Parking
Park at the Lake O’Hara access-road lot off the Trans-Canada Highway. The shuttle travels 11 km up the road; the route itself starts at the west end of Linda Lake. Walking the road adds 22 km round trip beyond the trail.
Overview
About Duchesnay Basin Trail
Why go
- Cathedral Lakes and glacial kettle ponds beneath Odaray’s high rock buttress
Heads up
- The distance printed for the trail does not match the mapped route to its described fork
- Lake O’Hara access requires a reserved shuttle or an 11 km road walk each way
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yoho map
Full mapElevation2,090–2,345 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yoho Tour Guide
Your drive to Duchesnay Basin Trail, 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.
See the Yoho audio tourMore stories near here in the app
- The Bird That Plants Pines
- Lower Spiral Tunnel: Climbing Inside the Mountain
- Kicking Horse and Monarch: Camping by the River
- A Predator With a Softer Menu
- 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
“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 Duchesnay Basin Trail
The walkDuchesnay Basin Trail is a moderate out-and-back from the west end of Linda Lake to the fork…
Duchesnay Basin Trail is a moderate out-and-back from the west end of Linda Lake to the fork where the Cathedral Basin Alpine Route branches right. The mapped lower corridor is about 1.4 miles each way (2.2 km), or 2.7 miles return, with roughly 230 m of climbing; allow about 2–2.5 hours with a stop at Cathedral Lakes. Published information also lists 3.2 km one way, which does not match the mapped distance to the described fork. Confirm the current map or trail markers before setting out; the alpine branch is outside this hike.
From Linda LakeThe route heads northwest through meadows for about 1.1 km to Cathedral Lakes.
The route heads northwest through meadows for about 1.1 km to Cathedral Lakes. Cross a bridge at the outlet, with Vera Lake downstream, and follow the north shore briefly. The path then climbs beside a creek, enters the woods on the left, crosses a wet meadow and rises over a small hill to the fork. Retrace the same trail to return.
Access and dogsLake O’Hara access is controlled.
Lake O’Hara access is controlled. Reserve a place on the seasonal shuttle from the highway parking lot, or walk the 11 km access road each way; that road is separate from the trail distance and hiking time. Dogs are allowed on the trail when leashed, but cannot ride the shuttle or stay at the campground. Bringing a dog means walking the access road with it on leash.
Kettle ponds and OdarayCathedral Lakes and the other small lakes in the basin are kettle ponds: depressions left in…
Cathedral Lakes and the other small lakes in the basin are kettle ponds: depressions left in glacial debris when buried ice melted. A roughly 900 m rock buttress along Odaray Mountain’s northeast ridge rises above the valley’s south side. The Cathedral Lake shoreline and rock wall make the strongest view on this short route; stay on the path around the wet meadow and at the lakeshore.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yoho
21 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
55 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
61 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
66 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
26 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yoho. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
