The Golden Triangle has been a popular route for touring motorists for nearly a century. But it’s also one of the best routes for accessing half-day and day hikes as well as several scenic backpacks. By spending a week or so on the triangle, you can sample a few of more than 40 scenic hikes.

The Golden Triangle is a route from Lake Louise through Yoho National Park to Golden, BC, south along the Columbia Valley to Radium, BC, and back to Lake Louise via Highway 93S and the Trans Canada Highway/Bow Valley Parkway. 

The Banff-Windermere Highway through Kootenay Park was completed in 1923, and the Lake Louise-to-Golden highway through Yoho was opened in 1927. These two roads plus Highway 95 between Radium and Golden provided a perfect loop for early motorists.

Originally known as “The Lariat Trail,” this circuit was soon touted as one of the most scenic drives in the Rockies. It soon came to be known as the Golden Triangle. (See Tour the Golden Triangle webpage.)

The “Lariat Trail” ca. 1928

Hikes and backpacks in National Parks on the “Triangle”

With the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide in hand, you can visit dozens of backcountry lakes and waterfalls on this spectacular route through Kootenay and Yoho and the heart of Banff National Park. These hikes range in length from 2 km to 17 km round trip.  

My own favourites within the National Parks includes Kindersley Pass, Floe Lake and Stanley Glacier in Kootenay. In Banff, favourites include Rockbound and Taylor Lakes and Boulder Pass. And Yoho offers Sherbooke Lake, Wapta Falls and several day hikes in the Emerald Lake basin and Yoho Valley.

Undoubtedly, hikes from Lake Louise-Moraine Lake are incredible, and we enjoyed these hikes in the “old” days. The reputation of these trails are without dispute, but their popularity creates lots of planning to get there. Similarly, Lake O’Hara, on the other side of Mount Victoria, provides some of the finest hikes in North America, but access takes planning and luck.

Booking campsites for the Sawback Trail and Bow Valley Highline in Banff, and the Rockwall Trail in Kootenay is equally frustrating these days. That’s why I try to limit myself to half and full day trips.

Hiking the slopes of the Columbia Valley

One of the ways we avoid the busy-ness of National Park trails is hiking the Columbia Valley along the western arm of the Triangle. Ultra-scenic trails to Lake of the Hanging Glacier, Cobalt Lake, Conrad Kain Hut, Jumbo Pass and Diana Lake would be overrun with hikers inside the National or Provincial Parks. But long approaches from Highway 95 over rough Forest Service Roads discourage folks with normal vehicles.

Pigeon Spire and Bugaboo Glacier from the Conrad Kain Hut trail. Brian Patton photo.

While none of these trails are included in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, detailed descriptions are available in Mountain Footsteps by Janice Strong and Hikes around the Columbia Valley by Stefanie Mclellan and Corinna Strauss. Both guidebooks are available from Four Points Books in Golden and Invermere as well as amazon.ca.

Be forewarned that these trails are only maintained by volunteers, so major washouts on approach Forest Service Roads and trails often close access for weeks or an entire season.

Base camp

If you are planning on Golden Triangle hikes between May and October, you will likely have difficulty finding campsites and accommodation in the three mountain national parks unless you book far in advance. You are likely to find available campsites and accommodation outside of the parks in the Columbia Valley.