in line to see the waterfalls.

A short paved 1.2 km (0.7 mile) path leads to Lower Falls, following the Johnston Creek with small cascading waterfalls. Once you arrive at Lower Falls, take the path through a rock tunnel to see the falls up close.

Then, continue 1.5 km (0.9 mile) on the slightly uphill dirt trail to Upper Falls. You can see the giant falls from two viewpoints: from the catwalk on the bottom or viewpoint from the top.

Only a few people continue beyond the falls. 3.3 km (2 miles) further up, the trail leads to big alpine meadows with wildflowers, and five bubbling and colourful mineral pools called Ink Pots surrounded by mountain peaks.

The Johnston Canyon hike to Ink Pots and back is 12 km (7.5 miles) roundtrip and very much worth it.

TOUR IDEA: Johnston Canyon Icewalk
Join a professional guide on a hike along the canyon’s steel walkways, to visit the beautiful lower and upper waterfalls, and learn how this majestic canyon was formed. Click to learn more and see availability here.

4. Wilcox Pass

mountain goat Wilcox Pass Jasper
Wilcox Pass Hike
  • Distance: 11.6 km (7.2 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: point to point
  • Time to complete: 4 hours
  • Trail map

Wilcox Pass Hike in Jasper National Park is one of the highlights when travelling on Icefields Parkway. Icefields Parkway connects Banff and Jasper National Parks, and it’s considered one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

Apart from many lakes, waterfalls, and glaciers, there are many hikes along the Icefields Parkway. My favourite one is Wilcox Pass due to its length and incredible views.

While the entire hike is 11 km one-way going from A to B, you need to self-organize a shuttle to pick you up; you don’t have to do it all.

The beginning of the trail climbs through the trees, but once you clear the tree line, the views open up in every direction.

You see the Icefields Parkway cutting through the Canadian Rockies with the giant Athabasca Glacier across the road. I only went about 4 km (2.5 miles) one-way and then returned the same way.

If that’s not enough, you can chill in the famous red chairs and watch bighorn sheep that like to frequent the area.

TOUR IDEA: Athabasca Glacier Half-Day Tour
A unique exploration of the Athabasca Glacier on this 4 hour hike across rock, snow and ice with an experienced guide. Click to learn more and see availability here.

5. Iceline Trail (Little Yoho Valley and Yoho Valley Trail Loop)

A person standing in front of a mountain, on a rocky path
Iceline Trail hike
  • Distance: 21.7km (13.4 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: loop
  • Time to complete: 7 hours 15 minutes
  • Trail map

Iceline Trail in British Columbia is my absolute favourite hike in the Rockies. While Yoho National Park is small, it has a lot of natural wonders, like the Takakkaw Falls, the 2nd highest waterfall in Canada.

Iceline Trail hike starts by the Whiskey Jack Hostel and climbs steeply through the trees until you reach the treeline. The hardest part is over, and from now on, you have the most beautiful views in every direction.

On your right is Takakkaw Falls, 254 meters (833 ft) high, and as a reward for hiking the steep trail, you get a unique view of the glacier feeding the falls.

The slightly inclined trail continues to a small pristine lake surrounded by glaciers. Some hikers continue to Stanley Mitchell Hut overnight, but we continue towards Celeste Lake Trail instead.

You leave the rocky trail behind and enter a lush green forest with many mushrooms growing.

With a view of Yoho Glacier in the distance, you hike downhill until you reach emerald lakes. The trail flattens, you pass the massive Laughing Falls, and then see the Takakkaw Falls again.

The whole Iceline Trail loop is 21.7 km (13.4 miles) long, and due to the distance, I would rate it difficult, but there are no dangerous parts on the trail.

6. Floe Lake

Floe Lake Kootenay National Park
Floe Lake
  • Distance: 20.3 km (12.6 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: out and back
  • Time to complete: 7 hours
  • Trail map

Kootenay National Park is the least visited in the Rockies because most of it is inaccessible, promising adventure. However, Floe Lake is a little-known hike with a well-trodden trail.

You probably find the least people here from all hikes in this post. The trailhead is along the Banff-Windermere Highway, and the parking lot is clearly signed.

The Floe Lake hike starts with crossing the turquoise Kootenay River.

