Itching to dust up your hiking boots deeper into the backcountry, but not quite sure how to go about it?
Take your backcountry baby steps by staying at an
Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) hut - the perfect training wheels for extended stays in the more isolated outdoors. Leaving your tent and cooking gear behind will cut back on stress while still tuning up those skills with a little extra planning than packing a daypack.
Or, ease into tenting by staying at our recommended campgrounds that involve short hikes, small approaches, and little elevation gain. While it requires more food preparation, equipment, and mental commitment, these trips are the perfect way to get a more palatable taste of what the backcountry has to offer.
A backcountry hiking experience at its finest, the Lake O’Hara area offers several options for both your accommodation and world-class trail exploration. For those a bit timid to be cut off from the real world (i.e. no flushable toilets or cell reception) for an extended period of time, this is a great first step.
A bus from the Lake O’Hara parking lot right on Hwy 1 will take you and your gear straight to the Le Relais day shelter, with only a short walk to both the campground and Elizabeth Parker Hut - no backpacking your home necessary.
From there, you can plan out your menu of some of the most beautiful hiking in the Canadian Rockies over a course of up to three days. Bring a little cash to treat yourself for working up those hiking legs with a slice of carrot cake from
Le Relais Day Use Shelter or a cozy retreat with
Hiker’s Tea at the Lake O’Hara Lodge.
Originally built in 1919, Elizabeth Parker Hut is one of the most easily accessible ACC Huts, named after one of the club founders herself. It comes equipped with sleeping pads, gas lighting and burners for cooking, and most importantly, a chance to mingle with outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels.
What many consider Yoho National Park’s signature hiking trail series, this loop starts at Takakkaw Falls, with one popular route heading up Little Yoho Valley. An 11km/3-4 hour approach brings you to Stanley Mitchell Hut, an ideal initial point to set up camp to explore for the remainder of the day.
While variations of this approximate 21km loop can be done in a day, it’s the perfect opportunity to ease into multi-day hiking, especially with younger hikers in tow. There are four backcountry campsites located along this series of trails, as well as an ACC hut to throw into the mix, allowing you several options to break up your hikes and overnight stays. Accumulated elevation gain on this trail is over 900m, making this a moderate to difficult trail for hauling extra gear like tents and cooking gear, but it’s a great trip for family stays at Stanley Mitchell Hut.
There are a few different trails to complete this loop, so be sure to get in touch with the
Parks Canada information centre to find out which route is best for you and your hiking crew!
Get to know our provincial park neighbours with this trip to Elk Lakes cabin.
Whether you’re hiking, scrambling, or biking, Elk Lakes cabin is a great family-friendly summer home base to explore endless trails in the area. Compared as the “mini Lake O’Hara,” Elk Lakes Park hosts a combination of varied hiking trail difficulty paired with diverse terrain and geographical features.
This ACC-maintained cabin is accessed from Peter Lougheed Park, with the trailhead starting at Upper Kananaskis Lakes - a 3-4 hour hike or 1-2 hour bike will take you along the 9km trail to Elk Lakes Cabin in Elk Lakes Park. Be sure to do your research if biking - while bikes are allowed on the trail to Elk Pass on Peter Lougheed Park and along the power line to the cabin, there are limitations in place for Elk Lakes Park.
Got a taste of your first overnight, and ready to take the next step of hauling your home? Taylor Lake campground is a great option for those wanting to get their backcountry tenting toes (figuratively) wet! But make sure you go from July onwards, as this area likes to cling onto the remnants of winter a bit longer than the others.
A 6.3km trail (one way) with 585m elevation gain will bring you through thick subalpine forest, providing plenty of shade for you and your gear to stay cool, before opening up into a meadow and the beautiful Taylor Lake cradled in the amphitheatre of Mt. Bell and Panorama Ridge.
You’ll find the campground, Ta 6, on the north shore of the lake, which can be booked by
calling or visiting the Parks Canada Visitor Centre on Banff Ave. Once you’ve set up camp, check out the side trip to O’Brien Lake, a 4.2km return trip with 55m of elevation gain.
This forest in this area is home to spruce, fir, and larch, making it a beautiful trip to check out during the changing of the larches in the fall.
There are no fires permitted at this campsite, so plan and pack your meals accordingly. Bear Safe food cables and picnic tables are available.
An 8.9k trail (one way) with 210m elevation gain, this trip will up your distance without wearing you out with a lot of up-and-down. This trail is considered easy to moderate.
You’ll find the trailhead 1km north of Saskatchewan River Crossing on Hwy 93 North, on the Icefields Parkway. Being snow-free early in the season, this is a great trip for those wanting a bit more of a challenge throughout the majority of the summer months. This campsite sits along one of the largest backcountry lakes in Banff National Park.
Excited? Here Are Our 3 Key Tips for a Successful Hike & Camp
1. Go with a more seasoned hiker. You’ll feel much more confident embarking on a new journey with a partner who’s done the trail before. But be proactive and take an engaging role in trip planning, you’ll retain much more if you do!
2. Pack only the essentials, especially if tenting. Look into light but calorie-dense meal options, as well as backcountry cooking equipment if heading to campgrounds that don’t provide camp stoves or permit fires.
3. Be bear aware! Some of these hikes are in prime bear territory, and you should be prepared for wildlife encounters anytime you head into the outdoors. Bring your bear spray, learn how to use it, and find out other
bear safety tips from Parks Canada.
Tera Swanson from Calgary, Alberta
It doesn’t take much to get this mountain girl’s toes tingling! Whether she’s booting down trail runs, trekking up peaks, or travelling the globe, Tera Swanson is never content idling for long. Pairing this with her love for writing came as natural as her Bow Valley backyard - follow along with her adventures at
Tera Swanson – Multimedia Journalist.
