Go beyond Peyto Lake

Would you like to go beyond the busy Peyto Lake trail?
Bow Summit is a great trail to enjoy some peace and an amazing view of the lake.

It was a cold early morning that we went hiking Bow Summit trail. We woke up not very excited because of the weather. However, we filled our mugs with hot drinks and went for the hike. The trail starts at the same point as the little trail to Peyto Lake. In fact, the trail begins with a paved pathway until the viewpoint. When we arrived at the viewpoint, I got very excited. The lake is incredible! It was a little foggy as result of the huge fires that were happening around BC. However, we were still able to see the beauty of the landscape.

After enjoying the view, we walked around the little loop. In this loop, we found some informative panels about the vegetation and animals. So, we read a few of them and after we escaped from the busy Peyto Lake trail 😆 (it was not that busy yet because it was very early). There is a signpost showing where the Bow Summit trail begins. Also, it shows it is 2.9km from there. After that point, the trail is not paved anymore and goes up smoothly. The most incredible view of Peyto Lake is on a hill that we found after walking for a few minutes. There isn’t a signpost showing where it is, however, you can’t miss this steep trail to your right with marks on the ground from previous hikers. Please be respectful in this area and try to stay off the vegetation as much as possible.

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Afterwards, we went down the little hill and kept going to the Bow Summit Lookout. The trail went smoothly until the last hill where it has some switchbacks. Soon after we started the switchbacks, we saw marmots. They are so cute! I will never get tired of seeing them on the hikes. Finally, we arrived at the top where we couldn’t see much 😅. It was super foggy! Anyways, it is a very cool trail and it is worthwhile. Especially because we saw several marmots and, on the way back, we saw a whole family of ptarmigans.😁😁

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Details

Directions: 43 km north of Lake Louise in the Icefields Parkway Distance: 2.9km – one way

Elevation gain: 245 m

Moderate trail