Yes, but keep them on a lead. The Plain of Six Glaciers is a long and challenging hike that passes through a variety of unique and absolutely gorgeous landscapes including rocky, barren terrain and pine-tree forests while also passing on a narrow ledge along the side of a mountain and takes you right up to the Victoria Glacier. , I think it’s those nymphs! We did two hikes totaling ~13 miles and played disc golf at the Canmore Nordic Centre. In addition to helping stay on the trails, we like the ability to track our stats (distance, elevation gain, etc.). Take a moment to appreciate the 360 degrees of beauty which surround you. so I’ll stop this post here and write about our afternoon (to Lake Agnes and the Big Beehive) separately. On the way down a couple of hours later, most of these icicles were starting to melt and drop down with big smashing sounds. Share. I love that we can keep seeing each others posts and adding places we’d like to visit to our long lists! For a complete list of ongoing closures and restrictions, please visit our Important Bulletins page. This post is already a bit too long, and the next section of the walk was also fantastic (it includes meeting a family of grizzly bears!) Note that parking is very competitive at Lake Louise and access to the entire area is often completely shut down. The food is simple, the company glorious, and the view,unbeatable!! No matter when you come to Lake Louise, get here as early as possible. The Plain of Six Glaciers hike is a pretty amazing alpine walk that leads up from the super instagrammable Lake Louise, to some gorgeous glacial views and a pretty teahouse. I hope you can come back to see the other half! In no time at all, you’ll find yourself at a junction. We met bears and saw even more pretty views, before the snow came down! Walking boots. We made it! Canada’s famous Lake Louise As you reach the glacial valley, the greenery disappears and rocks of all shapes and sizes take its place. Beyond the Larch trees is a huge rock field from a landslide down the slopes of Pope’s Peak. To find the Plain of Six Glaciers trail map in AllTrails, simply search for “Plain of the Six Glaciers Trail”. The Plain of Six Glaciers trail is a reasonably long Banff day-hike, so we would like to reinforce the importance of a few items from our hiking essentials list: The Plains of the Six Glaciers trail is in decent shape for most of its length. The trail becomes single track with many large rocks and tree roots to manage. That said, the best spot to stop for lunch is the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House – roughly 6km from the trailhead. If you had spikes, you’d’ve been fine…but it would be reeeeally slippy with just walking boots! Omg you’ve seen so many bears!!! The name Plain of Six Glaciers comes from the hanging glaciers of It’s well worth making a short side trip from the Tea House to the Abbot Pass viewpoint, to take a look down into crevasses on the Lower Victoria Glacier. To seeing the world then. 13.7km - You’re back at the junction you passed before, but instead of turning left to go back up to Lake Agnes, BEAR RIGHT following the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail down the valley and back towards Lake Louise. Om nom nom…. We were visiting Banff in late September so the trail wasn't super crowded with hikers as I've heard it can be during the summer. This is us chilling at the end of the hike. Invisible nymphs must have been flitting around you? (In the fall, look up to see golden larch trees at the treeline on the surrounding mountains). Beginning as an easy stroll along the shoreline of the world-famous Lake Louise, the Plain of Six Glaciers trail is an incredibly scenic and rewarding hike. Closures and restrictions. We’ve done it in as little as 3h 30m. We always carry micro spikes (you can see the post when we first used them here) in our bags, so we slipped them on and kept walking normally. You will see people wearing jeans, carrying no water, you will see people with bear spray and prepared for different weather conditions. Duration: It should take a typical adult about 4 hours to hike the full round-trip distance of the Plain of the Six Glaciers Trail. The materials for the building were pack-horsed in and sourced from the area. For recommendations on what hiking gear to bring on the Six Glaciers hike to improve your safety, see below. It was the end of September, so we expected it to be a bit cold…but not this cold! It’s easy to be distracted by the beauty of the Lake Louise glaciers, so be careful to watch your step. If you can peel your eyes off the scenery, keep an eye open for rock climbers on the cliffs to the right of the trail. Aww thanks Ruth! 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