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Olive Lake in Kootenay National Park

#7 of 15 sights in Kootenay

Sight · Kootenay National Park

Olive Lake

Bright green water makes this quick roadside walk worth the break.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
Right here
Audio stories
6 nearby
  • Parking
  • Restrooms
  • Picnic tables
  • Scenic viewpoint
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Olive Lake: Both Boardwalk Lookouts

Overview

About Olive Lake

Why stop

  • A short, flat walk reaches two different lake lookouts.

Map

Where it is

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SightOlive Lake50.67438, -115.93101
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Plan your stop

Before you go

5 active Kootenay alerts

  • ClosureWatercraft and angling prohibitedWatercraft and angling are prohibited on every waterbody in Kootenay National Park until March 31, 2027, to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS), including whirling disease.Official details
  • ClosureSinclair Canyon construction closures and delaysRepairs to the Sinclair Creek Rock Tunnel and rehabilitation of the retaining wall at Sinclair Canyon require construction closures; expect alternating single-lane traffic on Highway 93S and…Official details
See all 5 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Kootenay Tour Guide

Your drive to Olive Lake, narrated.

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 tour

Recorded for this place

Olive Lake: Both Boardwalk Lookouts
0:00 / 0:21
“Up ahead is Olive Lake, a green lake beside the highway at Sinclair Pass. Give it about fifteen minutes for a nearly level boardwalk walk of roughly half a kilometre return.”

Plays as you drive up to Olive Lake in the Parkwolf Kootenay Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Kindersley–Sinclair: Plan the Shuttle
  • How a Cliff Becomes a Rock Pile
  • Cobb Lake Trailhead: A Forest Lake Walk
  • The Living Crust on a Rock
  • 49 audio storiesacross Kootenay’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Gray Wolf, Moose, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 38 trails, 29 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!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Olive Lake

A quick stop at Sinclair PassOlive Lake is a forested roadside lake at the summit of Sinclair Pass, beside Highway 93 in…

Olive Lake is a forested roadside lake at the summit of Sinclair Pass, beside Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park. A day-use picnic area sits beside the water. It’s a worthwhile break if you want a short lakeside walk without taking on a longer hike.

Take the boardwalk to both lookoutsThe short boardwalk walk is listed at 0.5 km return with no elevation gain.

The short boardwalk walk is listed at 0.5 km return with no elevation gain. Two lookouts give you different angles across the lake, so take the extra few minutes to see both. The lake is known for its bright green water, and its color can shift with the weather.

Picnic by the waterPicnic tables sit among the trees, and basic outhouse-style toilets are reported at the day-use…

Picnic tables sit among the trees, and basic outhouse-style toilets are reported at the day-use area. This is a simple place to stretch your legs or stop for a picnic before continuing along the highway. The main draw is the lake and its easy viewpoints, rather than a longer outing.

lakeboardwalkpicnicemeraldviewpoint

Wildlife

Wildlife in Kootenay

All Kootenay wildlife maps
Grizzly Bear41 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapGray Wolf31 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapMoose22 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMountain Goat84 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapBighorn Sheep522 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapElk65 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kootenay. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Olive Lake

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyOlive Lake Trail0.6 km · 15 min · At the trailheadA quick boardwalk break gives you an emerald lakeshore in minutes.ChallengingSinclair Creek Trail12.4 km · 6 hr · 1 km awayA steep climb from the creek to alpine meadows below the col.ChallengingKindersley-Sinclair Loop16.3 km · 8 hr · 1 km awayA hard climb through meadows to a high col; arrange the shuttle.ChallengingKindersley Pass20 km · 8 hr · 2.1 km awayA big climb with its broadest views beyond the pass.ModerateCobb Lake Trail5.4 km · 2 hr · 2.5 km awayA forested out-and-back to a quiet lake, with a steady climb back.ModerateKimpton Creek6.4 km · 2.5 hr · 4 km awayA shaded creek walk on a narrow, sometimes rough forest trail.ModerateRedstreak Creek Trail4.6 km · 1.5 hr · 6.3 km awayA quiet creek walk with a steady climb through shaded forest.

More stops nearby

Sight · 3 km awayKootenay Valley ViewpointA quick roadside panorama of the Mitchell and Vermilion rangesSight · 4.1 km awayCobb LakeA forest-fringed lake at the end of a two-hour walk.Picnic area · 7.2 km awayKootenay River Day-use AreaA riverside picnic stop along Highway 93 South

Parkwolf’s Kootenay ranking

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Take Parkwolf to Kootenay.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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