Due to the wildfires years ago, many trees burnt out, but the trail is slowly gaining some elevation on an easy dirt trail. Shortly before reaching the lake, the trail steepens significantly, and you know you’re nearing the end.

After 11 km (6.8 miles), you see the gorgeous Floe Lake with the giant wall in the background.

7. West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island

Girl wearing a bright red jacket is walking the the beautiful woods during a vibrant winter morning. Taken in Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.
  • Distance: 75 km (45 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: point to point
  • Time to complete: 6-8 days
  • Trail map

The West Coast Trail is challenging multi-day hike that’s not for the faint hearted. It has over 100 ladders to climb and has some sections that require hiking through deep mud, crossing fast flowing rivers, and bracing fierce weather.

However, experienced hikers who like a challenge will love the adventure this provides.

The trail forms part of ancient paths used for trade by the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht villages more than 200 years ago.

As such, the trail is protected and hikers must secure a hiking permit before embarking on this venture.

8. Garibaldi Lake to Panorama Ridge

man looking out over Garibaldi Lake
  • Distance: 13.4 km (8.3 miles)
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Trail type: out to back
  • Time to complete: 5 hours
  • Trail map

Garibaldi Provincial Park is just a 1.5 hour drive from Vancouver and is known for its wilderness, bear population, and natural beauty.

Framed by the Coast Mountains, Garibaldi Lake is a glacial gem in the heart of the park. This turquoise blue lake is surrounded by glaciers, pine forests and wild meadows, and is also frequently visited by grizzly and black bears.

The trail is reasonably strenuous at the start, as it winds through the forest, but soon flattens out across the meadows which it remains until the last 2 kilometers to the summit where the lake sits.

The trail is well marked and popular, so you’ll likely encounter other hikers on this route.

9. East Coast Trail, Newfoundland

view from a green space with trees looking out to ocean, on newfoundland's east coast trail
  • Distance: 270 km (167 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: point to point
  • Time to complete: over 30 days
  • Trail map

The East Coast trail is a multi-day self-guided hike in Newfoundland, which uncover’s North America’s most rugged wilderness.

The path hugs the East coast shoreline, passing craggy cliffs, rocky headlands, and overlooking sea stacks and fjords.

Some highlights on the trail are the historic abandoned settlements, the world’s southernmost caribou herd, whale sightings, and a natural wave-driven geyser called the Spout.

Most people don’t attempt the East Coast Trail in one go, and instead split it up through a series of shorter day hikes.

10. Bruce Trail, Ontario

Sherman Falls in Hamilton Ontario on the Bruce Trail
  • Distance: 890 km (553 miles)
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Trail type: point to point
  • Time to complete: over 30 days
  • Trail map

The Bruce Trail is Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath and extends from Tobermory to the Niagara Peninsula in Queenston, and vice versa.

The entire trail is almost 900 km long, and so it’s not expected to complete all of the trail in one sitting. Instead, you can choose a short section of it, and explore the wild meadows, cobble beaches and rocky cliffs, ancient forests, and plethora of scenic views.

The trail is all about protecting the Niagara Escarpment which is known for its unique geology and biological wonders. It was built by volunteers, and is marked by white rectangular blazes – a single white rectangle means go straight ahead, whereas two white rectangles show a change in direction.

Tips for Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

  • For visiting national parks in Canada, you need to purchase a park pass, either daily or yearly. And for Kananaskis Country, where Galatea Lakes hike is located, you need a Kananaskis Conservation Pass. Visiting Kananaskis Country is free if you visit on Wilderness Wednesdays, the first Wednesday of every month.
  • Before heading out, make sure to check out trail conditions. Some hiking trails might close due to avalanche danger or bear presence. For trails in national parks, see Parks Canada, and for Kananaskis Country, see Alberta Parks.
  • When hiking in the Canadian Rockies, you’re in bear habitat. Parks Canada and Alberta Parks strongly recommend carrying a bear spray within arm’s reach, learn how to use it, and make noise while hiking, so you don’t surprise any bears.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about hiking in the Canadian Rockies? Which hike would you choose first?

If you only have time for a few hikes, I recommend Galatea Lakes, Sulphur Mountain, and Iceline Trail, and you check all the boxes – alpine lakes, mountain top, glaciers, and waterfalls.

Have fun and happy hiking!

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