Parking
Takakkaw Falls parking lot at the end of Yoho Valley Road. The road is generally open mid-June to mid-October; trailers are prohibited, and vehicles over 7 m must reverse through tight switchbacks.
Overview
About Little Yoho Valley Trail
Why go
- Reaches Laughing Falls and the Little Yoho hanging valley in one outing
- Backcountry campground and hut give the far end a clear destination
Heads up
- Nearly 20 km round-trip with moderate-to-steep climbing
- Yoho Valley Road access is seasonal
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yoho map
Full mapElevation1,509–2,081 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 Little Yoho Valley 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Iceline and Yoho Lake: Choose Your Hiking Day0:00 / 0:25
“You're coming up on the Iceline and Yoho Lake trail access, where the hikes start with a steep forest climb.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yoho Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Takakkaw Falls: A Short Walk to the Spray
- The Songbird Under the Water
- The Workers Held at Camp Otter
- Why Yoho Gets Wetter Toward the Divide
- 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 Little Yoho Valley Trail
A long walk into Little YohoThis is a 12.
This is a 12.2-mile out-and-back from Takakkaw Falls parking, following a forested trail through Laughing Falls and on to Little Yoho Valley Campground. The route is moderate to steep, with about 690 m of ascent and 140 m of descent on the way out; allow around 7 hours round-trip. Keep a full day for it. The mapped line follows the outward corridor once; the distance includes the return to the same lot.
Falls along the wayThe path climbs through forest to Laughing Falls, where the Yoho and Little Yoho Rivers meet.
The path climbs through forest to Laughing Falls, where the Yoho and Little Yoho Rivers meet. The falls are about 4.5 km from the parking lot, making them a useful shorter turnaround if the full valley walk is too much. Beyond them, keep going west into a quieter, subalpine valley rather than turning back toward the road.
The hanging valleyLittle Yoho is a destination for a longer backcountry outing, with a campground and Stanley…
Little Yoho is a destination for a longer backcountry outing, with a campground and Stanley Mitchell Hut along the route. Parks Canada describes the valley as a good place to watch small mammals. The campground has tent pads, dry toilets, shared picnic tables and food storage; bring your own meals, as no meal service was found along the route. The hut requires a reservation, and overnight campground stays require a backcountry permit and reservation.
Access and preparationStart at Takakkaw Falls parking lot at the end of Yoho Valley Road.
Start at Takakkaw Falls parking lot at the end of Yoho Valley Road. The road is seasonal, generally open from mid-June to mid-October; trailers are not permitted, and vehicles over 7 m must reverse through tight switchbacks. Pets are allowed on leash. Carry accessible bear spray and treat natural water before drinking.
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.
