Trail Report: Lake O'Hara Alpine Circuit, Yoho National Park, BC Canada

Women of the Wild
Oct 12, 2024
7 min read

The Alpine Circuit has it all: mountain views, lake views, kool-aid lakes, narrow trails, winding trails through larches, alternative routes, Instagram favourites and more. In this post I've gone over everything you need to know about the most popular hike in the Lake O'Hara region.

Trish overlooking Lake O'Hara September 28, 2024

Stat Summary

Distance: 11.1km / 6.9 miles

Elevation gain: 882m / 2,894 feet

Average time: 5 hours

Season: July - October

Permits, camping and lodging: Permits required

See: Trail Tips: Lake O'Hara, Yoho National Park, BC: Shuttle, Lodging & Permits

Popularity & Parking

This is one of the most Instagram-famous hikes in BC, and for good reason. Unfortunately, this means it's also going to be difficult to get into. You need permits, you need a parking pass, you can only access the park by shuttle or by walking the 11km access road, and the parking lot fills up fast. Read my previous blog post, Trail Tips: Lake O'Hara, Yoho National Park, BC: Shuttle, Lodging & Permits, to learn about the parking, permit and shuttle information.

While you don't need to complete the alpine circuit to get to the "Instagram spot," the circuit truly gives you the most incredible views of every angle of the lake. There are many alternate routes you can take to make the hike longer, shorter, easier, harder, more elevation gain, or less. So no matter where you're at in your hiking journey, you'll be able to enjoy Lake O'Hara - even if you don't do the alpine circuit. But since the alpine circuit is the trail I took (with a minor modification), that's what I'm going over in this post.

Conditions

As with any trail, conditions vary throughout the year. Lake O'Hara can be accessed year-round, however the shuttle stops running early October and you can not drive up the road. So this means you'll be snowshoeing or skiing up the 11km access road to access the lake.

Snow can linger well into July and potentially even August on the high points of the trail such as Wiwaxy gap and All Soul's Prospect, so be sure to check weather reports and Mountain Conditions.

We stayed at the Elizabeth Parker Hut from September 26th to September 30th, 2024 and there had been some snowfall in the week prior to our arrival. At the lake and hut there was no snow on the ground, however Odaray Grandview already had several inches. It snowed on and off throughout the day on the 27th and during the night, but the lower elevation areas remained clear of snow. That is, until immedately after we left. Within a day or two or our departure the hut was covered in a thin layer of snow, and that layer continued growing from there.

Alpine weather can always change quickly and is never predictable. Especially so late in the season, you can never be sure what you're going to get and must plan for anything Mother Nature may throw at you. We got it all: sun, rain, snow, hail and high winds. And yet, we had the absolute time of our lives.

The Trail

The Lake O'Hara Alpine Circuit is a loop trail with many alternate routes. It is recommended to travel it clockwise, for a couple reasons:

To keep everyone moving in the same direction and avoid trying to pass other hikers on narrow sections
To do the bulk of the elevation gain at the beginning, allowing you a more gradual hike afterward

Starting at Lake O'Hara, you'll walk along the edge of the lake and very quickly start your incline to Wiwaxy Gap. Once you start the incline you'll only cover about 1.5km / 0.9 miles, but you'll gain 489m / 1,604 feet. There are many beautiful spots along the way to stop and take photos as well as rest, so take your time. There are also some narrow points of the trail with steep drop-offs. If this isn't your thing, see alternative routes below. Not only will you get beautiful views of Lake O'Hara, but of Mount Schaffer and Mount Biddle as well. Once you've made it to the top, way to go! You've done the majority of the elevation gain for this hike. If you want to skip this elevation gain, see alternative routes below.

After Wiwaxy Gap you'll take a gradual decline on your way to Lake Oesa with a couple gorgeous small lakes along the way. The colours may vary throughout the season, but when we went they were various shades of blue and looked like Kool-Aid. You'll also pass over some small water crossings, although early in the season they might not be small. For us, at the end of September, they were small and very cute.

After Lake Oesa you'll follow the trail in front of Yukness Mountain via the Yukness Ledges Alpine Route. Some of the spots along this stretch of the trail are narrow, and someone with an extreme fear of heights might struggle with this section - see alternative routes below. There are some really cool sections of the trail between Lake Oesa and Opabin Lake, so I do recommend taking it if you can.

