Emerald Lake / Yoho National Park
Canadian Rockies Road Trip, Day 9 | Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park | June 2023
We chose to spend our one full day in Yoho National Park at Emerald Lake. This was partially because of the road construction on the TransCan Highway limiting where we could go, and with it being early in the season, there were still some areas of the park that were closed. But we knew that there were plenty of things that we could do at Emerald Lake — easy hikes with Charlotte, kayaking, longer hikes for Curtis, and plenty of scenic places to sit and relax for Charlotte and I. We arrived bright and early in the morning, and had breakfast in the parking lot.
Since it was the coolest and shadiest in the morning we thought it would be the best time to take Charlotte for a walk…around the entire lake! It turned out to be an excellent decision, because we were able to enjoy the stillness of the lake before anyone was on it, and throughout the morning we watched the colors shift from a pastel blue to bright blue as the sun rose over it. The loop around the lake is 3.5 miles long, and it took us almost 3 hours to walk the whole thing at Charlotte’s pace. We joked that we never got above a resting heart rate, but we were still proud of her and her determination to finish. It helped that it was mostly flat, shaded, and we were always close to water.
One interesting thing about the trail is how different the East and West sides of the lake are from each other. Because of the peaks on each side, snowmelt and runoff, the East side of the lake resembles more of a rainforest, and the West side is drier, like the Rocky Mountains. The differences were subtle, but still noticeable, especially at our slow pace.
Once we finally made it around the lake, the area was much busier with people on the trails, water, and picnic areas. The parking lot always had people circling around looking for a spot and every time Curtis went to the car he had someone ‘stalking’ him hoping he would be leaving. We got the kayak out of the van, and went to set up near a boat launch. Using our own boat here was surprisingly easier than we imagined, and we really liked how the system worked here and at the other Canadian National Parks that we visited. There were permit stations at the places around the lake where we could put in, and all we had to do was fill out the card and drop it in the box right there — no fees or ranger approval required (we still stopped at watercraft inspection stations when we came across them after crossing into new states or provinces). They mostly want to be able to trace where boats have been before entering the waters here, and it’s best if the boat hasn’t been in other waters in the last 48 hours. It had been 3 days since we kayaked in Columbia Lake, so we were fine here. Curtis set up the boat while Charlotte led me around in circles, then we hopped in and went for a paddle around the lake.
Kayaking in Emerald Lake felt like fulfilling a lifelong bucket list item, and like living out a dream I’ve had ever since we bought the kayak. The water so unbelievably blue, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The stunning peaks surrounding us, which we were able to enjoy each angle of while slowly circling the whole lake. Every view we had was so picturesque, like you could make a puzzle out of every picture we took. There were other people here, but it didn’t feel crowded or loud and some parts made it feel like we were alone. The whole ride was magical, and it will forever be one of those memories I look back to when I think of my favorite things we’ve done together.
After we made it back to shore, we chose a shady spot with a nice view to have lunch. Then Curtis set off on a hike of his own while Charlotte and I relaxed for a few hours.
Curtis: Until this point, the whole time we’ve been driving through the Canadian Rockies I’ve been wishing to somehow get on top of a peak. But, as I was learning, there are typically no trails to the tops of the mountains, let alone ridges, and almost every peak would require scrambling if not full on rock climbing. But I would not be deterred, I spent most nights scrolling through databases looking for peaks with easier ascent statistics. With our plan to spend the whole day at Emerald Lake, I eventually landed on trying to climb Emerald Peak: it wasn’t super prominent, but there was an established trail leading to Hamilton Lake and then a short scramble to the peak, and I figured the view of Emerald Lake from the top would be splendid.
Unfortunately, I was being very ambitious and set unrealistic expectations for myself: hoping to hike over 7 miles plus scrambling in 4 hours, in the late afternoon, after already walking over 3 miles and kayaking. The only thing I really had going for me was that the sun would be up for at least another 8 hours. I gave Jess my plans, goals, and turn around times, and then set off on the Hamilton Lake Trail.
The first mile of trail was flat leading to some overlooks of Hamilton Falls, but the falls were recessed in a canyon and difficult to see and I had a ways to go, so I did not linger long. And the remainder of the trails ~3 miles was forest covered switchbacks. Truthfully, the trail is not overly strenuous, just steep enough to keep your heart rate high and your pace slow, but I pushed myself harder than I reasonably should have trying to make it to the lake before my stated turn around time. The real shame here was that there were zero views over Emerald Lake, just tantalizing glimpses of cerulean blue through the trees.
I eventually reached the elevation of Hamilton Lake and followed the trail as it contoured around the slopes of Emerald Peak. As the trail passed through some avalanche clearings I finally received some views looking South and West down the Kicking Horse Valley and even taller and pointier snow capped peaks. With the view came some very ominous looking clouds. I checked my phone and saw that I was getting close to my turnaround time anyway so I pushed on to Hamilton Lake.
The lake was small, but pretty in a way different from Emerald Lake: the slopes of the surrounding mountains were almost bare, and there were mini-icebergs floating on the lake. I knew it was time to turn around, but I wandered around a bit to see what scrambling could have been like, and realized just how misleading topographic maps can be when showing steepness. I was not ready to tackle any of these mountains seriously.
I started back down just as one couple informed another couple that thunder storms were inbound within the hour. This point was further emphasized by some distant thunder. The way back down was long and uneventful but I soon realized how much I had pushed myself on the way up. I was dehydrated and feeling it. I ate some snacks and drank too much water too quickly which only made my nausea worse. When I finally arrived at the parking lot, I had to sit down and sip water before I could do anything else. My stupid hiking really put a damper on my spirits on what was really a nice hike and great day.
Jess: After Curtis returned and spent some time resting, we drove to a convenience store to get him some Gatorade, then returned to our campsite. We thought tonight would be a good night to try out our outdoor shower, since we could refill our water at the campground. Somewhat ironically, immediately after turning off our water, it started to rain on us. Oh well, at least we were clean, and were happy that we had enjoyed a full day at Emerald Lake before the rain began!
