Parking
Use the hiker lot by Waterfowl Lakes Campground, 57.5 km north of the Lake Louise junction; the lot is small.
Overview
About Cirque Lake Trail
Why go
- A forested approach ends at mountain and glacier views beside Cirque Lake.
Heads up
- Often muddy, with rooty stretches and uneven boulders at the shore.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapElevation1,657–1,826 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Icefields Parkway alerts
- ClosureWildfire-impacted area closures in JasperStay out of the closed wildfire-impacted areas in Jasper National Park; access is prohibited or restricted to protect public safety.Official details
- ClosureOpal Hills hiking area closed for grizzly bearThe Opal Hills hiking area is closed because a female grizzly bear with two offspring is in the area. - The closure took effect September 25, 2026, and remains in effect until further notice.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Icefields Parkway Tour Guide
Your drive to Cirque Lake Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Icefields Parkway (Highway 93). As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Icefields Parkway audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Upper Waterfowl Lake: The Short Shore Walk0:00 / 0:32
“You're approaching the Waterfowl Lakes campground access, where a short walk leads to Upper Waterfowl Lake's turquoise shore.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Icefields Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lower Waterfowl Lake: The Roadside View
- Built for a Loon’s Dive
- Pink Peaks After Sunset
- An Aspen Grove’s Shared Roots
- 141 audio storiesacross Icefields Parkway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Moose, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 57 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Cirque Lake Trail
The forested walk to Cirque LakeCirque Lake Trail is a moderate out-and-back from the Waterfowl Lakes campground hiker parking…
Cirque Lake Trail is a moderate out-and-back from the Waterfowl Lakes campground hiker parking lot to a boulder shore beneath steep mountain walls. The full walk is 4.6 km each way (9.2 km / 5.7 miles round trip), with about 210 m of climbing; allow roughly three hours. Parks Canada marks this trailhead as summer-only.
Take the Cirque forkThe first stretch is shared with the Chephren Lake route.
The first stretch is shared with the Chephren Lake route. From the campground, the path crosses a footbridge and begins through forest, mostly level at first before a short steep pitch. A little over 1.6 km in, follow the sign left for Cirque Lake; the other branch goes to Chephren. The Cirque path keeps to the trees, with short climbs and dips. It is often muddy, and some sections are rooty and uneven.
At the lakeThe trees open at Cirque Lake, where a rough boulder shoreline sits below steep mountain walls.
The trees open at Cirque Lake, where a rough boulder shoreline sits below steep mountain walls. The lake shore gives you the route’s mountain and glacier views. Watch your footing on the boulders; they are part of the destination, not a smooth beach.
Start at Waterfowl LakesUse the hiker parking lot by Waterfowl Lakes Campground, about 57.
Use the hiker parking lot by Waterfowl Lakes Campground, about 57.5 km north of the Lake Louise junction. The lot is small, so park only in designated spaces. Dogs are allowed on Banff trails in summer unless a restriction is posted; keep them leashed and under control.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Icefields Parkway
12 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
127 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
16 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
100 sightingsElkMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
34 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
53 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Icefields Parkway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
