Wilcox Pass Red Chairs Trail

This is the short out-and-back on Trail 50 to a pair of red chairs above the Columbia Icefield. From Wilcox Creek parking, it is 1.9 miles (3.1 km) round trip and takes about 70 minutes for a typical adult, longer if you linger at the chairs. A shorter 2.4 km return is also listed to the trail’s “first viewpoint”; that wording does not say whether it reaches the chairs, so use 3.1 km for the chair turnaround.

The path starts just over 2,000 metres and gains about 170 metres to the chairs. It climbs steadily through evergreen forest, with roots underfoot. Around 600 metres in, stairs lead over a multi-level bridge across a mossy ravine. A clearing opens toward Hilda Peak; farther up, Andromeda Glacier, Snow Dome and Mount Kitchener come into view, followed by Athabasca Glacier. It’s easy to follow, but the first kilometre is steep enough to feel like work at this elevation.

The pass gave Indigenous families and later horseback travellers a way around an impassable canyon on the Sunwapta River, north of the Athabasca Glacier. It was later named for early Rockies climber Walter Wilcox.

The red chairs are the natural turnaround and the best place to stop for the glacier panorama. Frame the chairs with the icefields behind them for a photo that shows where you’ve climbed. If you want a longer hike, continue on Trail 50 toward Wilcox Pass: the pass outing is 8 km round trip with 390 metres of elevation gain and usually takes two to three hours.

Start at the Wilcox Pass parking area on the left side of the Wilcox Creek Campground entrance road, 3.1 km south of the Icefield Centre. It’s a small lot and can be tight on busy summer mornings. Dogs are allowed on this trail; keep them on a leash no longer than 3 metres.