Parking
Park in the Bow Lake lot just before Simpson’s Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on the Icefields Parkway. The lot also serves Bow Lake and Bow Glacier Falls visitors, so arrive early; do not rely on roadside parking.
Overview
About Bow Hut Trail
Why go
- Dramatic Bow Lake, glacier, and Wapta Icefield scenery
- Bow Hut provides a memorable alpine destination
- Rugged canyon and moraine terrain make the approach feel genuinely backcountry
Heads up
- Multiple unbridged or seasonal creek crossings can be difficult
- Cairned route, loose rock, and boulders demand careful navigation
- Bow Lake parking fills quickly because several popular hikes start here
Bow Hut is a demanding alpine approach from Bow Lake to the Alpine Club of Canada’s hut at the edge of the Wapta Icefield. The route combines turquoise-lake views, glacial scenery, a rugged canyon, boulder fields, and a dramatic moraine basin before the hut.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy hike itMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Banff map
Full mapElevation1,938–2,409 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
8 active Banff alerts
- ClosureRed Deer River valley bottom closed for ceremonial bison harvestThe Red Deer River valley bottom is closed to the public during an Indigenous ceremonial bison harvest taking place through November.Official details
- ClosureLake Minnewanka and Aylmer area closureLake Minnewanka Trail, Aylmer Pass Trail, and campgrounds Lm8, Lm9, Lm11, Lm20, Lm22 and Lm31 are closed to all users because black bears are displaying food-seeking behaviour.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Banff Tour Guide
Your drive to Bow Hut Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Banff National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
Historic Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at Bow LakeListen
“The historic building with the bright red roof coming into view is the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, sitting right on the shore of Bow Lake.”
Plays on the road 0.1 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Banff Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Crowfoot Glacier's Missing Toe
- Helen Lake & Dolomite Pass: Fossils in the Meadows
- The Rockies’ Hidden Ice: Rock Glaciers
- Bow Summit: Highest Point on the Parkway
- 178 audio storiesacross Banff’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Brown Bear, Gray Wolf, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 177 trails, 236 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…Loved the commentary as you drove thru. I’m sure the app can do more than I know but the tips were very helpful. I’m gonna use it when we go to Banff next month.”
Trail guide
Hiking Bow Hut Trail
Route type, distance, time, and difficultyThis is an out-and-back route from Bow Lake.
This is an out-and-back route from Bow Lake. The mapped line is stored once in the outbound direction—from the primary trailhead to Bow Hut—while the visitor distance is the full return trip: about 9.7 miles (15.5 km) round trip. Allow roughly 4.5–6 hours for the hike, depending on conditions and route-finding. It is hard and better suited to experienced hikers comfortable with uneven alpine terrain; the route gains about 400 m (1,300 ft).
Route overviewStart in the Bow Lake parking lot just before Simpson’s Num-Ti-Jah Lodge.
Start in the Bow Lake parking lot just before Simpson’s Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. Follow the rough lakeshore trail for about 1.9 miles, then watch for the stream, stairs, and junction used by the Bow Glacier Falls route. Leave the stairs for the left-hand Bow Hut route and cross the boulder bridge to the east side of the canyon. Continue beside the stream, climbing through trees and across a rubble-filled moraine basin. Cairns and braided tracks lead toward the headwall; cross the creek where the route turns toward the hut and climb the final rocky slopes to Bow Hut.
What you’ll seeThe approach looks across Bow Lake toward the surrounding peaks, then enters glacial terrain…
The approach looks across Bow Lake toward the surrounding peaks, then enters glacial terrain beneath Bow Glacier. The upper route opens into a broad moraine basin with views toward the icefield, and the hut is an alpine destination in its own right.
Trail character and preparationThis is a backcountry and mountaineering-access route, not a consistently maintained park day…
This is a backcountry and mountaineering-access route, not a consistently maintained park day trail. Expect loose rock, boulders, route-finding, possible lingering snow, and multiple stream or creek crossings whose difficulty changes with water levels. Offline navigation, sturdy footwear, trekking poles, and an early start are sensible. Bow Lake parking fills quickly because the area also serves Bow Lake and Bow Glacier Falls visitors.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Banff
122 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
150 sightingsBrown BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
44 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
12 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
67 sightingsMooseMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
465 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 9 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Banff. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
