Canadian Rockies 2025: Helen Lake

On July 29th, Joan and I took our final hike of this visit, to Helen Lake, a popular spot. The trailhead isn't far from the Lodge at Bow Lake. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

We pulled off at the Bow Lake Viewpoint, and this was the view looking back at the lodge.

Zooming in.

Parking for Helen Lake was nearby, on the other side of the Icefields Parkway. The trail takes off through the woods, crossing small creeks and requiring attention to roots, rocks, and erosion. After a while, the Crowfoot Glacier peeks out.

Bald patches began to appear. This one offers a view of the Bow River.

A few minutes later, we spotted this grouse.

Joan and I aren't the fastest hikers. After about two hours, we reached the bend into the eastern flank of the ridge. Just ahead of us were the manager of the lodge, Bruce Millar, and his wife Alison. They have been mentioned in this blog from the years when they ran the Lake O'Hara lodge.

Looking to the south, we could see we'd indeed come up a ways.

The flowers were enjoying the sun.

After strolling through creek crossings, roots, and stone steps, we approached the lake's outflow and noticed the braided trails ahead, worn by heavy foot traffic.

Helen Lake lies at the foot of a ridgeline.

We paused at the shore for a snack, sharing the view with other hikers (and the many dogs they had brought along). Then we continued, ready to tackle the climb to the ridgeline. This photo is a look back at Helen.

One highlight of this area is the marmot population. Today, several youngsters were out between the lake and the ridge.

The truly hardy hikers would tackle not the ridge, but ascend Cirque Peak (2,993m / 9,819'). (Click on the image to enlarge!)

Some were already at the top! They must have been up early, or very fast, or both.

Joan and I walked out to the end of the ridge above the lake.

From the ridgetop, this panorama shows Helen Lake peeking out from a bump in the land.

Katherine Lake lies on the other side of our ridge.

Looking at an angle at the ridge and Dolomite Peak.

From near the saddle, we looked down at Katherine Lake. It's not far, but we needed to conserve our energy for the return journey.

However, we'd heard that there was a stromatolite bed nearby, and with a little wandering we found it. (Stromatolites are layered sedimentary formations created by microorganisms such as cyanobacteria. They produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials into mineral mats that build gradually, adding layer by layer over geological time.

The layering is clear when you get close.

Then it was time to begin our return, with more marmot encounters on our way back to the lake.

Once back into the trees, this Clark's nutcracker studied us as we passed beneath. It was a long day, and by the end I had to slow down to feel secure navigating roots and rocks. Joan pulled ahead, but waited for me at the end. Helen Lake: highly recommended, especially if you continue to the ridgeline beyond.

This was the last hike of our 2025 visit. The next day, we made our usual stops on the way to the Calgary airport: buy chocolates at Le Chocolatier in Canmore, return our bear spray to the Barrier Lake Visitor Center, and lunch at the Nepali restaurant Amma in Cochrane (great food!). The next morning we flew back to Columbus.

Canada 2024: Helen Lake

On July 18th, 2024, Joan and I chose to tackle a hike to Helen Lake, and preferably further. Long ago -- before this blog began -- we trod that trail and were fascinated by the sight of rollicking marmots. But we had been frustrated when trying to get further; snow had lingered on the narrow, rocky climb beyond the lake. This time promised to be different.

 

First, a map copied from this information-packed website. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Those contour lines are in meters, not feet!

The lodge on the shores of Bow Lake is a black spot in the upper left of the map.

 

The parking area for Helen Lake was a short distance south on the parkway. It's a popular hike, so get there early. As you can see on the map, the trail began with a climb in the woods; the footing involved rocks, roots, small streams, and the occasional dried horse poop (only on the lower stretches). Then we turned towards a low shoulder on Crystal Ridge. This photo looks back towards Bow Lake.

At this elevation and latitude, spring flowers were in abundance. They especially pop out at old burn sites, where there's plenty of sunlight.

Sometimes there were open spots while in the woods ...

The woods began to thin, and the switchbacks proliferated.

The next range of mountains hove into view as we swung around the shoulder.

Soon we saw a foraging Clark's nutcracker, one of a flock in this spot.

Occasional streams trickled down from the heights to the west. Sometimes we walked through one without breaking our stride, but a few careful steps were needed when the path resumed at an offset to the left or right.

The trees began to peter out, and a gushing stream promised a lake ahead. Unfortunately, generations of hikers have braided and widened the beaten path.

Finally, Helen Lake appeared, with Cirque Peak (altitude 9,819') looming in the background.

People had already reached the lake, of course. I avoided including them in photos whenever I could. We found a festive atmosphere, a dog show, with at least five dogs now and more coming up. Taking a canine along seems almost de rigueur these days -- and of course, no marmot dared appear, even though all the dogs were on a leash.

After a snack, Joan and I continued east on the trail and then ascended switchbacks on a rocky, narrower path. In this photo, we're partway up and looking back at Helen.

The extra climb was worth it. Katherine Lake lies on the other side.

Joan and I walked to the far point of our petite ridge and looked down.

Even up here, flowers can bloom.

This was the view back to Cirque Peak. Rather barren looking!

Two hardy souls were slowly making their way up to the peak. My camera zoom couldn't resolve them,

but through our binoculars we saw tiny figures slowly making their way up that 45° slope. (They did succeed.)

It was now time for our return hike. At first it was easy enough, wandering past hikers and dogs, but after rounding the corner it became a slog, in the very heat of the day. The folks heading up were red in the face; some asked us, "How much further?" A late start makes the hike ten times harder.

 

We were relieved to finally reach the parking area. After dinner at the lodge, Joan and I took an evening stroll around the grounds that were so clogged with humanity during the day. It had been a great hike, and we were glad to have ascended the ridge above Helen Lake this time. Hmm. Could we make it to Katherine Lake in cooler weather ...