Parking
Enter Waterfowl Lakes Campground from Highway 93N and follow the parallel access road about 500 metres to the hiker access. Parking is roadside near the access; no day-use lot size or capacity was confirmed.
Overview
About Upper Waterfowl Lake Trail
Why go
- A short walk reaches a turquoise lake and a Mount Chephren view.
- The Mistaya River footbridge makes the approach memorable.
Heads up
- The shared trailhead has a fork that is easy to take the wrong way.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapElevation1,665–1,693 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 Upper Waterfowl 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 Upper Waterfowl Lake Trail
Is this the Upper Lake walk?Upper Waterfowl Lake Trail is an easy out-and-back from the Waterfowl Lakes campground hiker…
Upper Waterfowl Lake Trail is an easy out-and-back from the Waterfowl Lakes campground hiker access to the lake’s south shore. The full mapped walk is about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) round-trip; allow around 45 minutes with a stop at the water. Distance estimates vary, so this entry uses the longer mapped shoreline endpoint. It reaches Upper Waterfowl Lake, not the Lower Lake view beside the highway.
Find the right branchThe start is shared with the Cirque and Chephren Lakes approaches.
The start is shared with the Cirque and Chephren Lakes approaches. Follow the signs for Upper Waterfowl Lake; the left branch is easy to miss. The wide, maintained path crosses a footbridge over the Mistaya River, then follows the bank toward the open shore. The walk is short and mostly level, with only modest ups and downs.
On the shoreUpper Waterfowl Lake’s turquoise water is the payoff, with Mount Chephren rising beyond the…
Upper Waterfowl Lake’s turquoise water is the payoff, with Mount Chephren rising beyond the south shore. Mid-summer wildflowers grow along the route and at the lake. From the shoreline, frame the mountain above the water; on a calm morning, its reflection may appear.
Make the stop workThe trail access is on the campground road parallel to Highway 93N, roughly 500 metres (0.
The trail access is on the campground road parallel to Highway 93N, roughly 500 metres (0.3 mile) from the turnoff. The campground has drinking water, toilets and cooking or picnic shelters, but those amenities are at the campground rather than along the trail. No food service at the access was found. Dogs are allowed on summer trails unless a 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.
