How to Hike to Arnica Lake in Banff

Arnica Lake is an underrated hike in Banff that is far from the madding crowds and offers everything you could want from a Rockies hike. Along the trail, you can catch glimpses of wildflowers, mountain views, a glacial lake, and work up a good sweat. As a plus, it makes for a classic larch season hike in the fall!

The trail up to the Arnica is steep like many hikes in the Rockies, but it’s relatively short lived and only has a modest amount of elevation gain. This makes its a great half day hike option that’s approachable for novice hikers.

Arnica Lake Route Description

The trailhead is at the Vista Lake viewpoint, which just so happens to be one of our favourite little stops that is often missed. However, the lot is limited with only a few spots, and since multiple hikes originate from the day use area, it often fills up pretty fast—it doesn’t help that it has a great view. This means it’s fairly common for hikers to park along the highway shoulder of 93S.

From the parking lot, the trail starts off pretty great, with nice views out to Vista Lake as you begin the descent down to the lake. The trail is largely forested, with only the occasional glimpse out to the face of a subpeak of Storm Mountain.

It’s a well beaten trail that moves along several drainages and hills to reach Vista Lake after about 1.4 km and 130 metres of elevation loss. Most of the trail up to Arnica Lake continues with similar trail conditions. As the trail reaches the lakeshore it hugs along its northern edge before reaching a small footbridge.

The footbridge at the end of Vista Lake offers the best views of the lake. After the bridge, the ascent up from the lake is fairly steep and sustained all the way to Arnica Lake. The trail here moves through the forest, but as you gain elevation into the subalpine forest, the views back over the Bow Valley behind begin to open up.

At moments, the trail levels off, such as around the 2 km and 3.5 km marks, but other than that, it’s an uphill battle all the way to the lake. If you’ve done many other hikes in the Rockies, it’s nothing outrageous, as it’s a more “modest” 500 meters or so of elevation gain. At higher elevations, the trail is lined by larch trees, which makes it a great larch hike in Alberta.

After 4.5km, the trail reaches the subalpine basin that holds Arnica Lake. It’s a dramatic lake with the large cliff face of Storm Mountain serving as its backdrop. Aside from its dramatic scene, the lake is also a serene landscape surrounded by larch trees, small alpine meadows, and rock slides.

It’s a peaceful spot in the busy Canadian Rockies, where you’ll rarely see more than a handful of other hikers enjoying the lake. Which makes for the perfect spot for a picnic while you watch the pikas and marmots dart between their natural rocky habitats along the lakeshore.

Intrepid hikers can continue on up and down the basin to the nearby Twin Lakes, which have a campground. It’s a popular short and easy backcountry hike. However, for those visiting for just the day, it’s best to head back down the same trail to Vista Lake.

The only tough part is that at the end of the hike, you’ll have to gain another 100 meters to reach the car park above Vista Lake! Granted, we always find it feels easy in comparison to the climb up to Arnica.

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When is the Best Time to Hike This Trail?

Arnica Lake is best hiked between mid-June and mid-October. The best time is during the larch season, when the larch trees turn a beautiful golden color. This typically happens around the third week of October and lasts until early October.

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Trail Difficulty

For Canadian Rockies standards, this trail is fairly difficult. Personally, we think it’s a great moderate hike in Banff. While the trail does have 700 meters of gain, it is spread out and rarely ever feels extremely steep. Most people who hike regularly should easily be able to complete this trail.

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Trail Duration

If you just hike to Arnica Lake, expect the hike to take you about 4-5 hours, depending on your pace and how long you stay enjoying the views at Arnica Lake.