Hiking In The Canadian Rockies

The Rocky Mountains in Canada are a mountainous paradise for hikers with tons of wildlife, stunning landscapes and fairly dependable weather. If you are planning a hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies, use this as a guide to help you decide where to hike, and which trails you would like to explore in the Rockies.

The Canadian Rockies are mostly made up of National Parks. You can find information on each park on the Parks Canada website, including details on each trail and trail status. In this hiking guide we briefly describe some of the best hiking in Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Yoho National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton National Park and Kananaskis Country.

Below we list several of our favourite hikes in the Canadian Rockies, describing a few trails that we think are the best and should definitely be on your list!

best times to hike in the Canadian Rockies

You can hike all year round in the Rockies, but of course there are times that are better than others. We recommend anytime between mid-June to mid-September, which usually has the best weather. During this time, you can expect sun most days and temperatures around 25 degrees Celcius. The nights are a bit cooler, so make sure you pack some warm clothes if you are staying out overnight on a backpacking trip.

Browse Hiking Tours in the canadian Rockies

Places to go backpacking in the canadian rockes

banff national park

Banff National Park is a hikers dream, with 330,000 square kilometres of pristine wilderness and only 3% of the park easily accessible by vehicle. There are tons of hiking trails in Banff, spread all throughout the park. Try some of the hiking trails near the town of Banff to get up high and challenge your legs and lungs. Cory Pass is one of our favourite hiking trails in the Canadian Rockies, with epic views and mind blowing perspectives as you walk directly below the towering face of Mount Edith and Mount Louis.

Venture a little further out of town to Lake Louise and you will be blessed with some of the best hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Get an early start to the day and try the Eifel Lake trail near Moraine Lake, or the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail at Lake Louise. These trails offer world class views of glaciers and if you catch Victoria Glacier at the right time of day and year, you might be able to watch chunks of the glacier calve off and crash down the cliff below.

Beyond the main stretch of Banff National Park is the south end of the Icefields Parkway. This is one of the most photographed stretches of road in the world and for good reason. From here you have a ton of hiking trails to choose from in Banff National Park. We like Helen Lake, which winds through the sub-alpine forest to the open alpine below Dolomite Pass, named for its similarity to the Dolomites in Italy. This is one of the best places to go hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Continue North and try Parker Ridge, which is a Canadian Rockies hiking icon, offering unrivalled glacier views of Saskatchewan Glacier.

jasper national park

Hiking & backpacking in Jasper National Park is sure to delight any avid hiker, wildlife spotter or photographer alike. Jasper National Park is full of elk and bears, along with all the usual suspects, such as marmots, beavers, deer, hawks and squirrels. From town you can hop on a bike, or take a bus to Pyramid Lake, hiking along the Patricia Lake loop and feasting your eyes on the nearby Pyramid Mountain.

Some of the best hiking in the Canadian Rockies is found by heading out of town to Maligne Lake. From the edge of the lake you can head up for the Opal Hills hike or the Bald Hills hike. These two hiking trails are very similar and both offer amazing views of Maligne Lake and some of the most beautiful mountains in the Rockies. Expect rolling alpine meadows and open ridges with views of distant peaks in all directions. Be sure to look out for bears on the drive along Maligne Lake road.

Head a little further south in Jasper National Park for even more hiking trails, such as the Valley of Five Lakes hike, just south of town. This trail is one of the easiest hikes in Jasper and leads you past 5 beautiful lakes, known for their stunning turquoise water. This is a great place to go swimming!

Jasper National Park has some great backpacking routes as well, like the Brazeau Loop, or the trail through Athabasca Pass, which is seldom hiked but worth the effort! Jasper is a perfect place to plan a hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies.

yoho National park

Hiking in Yoho National Park is a must-do! Some of the best hikes in the Canadian Rockies are found in Yoho, and because Yoho is fairly small, everything is very close together, so you can try all the hiking trails in one trip!

For the best glacier views, try the Iceline Trail, which starts at the base of Takakaaw Falls and wins up onto an alpine ledge and passes directly beneath a glacier. You could wander off the trail and touch the glacier, or fill your water bottle from the melt water. Don’t forget to look behind you for the epic views of Takakaaw Falls across the valley.

