Sight · Kootenay National Park
Two river bridges lead through old-growth forest to a mountain lake.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Kootenay Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Kootenay 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.
See the Kootenay audio tourRecorded for this place
Dog Lake Trailhead: Bridges and a Forest Walk“You're nearing the Dog Lake trailhead at McLeod Meadows, for a forest walk across two suspension bridges over the Kootenay River.”
Plays as you drive up to Dog Lake in the Parkwolf Kootenay Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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!!!!”
Guide
Dog Lake is a small subalpine lake at 1,268 m, tucked between the Kootenay River and Mount Harkin. It is a hiking destination rather than a roadside stop: the lake option from Dog Lake Day-use Area is 2.6 km one way, or about 5.2 km out and back if you turn around at the water. The day-use area is 28 km north of Radium Hot Springs. Bring food and drinking water for the walk.
The trail crosses two suspension bridges over the Kootenay River, then meanders through old-growth forest before climbing and descending to the lake. The full Dog Lake Loop is 7 km and takes about 2.5 hours, with 195 m of climbing and descent. This is a proper walk, not a quick photo pullout.
The lake's northern end is edged with reeds and soft, marshy ground; a more open strip of rock and mud lies roughly half a kilometre farther south. Across the water, look for Mount Harkin with the Mitchell Range behind it. On a calm day the range can reflect in the lake. For a photo, leave a band of water beneath the mountain line to catch that reflection when it appears.
Dog Lake was officially named in 1966, though the name was already established locally. Its origin remains unclear.
Wildlife
41 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
31 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
22 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
84 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
522 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
65 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kootenay. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateDog Lake Loop7 km · 2.5 hr · 1.9 km awayTwo Kootenay River bridges lead through old growth to Dog Lake.
ModerateEast Kootenay Trail14.4 km · 4.5 hr · 1.9 km awayAn easy fire road to Daer Creek with two river bridges.
Campground · 1.6 km awayMcLeod Meadows CampgroundUnserviced camping beside the Kootenay River.
Picnic area · 1.9 km awayMcLeod Meadows Day-use AreaA cool, shaded picnic break at the Dog Lake trailhead.
Picnic area · 4.8 km awayKootenay River Day-use AreaA riverside picnic stop along Highway 93 South
Picnic area · 7.9 km awayDolly Varden Day-use AreaA picnic stop with a close-up lesson in wildlife crossings.Parkwolf’s Kootenay ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
