Hiking the Lake O'hara Alpine Circuit
On day two of our most recent Banff trip, Charlie and I set out to hike the Lake O'hara alpine circuit. On our first trip to Banff in 2023, I had never even heard of Lake O'hara. After researching for this past trip, I discovered this gem of a place that is so close to Lake Louise. It was only 15 minutes from Paradise Lodge and Bungalows (where we stayed) in Lake Louise. Technically, Lake O'Hara is in Yoho National Park.
Lake O'Hara has become a protected place. Parks Canada wants to preserve this pristine environment, therefore they only allow a certain number of visitors per day. There are two shuttle busses that bring people in each day. You literally have to win the bus lottery in order to get a spot or be crazy/determined enough to hike into the area. Sadly, we did not get a bus spot. We chose to hike in. It's a 7 mile hike with about 1600 feet of elevation gain up an access road to reach Lake O'Hara. After reaching the lake we continued hiking on most of the Alpine Circuit around the lake adding another 6.5 miles to our day. We totaled about 13.5 miles and 3600 feet of elevation gain.
The hike up the access road was prettier and less mundane than I anticipated. We started up the road at 6:15 am and got to see the rising sun begin to light up the tops of the mountains. The road follows along a creek which helped to keep the hike in interesting.
We arrived at Lake O'hara around 8:00 am. I love how the lake is so calm you can see the reflection of the mountain in the water. We predominately followed the alltrails link HERE. From the base of the lake we headed clockwise up and around climbing to Wiwaxy Gap. Climbing up to Wiwaxy Gap was the steepest part of the hike.
Although climbing up Wiwaxy Gap was steep, our climb up to the top of Cirque Peak the day before felt more strenuous. The views at the top of Wiwaxy were stunning. It was super windy and cold at the top, so we didn't stay long.
This is the view looking to the other side of Wiwaxy.
Having reached the highest point in the hike, we hiked along the Huber ledges to Lake Oesa. You pass above other little blue lakes (tarns) along the way. Lake Oesa is a dazzling blue lake. We sat here to eat our lunch.
We followed along the Yukness ledges. We passed on the other side of the small tarns and came out to a rocky point overlooking Lake O'hara from the east.
From here we took a quicker route back, not completing the final portion of the alpine circuit up to All Soul's Prospect. We knew by cutting off this last part, we would have a better chance of catching a spot on the 2pm shuttle back to the parking lot. At this point, out legs were toast and we were desperate to not have to hike the 7 miles back out. Although Parks Canada will never let you hitch a ride on the way into Lake O'hara if you did not win the bus lottery, they will allow you to pay $15 per person to hitch a ride out of the area if there is extra space on an outgoing bus. We were so thankful to get a spot! We finished up the day at the base of Lake O'hara where we started.
After two massive hiking days, we were ready for a "rest" day. We visited Lake Moraine the next day and just took it easy. It was cloudy on our way to Lake Moraine, but right when we arrived the sun peaked out. The lake is so stunningly blue in the midday sun. It always takes my breath away!
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