Parking
Start at the Lake O’Hara parking lot and follow the Great Divide route toward the forest trail for Ross Lake. The optional return via Lake O’Hara Road is a separate loop choice and is not part of the mapped out-and-back.
Overview
About Ross Lake Trail
Why go
- The lake and Narao Peak headwall give the route a clear scenic destination.
Heads up
- The approach mixes road and forest trail rather than staying on a single tread type.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yoho map
Full mapElevation1,724–1,809 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 Ross Lake 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
Lake O’Hara: Arrange the Access First0:00 / 0:36
“You're nearing the Lake O'Hara access road, but the lake is eleven kilometres beyond the highway parking lot.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yoho Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sherbrooke Lake and Paget Lookout: Choose Your Climb
- A Predator With a Softer Menu
- 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 Ross Lake Trail
The routeRoss Lake Trail is a moderate out-and-back from Lake O’Hara parking, about 6.4 km (4 mi) return.
Ross Lake Trail is a moderate out-and-back from Lake O’Hara parking, about 6.4 km (4 mi) return. Allow around 2 hours. Begin on the Great Divide route; after about 2 km, turn onto a forested trail to Ross Lake. Expect a mixed road and woodland approach, then the same corridor back to the parking area.
At the lakeRoss Lake sits beneath the headwall of Narao Peak.
Ross Lake sits beneath the headwall of Narao Peak. The turquoise water, steep rock face and conifer shore are the walk’s main payoff. There are no route-side facilities confirmed in the trail information, so bring what you need from the start.
Mileage and route choiceThe current listed distance is 2.
The current listed distance is 2.9 km one way, while the connected line from the parking access to the lake measures about 3.2 km. This record uses the mapped corridor in both directions, about 6.4 km total. Parks Canada also describes an optional return via Lake O’Hara Road; that changes the route and is not included in this out-and-back line or mileage.
Before you goDogs may accompany hikers but must remain leashed and under control.
Dogs may accompany hikers but must remain leashed and under control. Stay on the designated paths where the forest trail branches from the Great Divide route. Check the park’s current conditions before setting out; trail surfaces and access can change with the season.
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.
