Lake Bourgeau Trail

This is a hike in highly recommended. Make sure you have a national park fishing license and check with the Banff Information Center to make sure there are no fishing restrictions. This trail through the forest averages a 10% grade and is well sheltered both from the wind and sun. It features a waterfall and the lake is full of fish. I could see dozens swimming to the surface grabbing mosquitoes. Here is a photo of the lake from the southeast shore.

The hike starts in a lodgepole pine forest and about halfway up turns into spruce forest. As you hike through the forest it opens in spots for views of the Bow Valley. Along the way you will cross two separate streams, the second of which is a waterfall and see some impressive cliffs towering above the trail on the left side. After 5.5 kilometers, once you cross the stream at the waterfall the climbing really starts as the trail switchbacks to the upper valley floor. At this point you are only 2 kilometers from the lake. As you cross the valley to the lake Mount Bourgeau is to the left and Mount Brett is to the right. If you are ambitious you can continue from Bourgeau Lake to Healy Pass and even to the summit of Mount Bourgeau. The climb to the Pass is an additional elevation gain of 290 meters and the top of Mount Bourgeau is 760 meters. The trail to Healy Pass heads up into the pass in the photo above. There is a sign for this trail just before you reach the lake.

Follow the link to explore the area using Google Earth.

The GPS track for this hike can be downloaded via the file attached to this post. Go to the "About" page for directions prior to download or use of this data or any information in relation to this hike. Please submit your feedback and let me know your thoughts on the hike. If you have the the GPS data for other hikes in Alberta please send it along with a couple pictures to chris[at]hikealberta[dot]com.