Parking
Use Glacier Lake parking lot, about 1 km north of Saskatchewan River Crossing on Highway 93N. Park in the marked lot; roadside parking is prohibited in Banff. Lot capacity, fees, and amenities were not found.
Overview
About Glacier Lake Trail
Why go
- The North Saskatchewan bridge and Howse River viewpoint break up the long walk.
- Glacier Lake is a satisfying destination beneath the upper valley peaks.
Heads up
- The wooded middle stretch has few open views.
- The 17.6-kilometre return takes most of a day.
Glacier Lake Trail is an 8.8-kilometre one-way out-and-back from the Icefields Parkway to Glacier Lake, a mountain lake tucked into a wooded valley. The mapped line follows the route once; walking back makes it 17.6 kilometres total. Give it six to seven hours. The trail is straightforward to follow, but it rolls, climbs and descends for a long way, so this is a full-day hike rather than a quick lake stop. If you only have a shorter window, the Howse River red chairs make a worthwhile earlier turnaround, but that walk does not reach Glacier Lake.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this a full-day hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapElevation1,402–1,672 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 Glacier 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
Glacier Lake: A Full Day or a River View0:00 / 0:24
“You're approaching the Glacier Lake trailhead, the start of a full-day forest hike to a lake beneath high peaks.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Icefields Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Crossing: Fuel and the Pub Grill
- Howse Pass Viewpoint: A Valley and a Route
- The Lily That Follows the Snow
- Ice on Both Sides
- 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 Glacier Lake Trail
The first river crossingsStart at Glacier Lake parking lot, about one kilometre north of Saskatchewan River Crossing on…
Start at Glacier Lake parking lot, about one kilometre north of Saskatchewan River Crossing on Highway 93N. The path heads gently downhill, with a small side viewpoint near the start. A little over a kilometre in, a high bridge carries you over the North Saskatchewan River. Continue to the red chairs above the Howse River for a broad look down the braided valley toward Mount Sarbach. It is a good place to pause, but it is still only the beginning of the full lake hike.
Along the Howse RiverAfter the viewpoint, the trail follows the braided Howse River for a couple of kilometres.
After the viewpoint, the trail follows the braided Howse River for a couple of kilometres. The pale channels spread across a wide valley, with forested slopes rising on either side. This stretch gives you the most open river scenery before the route turns away from the valley and heads into the trees.
The long wooded middleThe trail climbs gradually through dark forest for about three kilometres.
The trail climbs gradually through dark forest for about three kilometres. There are log bridges along the way, but not many open views; this is the steady middle stretch to settle into rather than rush. Near the end, the route drops more steeply for about a kilometre and a half to the lake. The outbound walk loses about 275 metres overall, with rolling ground along the way, so save energy for the return over the same hills.
At Glacier LakeThe lake sits below the high peaks of the upper valley, with a forested shore and a long…
The lake sits below the high peaks of the upper valley, with a forested shore and a long mountain backdrop. When the water is calm, it reflects the slopes across the basin; leave time to look around before turning back. Parks Canada notes that the trail can become snow-free early in the season compared with many other Banff hikes, though conditions still vary. There are no verified food or water services along the route, so bring what you need for the day. Dogs are allowed in summer unless a trail restriction is posted; keep them leashed and under physical 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.
