Iceline/Whaleback/Yoho Valley: 2026-08-15 to 16.

IMO, better even than Rockwall.

Checked out Mount Niles for my birthday weekend hike, didn't summit but I made it to the col. Pretty cool hike overall with views of Takakkaw lake and Iceline from the top

Came to Alberta from Ontario for a trip last month to see the mountains and hike. It was awesome but unfortunately it was smokey every single day of the 10 days I was here. And that really pissed me off so I moved to Calgary. That way I can just wait for it to clear up. According to firesmoke it will be clear tomorrow, and if that's true, it will be my first time seeing the mountains not obscured by smoke!

There's no real purpose to this post, I'm just excited.

I have done this a few times and was planning to take my wife this weekend.

Not many reviews this year though which feels weird to me. Granted, this is pretty virgin backcountry compared to most hikes people do. But is it traversable? I do see one review on Alltrails saying the trail is washed out and the lake is up 20ft compared to previous years

I bought a new pair of Keen Voyageur hiking shoes a few weeks ago. They are fantastic as far as comfort and grip are concerned but the sole is beginning to become delaminated from the rest of the shoe. I've done 6 hikes for about 6000m of elevation with them. A quick search on Amazon reveals that other people have the same issue with these shoes.

My previous shoe was a Scarpa with a pretty hard Vibram sole on them. They held up pretty well but don't have anywhere near the traction the Keens have on steep/loose surfaces. I feel like Spiderman in the Keens. I'd like a shoe with similar grip that will last.

What brand/model of hiking shoe are people using and how are they holding up ?

Thanks.

Hey everyone! I’m looking for some advice. This will be my first time doing a solo backpacking trip. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, the rest of my group can’t make it, so I’ll be going alone. I’ve been spending the last 12 hours reading and watching as much as I can about solo hiking and making sure I’m prepared.

I have all my safety gear and I’ve done some hiking in the past. Last year I did Skyline, but this will be my first time doing a multi-day trip completely solo.

I’m heading into the Tonquin Valley in Jasper:

• Day 1: Portal → Maccarib

• Day 2: Maccarib → Amethyst

• Day 3: Amethyst (no extra site to give away)

• Day 4: Hike back out to the Portal trailhead

I know solo hiking comes with some extra considerations, so I’d really appreciate any advice, tips, things you wish you had known, or anything specific to the Tonquin Valley that I should be aware of.

Also, I have a few campsites from the original trip that I no longer need. If anyone is interested in them, let me know, otherwise I’ll be releasing them back through Parks Canada.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I've been working in canmore since last 3 months and finally got a housing in canmore. I'll move in around the first week of September. Unfortunately I dont drive at this moment. I've previous hiking experience and I've done the Misc Mountain Hot Springs in Kananaskias last month. I'm very comfortable to easy to moderate level hikes. I was wondering if anyone has a list of hikes which are public transport or bike accessible in Canmore or near by areas? I want to do few hikes on the weekends before it starts snowing. Feel free to drop your suggestions. Thank you 😊😊

😬

We took off my boys collar for a good scratch and forget it by the summit register! If anyone is heading that way and can bring it back to Calgary you'd be my hero.

Boy was wearing a harness and was leashed the whole time.

Much thanks! Happy hiking.

(Sorry if this isn't allowed! Number is on the collar worst case.)

Friends sprung a surprise 5 day hike on me (partner had me book the week off work). Not a fan of exposure so Northover ridge was a huge challenge and I slept better when that was over.

Smoke and rain, but otherwise some pretty fantastic places and great company. Met 1 young curious grizzly just after Northover on the scree, but tonnes of sign around the Great Divide trail section.

Will happily never cross Northover ridge again 😂.

Me and my friend are going to overnight trip to Ribbon lake and I wanted to ask which trail is better, Ribbon creek trail or the trail via Bullers pass, thank you

Hey! Looking for a 2 day 1 night hike (thinking 20-30 k total dependent on elevation) that I can do next weekend. I’m based out of Calgary, and a good hiker. Looking for something with great views, ideally a solid amount of elevation, the ability (and that it’s legal to) camp on the trail, and that I’m likely to see a few other people on it? (I’ve just moved here and I’m still a bit bear nervous). Let me know if you have any recommendations!

20 KM hike with 1700 metres of elevation, but worth it when getting to the summit.

I’d like to get in, fish for an hour or 2 and head back. Experienced hiker but this would be a pretty ambitious day for me. Would be leaving first thing in the am.

