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Lake O’Hara Lodge in Yoho National Park

Lodging · Yoho National Park

Lake O’Hara Lodge

A historic lakeshore base at the head of an alpine trail network.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Lodging
Nearest trail
0.2 km
  • Food
DirectionsMap
Parkwolf audio tour35 stories across Yoho’s roads

Overview

About Lake O’Hara Lodge

Why stop

  • A lakeshore base at the start of Lake O’Hara’s alpine trail network
  • Historic main lodge with lakeshore and cedar cabin options

Heads up

  • A costly stay that takes advance planning
  • Day visitors shouldn’t count on lodge meals or facilities

Map

Where it is

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LodgingLake O’Hara Lodge51.35640, -116.33670
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Plan your stop

Before you go

Rooms, meals, and facilities

The historic main lodge has eight rooms. They use shared European-style washrooms; lakeshore cabins have private washrooms, while cedar cabins have full bathrooms. An overnight package includes meals for the stay and afternoon tea, with seasonal menus. Past guests have singled out carrot cake, but don’t count on a particular dish staying on the menu.

Public walk-in dining, water, and washroom access at the lodge aren’t established. If you’re coming for the day, don’t plan around lodge services unless you confirm access first.

5 active Yoho alerts

  • ClosureYoho Valley Road closed for avalanche seasonYoho Valley Road is closed to vehicles from mid-October to mid-June because of avalanche risk. - Parks Canada’s current trail report lists no vehicle access to trails in the Yoho Valley.Official details
  • CautionWatercraft and angling prohibited in YohoWatercraft use and angling are prohibited on all waterbodies in Yoho National Park until March 31, 2027, to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species, including whirling disease.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.

Yoho Tour Guide

Your drive to Lake O’Hara Lodge, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yoho 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.

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More stories near here in the app

  • A Predator With a Softer Menu
  • Sherbrooke Lake and Paget Lookout: Choose Your Climb
  • Lower Spiral Tunnel: Climbing Inside the Mountain
  • The Bird That Plants Pines
  • 35 audio storiesacross Yoho’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Mountain Goat, Black Bear, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 58 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
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Guide

More about Lake O’Hara Lodge

A place to stay in the backcountryLake O’Hara Lodge is a lodge and cabin property on the shore of Lake O’Hara, in Yoho’s alpine…

Lake O’Hara Lodge is a lodge and cabin property on the shore of Lake O’Hara, in Yoho’s alpine backcountry. It sits at the start of a network of alpine trails, so you can spend the day hiking and come back to the same lakeshore base. I’d consider it if a stay in the valley is worth the cost; it’s a special overnight destination, not an easy day-use stop.

Plan the approachThe road to Lake O’Hara runs 11 km and is closed to visitor driving and cycling.

The road to Lake O’Hara runs 11 km and is closed to visitor driving and cycling. Day visitors can take the reserved Parks Canada shuttle or walk the road in and back, 22 km total. Overnight lodge packages include return shuttle transport; book the accommodation through the lodge operator. Parks Canada separately handles day-use shuttle and campground access.

A 1926 lodge by the waterEight rooms in the original main lodge date to 1926 and have been preserved and modernized.

Eight rooms in the original main lodge date to 1926 and have been preserved and modernized. Lakeshore cabins sit close to the water; cedar cabins are higher up on a vista with a broader view. From the shore, the cabins sit between Lake O’Hara’s turquoise water and steep alpine peaks.

lodginghikinglakemountainshistory

Wildlife

Wildlife in Yoho

All Yoho wildlife maps
Grizzly Bear21 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMountain Goat55 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapBlack Bear61 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapElk66 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapMoose26 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapBald Eagle10 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

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

Keep exploring

Near Lake O’Hara Lodge

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyLake O’Hara Shoreline Trail2.8 km · 1 hr · 0.2 km awayA short lakeside loop to pink quartzite and Seven Veils Falls.ModerateCrystal Caves Trail3.4 km · 1.3 hr · 0.2 km awayA cave mouth frames Lake O’Hara on this short shore detour.ChallengingLake O’Hara Alpine Circuit11.1 km · 6 hr · 0.2 km awayExposed ledges, high lakes, and a full circuit above Lake O’Hara.ModerateBig Larches and Schäffer Lake Loop3.2 km · 1.8 hr · 0.2 km awayA short alpine loop through larches to a clear mountain lake.ModerateLake McArthur Circuit8 km · 3.5 hr · 0.2 km awayA proper alpine loop to a bright lake ringed by steep peaks.ModerateLake Oesa Trail6.4 km · 2.5 hr · 0.2 km awayStone steps, copper cliffs and a turquoise lake in its rock basin.ChallengingWiwaxy Gap / Huber Ledges Loop to Lake Oesa7.2 km · 5 hr · 0.2 km awayA steep alpine loop over Wiwaxy Gap to Lake Oesa.ChallengingYukness Ledges Loop8.6 km · 5 hr · 0.2 km awayAn 8.6 km alpine loop linking Lake Oesa, Yukness and Opabin.

More stops nearby

Sight · 0.2 km awayLake O’HaraAlpine lake and hanging valleys, with a trail network to match.Food · 0.2 km awayLe Relais Day ShelterA warm trail stop for advice, hot drinks and carrot cake.Lodging · 0.5 km awayElizabeth Parker HutA bookable hut base for Lake O’Hara’s alpine trails.Campground · 0.8 km awayLake O’Hara CampgroundA 30-site backcountry base for Lake O’Hara hikes.Sight · 0.9 km awaySeven Veils FallsA waterfall beneath pink quartzite earns a stop on the lakeshore loop.Sight · 0.9 km awayOpabin ProspectA short spur opens onto the cliffs above Lake O’Hara.Sight · 2.3 km awayLake OesaA high alpine lake beneath layered quartzite cliffs.Sight · 2.5 km awayOpabin LakeA high alpine lake after a steep climb into a hanging valley.

Parkwolf’s Yoho ranking

Top sights in Yoho

All 58 places
  1. 1Emerald LakeSight
  2. 2Takakkaw FallsSight
  3. 3Natural BridgeSight
  4. 4Lake O’HaraSight
  5. 5Lower Spiral Tunnel ViewpointSight
  6. 6Wapta FallsSight

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