The Amazing Canadian Rockies

Four years ago I bought the Lonely Planet book on Banff and Jasper, but with other trips planned and then covid we never made it. Well in August I decided quit my job and take few months off and with the US & Canadian border I thought it was a perfect time to explore the Canadian Rockies. The nice thing about the Canadian national parks is you can have dogs on the trail (on leash) so we were able to bring Cedar with us. 

I have to say I was blown away by the Canadian Rockies, every hike we went on I said was my new favorite hike. We have spent the last decade plus vacationing in the European Alps, which are amazing and I have to say the Canadian Rockies are on par with the Alps.  

Below are all the hikes we went on with a brief description and photo highlights. I picked my hikes mainly using Alltrails.com and the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. I also have to say I found the Moon Canadian Rockies more useful than my original Lonely Planet guide. My full photo dump of the trip. 

Hike 1 - Bourgeau Lake 

It was raining in the morning, so we took it easy until the weather cleared. We decided to Bourgeau Lake and were not disappointed and because of the weather we were one of the only people on the hike. It was sunny when we started and snowing when we got to the lake. Always be prepared for changing weather in the mountains! 

The trail is pretty easy to follow and has a moderate uphill grade to the lake.  

Hike 2 - Lake Louise and Plain of the Six Glaciers

It was super cold when we got to Lake Louise but we layered up. When we started it wasn't very crowed around Lake Louise and were were actually able to snap some photos with out folks blocking the view of the lake. We decided to hike up to the Plain of the Six Glaciers. This is probably one of the more famous hikes in Banff, partly because of Lake Louise and partly because of the actual glaciers. Once the trail leaves the lake it is a steady uphill climb to the glaciers. Parts of the trail were challenging with Cedar on a leash due to loose rocks, scree and narrow trails, but he is part mountain goat and made it just fine. 

There are 2 alpine tea houses on trails above Lake Louise. We had lunch at one of them on our way down, the tea house at 5000+ feet. It reminded me a lot of being in the Alps. 

Hike 3 - Cory Pass 

Cory Pass reminded me a lot of the Alps. The top of the pass was covered in snow and coming down the other side was pretty icy. It was beautiful nonetheless and the views are amazing. If we didn't have Cedar with us we might have attempted to summit Mount Edith. 

Hike 4 - Iceline Trail

We had originally planned on going to Moraine Lake and we got to the turn off to the parking lot at 6:30 am but it was already full. Luckily I had a plan B. Plan B was the Iceline Trail in Yoho and it did not disappoint. Once you are above the tree line you get mountain and glacier views for days, seriously. This hike should be a bucket list hike for the Canadian Rockies. 

Hike 5 - Moraine Lake and Larch Valley & Sentinel Pass

After our 3rd attempt we got a parking spot at 5:45am at Moraine Lake. We hiked to Larch Valley & Sentinel Pass. Well I made it to the pass it was too icy for John with Cedar on leash. My new favorite hike. The Larches were on point and more epic mountain views.

Hike 6 - Bald Hill

This was our first day in Jasper National Park. We hiked to the top of Bald Hill and at almost 8000 feet it felt more like a mountain than a hill. There was probably 2 feet of snow at the top and the wind was relentless but once again we had 360 degree views of mountains. Cedar wasn’t allowed on this trail due to Caribou.

Hike 7 - Edith Cavell Meadows

It was rainy this morning, but luckily we had planned a shorter hike for the day. The weather cleared just as we started the hike up to Edith Cavell Meadows which overlooks Angel Glacier and the north wall of Mount Edith Cavell. We even got a rainbow over the valley. It was a short but steep hike. 

Hike 8 - Kinney Lake 

Our last hike in the Rockies was Kinney Lake Mount Robson Provincial Park. It’s an actual rainforest in the Rockies. Felt very much like the PNW.

Hike 9 - Flatiron Peak 

This hike isn't in the Rockies but I thought it was worth mentioning. We found a random hike outside of Hope, BC and it did not disappoint. We hiked to the top of Flatiron Peak where there were alpine lakes was a green radio tower that looked like a rocket ship.