Odaray Highline to Odaray Grandview Trail (5 km, Challenging) – Yoho National Park

Overview

About Odaray Highline to Odaray Grandview

Why go

A 270-degree panorama across the Lake O’Hara lakes.
An alpine meadow traverse ends at a broad, rocky lookout.

Heads up

A steep, exposed climb over loose rock and rock steps.
The McArthur Pass trail network adds a separate approach from Le Relais.

Map & elevation

The route

Loading the Yoho map

Full map

Elevation2,167–2,550 m

TrailheadMcArthur Pass kiosk51.34886, -116.35019

Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Park at the Lake O’Hara access-road lot off the Trans-Canada Highway. Private vehicles stop at the gate. In shuttle season, reserve the day-use bus to Le Relais; otherwise the 11 km access road can be walked from the gate. From Le Relais, follow the McArthur Pass/Lake McArthur trail network to the McArthur Pass kiosk. That approach is separate from this trail’s 5 km round-trip distance.

Safety

The Grandview spur climbs exposed alpine ground with loose scree and rock steps beside a cliff. At the signed end of the Highline, turn west onto the marked route. Check and sign the McArthur Pass logbook, keep your group together, follow the seasonal group limits and the 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. travel window, and leave pets behind.

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 Odaray Highline to Odaray Grandview, 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 tour

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!!!!”

JMJamesApp Store review

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Trail guide

Hiking Odaray Highline to Odaray Grandview

A short but serious alpine out-and-backFrom McArthur Pass, this is a 2.

From McArthur Pass, this is a 2.5 km one-way walk to Odaray Grandview Prospect, or 5 km round trip. Allow about three hours for the trail itself. The mapped route follows Odaray Highline to its signed end, then turns west up to the broad Grandview plateau. Reaching McArthur Pass from Le Relais is a separate hike through the Lake McArthur trail network, so leave extra time for that approach.

The Highline and the final climbAt the kiosk, follow the Highline beside an alpine meadow.

At the kiosk, follow the Highline beside an alpine meadow. It briefly enters the forest before coming out into a draw at the base of Mount Odaray. When signs mark the Highline's terminus, turn left (west) up the Grandview route. The climb steepens beside a cliff; loose rock and a succession of rock steps lead onto the plateau. Follow the marked route at this turn rather than continuing along the Highline or heading up a neighboring slope.

The view from GrandviewThe broad plateau opens onto a 270-degree panorama over nearly all of Lake O'Hara's lakes.

The broad plateau opens onto a 270-degree panorama over nearly all of Lake O'Hara's lakes. Lake O'Hara and Lake McArthur sit below the high ridges, with Cathedral Peak and the Goodsir Towers in the wider view. The combination of a flowered alpine traverse and a rocky lookout makes this a more demanding outing than its distance suggests.

Respect the wildlife corridorMcArthur Valley–Cataract Brook is a regional wildlife passage between the Rockies' western and…

McArthur Valley–Cataract Brook is a regional wildlife passage between the Rockies' western and eastern slopes. After serious grizzly conflicts in 1993, Parks Canada introduced protections for the corridor. Check and sign the logbook at McArthur Pass, keep your group together, and hike within the posted 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. window. Daily group limits vary by season; pets are not allowed on the Highline.