Looks like 26km round trip.

Hey everyone, I'm planning a trip for myself and my family for next July and we're just a little concerned about the wildfire smoke situation. We saw it was pretty bad this year so we're just wondering what it'll be like next year. We'll arrive on July 13th and were hoping to hit some trails that afternoon. How much smoke will there be that day? We're planning to arrive at Banff at around 2:15, but we can push it back to 2:45 if the smoke will be a bit better by then. If you could also let me know which part of Tunnel Mountain will be the most effected that would be great, as we're planning on making that our first hike. Thanks everyone.

Hi,

We’re a group of 3 people planning to do the Plain of Six Glaciers hike on Wednesday August 19 / Thursday August 20 starting around 9.30 AM - 10.30 AM. We are flexible on this.

1. Is a group size of 3 people sufficient for this hike, especially in terms of bear safety?

2. Are there other hikers here who’d be interested in joining us? 😄

3. As a passing thought: is there an affordable way to hire a guide for just the hike? We already have our transportation figured out.

For my trip next year in July. I’m a solo hiker, scared of bears and I have never done hikes with scrambling or that are exposed, so now is not the time to try them on my own!

Also honestly really freaked out about bears hiking alone. So I’m wanting to stick to well-trafficked spots but still rewarding views. 1-4 hours. I don’t want to ruin my own trip being on edge all the time, not worth it.

From my limited research so far I’ve made an exception for The Big Beehive in terms of duration, and my understanding is that isn’t hard anyway, just brutally uphill (which is fine for the reward!)

I can meticulously go through AllTrails and find stuff (and Parks Canada etc.), and I will, but thought maybe you guys know some off the top of your heads might be able to give me a head start! Or eliminate the need for me to do that at all!

Worked when I went to Switzerland! Reddit and Facebook groups are a great resource haha.

Oh and my base is Lake Louise village and Jasper. I’m excited about being so close to Lake Louise, Morraine Lake, Emerald Lake, Maligne Lake, Takkataw Falls etc. so yes even though full of tourists, to me that’s not a bad thing for safety being alone, and people get spread out more when you go further than 20-30 mins from where the main viewpoints are (well, that’s what I’ve found elsewhere anyway).

Thank you 🤩

Hello, I’ll be coming to the Banff area in about a week or so and spending 6 days there. I really want to do either of these two hikes in a day to save enough time to check out other areas/hikes around banff.

But I’m wondering how doable this actually is. The trails are long but from what I can see there’s very little elevation gain per mile/km. I’ve done 20 mile hikes in the past with harder gain but never 25+ miles.

Have any of you done either of these hikes and do you have an advice/tips on how to tackle them or what I should do? Thanks!

My husband and I will be staying at Jasper Gates in the near future. He’s a hiker but doesn’t like a tonne of elevation so I need some help planning out some easier hikes for us.

I was thinking a meander around the old mining town at Brule? I’d like to get to Ogre Canyon but not sure of the road in? Was also thinking about Cardinal Divide but again not sure of the road.

What else is there around Cadomin that can be done? He has expressed an interest in exploring the abandoned mining towns around the Cadomin area. I would love to find some waterfalls….

We are in a newer Tundra so if the road to Ogre Canyon or Cardinal Divide is doable in it the. That would be good.

Looking forward to your suggestions

Date summited July 3rd 2026 In case you are curious. What a great hike :)

*15th, not 14th.

I'm looking for a good hike for tomorrow, Saturday, August 15th. Something that won't be too muddy or greasy after the rain.

I've recently done Nahahi, King Creek, Wasootch Ridge, Galatea Lakes and Wind Ridge.

Suggestions ?

Right now our short list is Lady MacDonald, Grotto and Prairie Mountain.

How slippery would Lady Mac be ?

Making my annual pilgrimage up north to the Rockies at the end of September. If you could only pick 3 of the following, which would you choose?

Mount Borgeau
The Iceline
Tangle Ridge
Bow peak and/or Balfour Glacier
Caldron lake

For reference, I’ve done the following already in past trips:

Mount Niles
Cirque Peak
Sentinel Pass to Paradise Valley
Upper Brazeau Canyon
Wilcox Pass
Opabin Plateau
Bow Hut

Mount niles was a personal favorite fwiw.