If you are looking for an easy hike in Yoho National Park, I’d recommend going for the Emerald Lake circuit, which follows the shore of Emerald Lake. This Canadian Rockies hike has really amazing views of the surrounding mountains, and if you suddenly feel more ambitious, you could head up to Yoho Lake, or do the Yoho Triangle hike. Don’t forget to swim in Emerald Lake, or have a drink in the lodge at the bottom!

A hiking trail that we include on most of our Canadian Rockies hiking trips is Paget Lookout, with the option to stop at Sherbrooke Lake as well. The lake is pristine and devoid of people, and Paget Lookout sneaks in a really amazing view of Yoho National Park and the Kicking Horse River far below. Head to the peak for views of Daly Glacier, which is where Takakaaw Falls comes from!

kootenay national Park

If you are planning a hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies, you should definitely take some time to explore Kootenay National Park. Hiking in Kootenay National Park is varied, with a range of very long and strenuous hikes and some of the most amazing rewards, as well as some very easy hikes and walks that are also pretty cool.

For an easy hike in the Rockies, try Marble Canyon, which follows the top of a deep chasm, cut into the rock by the flowing water over the course of ten thousand years. The views into the canyon are spectacular and you can stand right above the waterfall at the top of the canyon on a bridge. Another easy hiking trail is the Ink Pots trail, which winds through forest and across the Kootenay River to a place that people have been collecting ochre to trade for thousands of years.

If you are looking for a bigger day hike in the Canadian Rockies there are several to chose from in Kootenay National Park. I’d recommend Floe Lake for a long hike in to one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. This is a popular destination for landscape photographers to come from far and wide and shoot the lake while the leaves are turning gold in the autumn.

One of the most famous backpacking trails in the Canadian Rockies is the Rockwall trail in Kootenay Park. This backpacking route ends at Floe lake.

Hiking in Kootenay National Park is best known for the wildlife that seems to love this park. There are lots of bears, deer and elk, among other wildlife. We highly recommend including Kootenay National Park if you are planning a hiking tour in the Canadian Rockies.

waterton Lakes National park

Waterton Lakes National Park is an easy hiking destination in the Canadian Rockies that is easy to forget, since it is tucked a bit out of the way. But that is what makes it so special! Waterton National Park was devastated by forest fires a few years ago, and that has decreased visitation significantly, but what most people don’t realize is that this is a beautiful part of a natural process that helps create the wildflowers and wildlife habitat that we love so much! So hiking in Waterton National Park is a very different experience than the rest of the Canadian Rockies hiking, but definitely not one to be missed.

You can hike along the main lake, stopping for a dip if you desire in the relatively warm waters (warm for the Rockies), or head up into the sub-alpine on a hike to some of the alpine lakes.

Waterton Lakes National Park is further south than the other parks in the Canadian Rockies, and seems to get a different weather pattern with warm and dry air. This means the vegetation is somewhat different than the hiking areas further north in the Rockies.

kananaskis country

Go hiking in Kananaskis Country and you will immediately see why it is so well regarded as a hiking destination in the Rockies. Kananaskis Country is known among locals as a wide open expanse of wilderness, with more wildlife than humans at most times. There are moose, bear, deer, elk, big horn sheep and many more animals hanging out here. If you are lucky, you might see some of these animals on your Canadian Rockies hiking trip!

There are a ton of big day hikes to choose from, including Ha Ling Peak (The pointy one towering above Canmore), and Mt Shark area. The area around Mt Shark is where the hiking trail to Mount Assiniboine starts from.

If you are planning a hiking holiday in the Canadian Rockies, you could stay at Mount Engadine Lodge and be right where all the best hikes are. Try hiking to Buller Pass to enjoy the rolling meadows filled with flowers, or the Burstall Pass hike to challenge your legs.

There are lots of backpacking trails in Kananaskis Country, including the Highline Trail, which leads to Mt Assiniboine. Some of the best backpacking in the Canadian Rockies can be found in Kananaskis.

Kananaskis Country doesn’t get the same press as the national parks next door, so there are very few crowds in this area, which means a more secluded hike for you!