Parking
Sherbrooke Lake parking lot, north side of Highway 1, 11 km east of Field; access is westbound only. If approaching eastbound, continue 2 km to Lake O’Hara Road, turn around and return west.
Overview
About Paget Lookout Trail
Why go
- Historic lookout and open views across three valleys.
Heads up
- A steep, rocky climb with 525 m of ascent in 3.5 km.
Paget Lookout is a 7 km out-and-back from Sherbrooke Lake parking lot, climbing 3.5 km each way to an old fire lookout. Parks Canada lists 525 m of ascent and estimates three hours for the return. This is a short but sustained mountain climb, not a gentle lake stroll; the payoff is the lookout and broad views across the Bow, Cataract Brook and Kicking Horse valleys.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the climb for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yoho map
Full mapElevation1,634–2,128 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Paget Lookout 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
Sherbrooke Lake and Paget Lookout: Choose Your Climb0:00 / 0:23
“You're coming up on the trailhead for Sherbrooke Lake and Paget Lookout. For turquoise water beneath Mount Ogden, choose the lake, about three hours return with a forest climb.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yoho Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Predator With a Softer Menu
- Lake O’Hara: Arrange the Access First
- Lower Spiral Tunnel: Climbing Inside the Mountain
- Where the Water Parts Ways
- 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 Paget Lookout Trail
Take the correct branchThe first 1.4 km follows the Sherbrooke Lake trail through forest to the signed Paget junction.
The first 1.4 km follows the Sherbrooke Lake trail through forest to the signed Paget junction. At the early fork, stay on the Sherbrooke Lake route rather than turning toward Great Divide Lodge; at the Paget junction, follow the lookout branch. The lookout is the turnaround for this hike. A separate, much steeper route continues from there toward Paget Peak, and its extra distance and scramble are not included here.
Forest, then six switchbacksPast the junction, the track crosses open forest before a sharp left into the climb.
Past the junction, the track crosses open forest before a sharp left into the climb. Higher up, the trees thin into subalpine vegetation and the trail gains the slope through six switchbacks beside the cliffs. Expect steep, rocky footing through much of the ascent; the moderate label on the park map understates how continuously uphill the walk feels.
Stop at the fifth switchbackA short side path at the fifth switchback reaches a cliff-edge viewpoint.
A short side path at the fifth switchback reaches a cliff-edge viewpoint. It looks across to Paget Peak’s pale rock and the saw-like ridge of Mount Ogden, with a glimpse of Sherbrooke Lake below. It is a good place to pause before the final climb. Return to the main trail for the lookout rather than continuing onto the peak route.
The old lookoutThe white fire lookout is the destination, with open views west over Kicking Horse Pass and the…
The white fire lookout is the destination, with open views west over Kicking Horse Pass and the surrounding valleys. The structure was staffed into the 1970s. Look for small telephone-line insulators on trees beside the climb, remnants of the old connection to a warden station.
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.