As you wrap around Yukness Mountain you'll come across a few smaller lakes: Cascade Lakes, Moor Lakes, Hungabee Lake and Opabin Lake. The alpine circuit doesn't technically go all the way to Opabin lake, but it's only a short addition to your hike. From here is where you have several options for trails to take. The description below goes into detail about the next stretch on the alpine circuit, and in the alternative trails section I'll go over, well, alternatives.

The alpine route takes you over All Soul's Prospect, down to Schaffer Lake and past the Elizabeth Parker Hut to bring you back to Lake O'Hara. If you choose to do All Soul's Prospect you'll have another good stretch of elevation gain and loss, but the gain is only half as much as you what completed to get to Wiwaxy Gap. If you choose to skip All Soul's Prospect and head back through one of the Opabin trails, you'll instead just have a relative steady up-and-down without any extremes all the way to the end. You can add the Opabin Prospect Route to this trail if you'd like - this is the Instagram spot! While there are an endless amount of amazing spots to take stunning photos from, if you've done any research surrounding Lake O'Hara or have seen photos of it online, I can guarantee you've seen photos of other hikers taken at the tip of the Opabin Prospect Route.

Alternative routes:

If the trail to Wiwaxy Gap isn't your jam, take the Lake O'Hara Circuit Trail around the North side of the lake. There is a trail that forks to the let about 0.6km / 0.4 miles along the Circuit Trail that will take you up to Lake Oesa.

If you don't want to follow the Yukness Ledges Alpine Route, take the route above to get to Lake Oesa then head back down to Lake O'Hara and continue East along the lake. Bones: this will take you past Seven Veils Falls, which can be seen from the far side of the lake. At the South East corner of the lake you'll meet up with the East Opabin Trail. Take that to get up to the Opabin Plateau, and continue your journey from there.

Alternatives to All Soul's Prospect:

Option one: take the East Opabin Trail back down to the South East side of Lake O'Hara, walk along the South shore of the lake, past the lodge and cabins, and back to the start of the hike. This has some switchbacks, and is also the trail that we took back.

Option two: take the Opabin Highline trail and meet up with the East Opabin Trail.

Option three: take the Opabin Highline Trail or the Alpine Circuit trail to get to the Opabin Prospect Route. From there you'd continue down the West Opabin Trail. You can choose to end up in the middle of the South end of Lake O'Hara, continue along the length of the West Opabin Trail to get back to the start of the trail or connect with the Big Larches Trail to re-connect with the alpine circuit route at Schaffer Lake.

Water

As you may have guessed, there are many lakes for you to choose from as well as some water crossings. The first water crossing doesn't come until a bit after the Wiwaxy gap, and since that's the most strenuous bit of the trail, make sure to start with enough water and electrolytes. Always remember to filter your water.

Facilities

There are no facilities along the trails. At the beginning of the trail beside Le Relais there are outhouses. This is also a pristine alpine wilderness area, which means you may dig cat holes. Follow leave no trace principles and pack out your waste by bringing a WAG bag, as well as ziplock(s) for your garbage and toilet paper.

Group Stats

It is important to note that there are some restrictions to group sizes in this area, as well as how many groups can visit a particular area. Aside from the Alpine Circuit, another popular trail is Odaray Grandview and Little Odaray. This area has seasonal closures due to grizzly bear habitat, and will have restrictions on the number of groups that can enter the area per day. For example, when we went, only 4 groups were allowed to hike into the Odaray area per day. Check Parks Canada and the Lake O'Hara Trails Club for up-to-date information.

Our group had 14 people, of varying abilities. Some of us were peak baggers (shout out to Lori, Chelsea and Duncan), some of us wanted to put in some miles and attempt some peaks but were a little slower and had knee problems (hi, it's me), and some of us wanted to hit the Alpine Circuit right away, in case the weather changed for the worse. So, we split up into 3 groups on day one and I think we ended up with 4 or 5 different groups on day two. There is so much to see in this area, that it's impossible to expect everyone in a group to want to do the same thing. We were all happy with our decisions to split up.