The Best Day Hikes in Banff & Jasper National Parks
The Canadian Rockies contain some of the most dramatic alpine scenery on earth — and you don’t need a tent to experience it. These day hikes deliver glaciers, turquoise lakes, sweeping passes, and wildlife encounters that will stay with you long after you’ve driven back down the Icefields Parkway.
1. Wilcox Pass — Jasper National Park
Distance: 8 km (5 mi) round trip | Elevation gain: 335 m (1,100 ft) | Difficulty: Moderate
If there’s a single hike that earns its reputation in the Canadian Rockies, it’s Wilcox Pass. Located just south of the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre along the Icefields Parkway, the trail begins with a steady climb through subalpine forest before opening onto one of the most staggering viewpoints in North America. From the pass, you’re rewarded with an unobstructed panorama of the Columbia Icefield — the largest icefield in the Rockies — with the Athabasca Glacier spilling visibly below you. Bighorn sheep are virtually guaranteed company up here; they graze the open meadows with remarkable indifference to hikers. The pass itself is broad and rolling, with room to wander and let the scale of the landscape sink in. Unlike many Rockies hikes where the payoff comes only at a pinpoint destination, Wilcox delivers grandeur for the entire final kilometer. Go early to avoid afternoon clouds rolling in off the glaciers, and pack layers — it’s cold up top even in August.
2. Plain of Six Glaciers — Banff National Park
Distance: 14 km (8.7 mi) round trip | Elevation gain: 365 m (1,200 ft) | Difficulty: Moderate
Lake Louise needs no introduction, but most visitors never venture past the lakeshore. The Plain of Six Glaciers trail follows the turquoise water to the far end of the lake and then climbs steadily through moraines and alpine terrain until the landscape transforms completely. You emerge onto a stark, rocky plain flanked on all sides by active glaciers — the Victoria, Lefroy, Upper Victoria, Aberdeen, Popes, and Mitre — a sight that feels closer to Patagonia than to anything most North Americans have seen. Halfway up sits the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse, a historic alpine hut where hikers have been sipping hot drinks and eating scones since 1927, entirely supplied by packhorse. The teahouse is reason enough to make the trip, but it’s the upper viewpoint that genuinely stops people in their tracks: a hanging glacier calves visibly in the distance, and the scale of the ice makes everything human feel very, very small. This is one of the longer day hikes on this list, so start early and budget the full day.
3. Consolation Lakes — Banff National Park
Distance: 6 km (3.7 mi) round trip | Elevation gain: 65 m (215 ft) | Difficulty: Easy–Moderate
Starting from the iconic Moraine Lake parking area in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, the Consolation Lakes trail is the anti-crowds answer to its famous neighbor. The hike begins with a brief scramble over a boulder field — enough to deter the most casual visitors — before settling into a peaceful forested walk that feels genuinely remote despite being just a stone’s throw from one of Banff’s busiest trailheads. The lower Consolation Lake emerges as a breathtaking surprise: a wide, glacier-fed tarn ringed by sheer limestone walls and talus fields, with the upper lake accessible by a short scramble beyond. The color of the water shifts throughout the day as light catches the glacial silt, ranging from deep jade to an almost impossibly bright turquoise. Grizzly bear activity is common in this valley — Parks Canada sometimes closes the trail for that reason — so check conditions before you go and carry bear spray. The combination of accessibility, solitude relative to other Moraine Lake trails, and sheer dramatic scenery makes Consolation Lakes an essential stop.
4. Sentinel Pass via Larch Valley — Banff National Park
Distance: 11.6 km (7.2 mi) round trip | Elevation gain: 725 m (2,380 ft) | Difficulty: Strenuous
This is the hike for people who want to feel like they’ve truly earned something. Also departing from Moraine Lake, the trail climbs through Larch Valley — stunning in late September when the larch trees ignite in gold — before continuing up a long switchback ascent to Sentinel Pass at 2,611 meters, the highest trail-accessible pass in Banff National Park. The views from the top are vertiginous: you look down into the Valley of the Ten Peaks on one side and into Paradise Valley on the other, with the Pinnacles rising as stark rock towers just above you. Strong hikers can continue down into Paradise Valley and loop back, but most day hikers simply linger at the pass before retracing their steps. The larch season version of this hike — roughly the last two weeks of September — is so popular that Parks Canada requires a shuttle to access Moraine Lake during peak season; plan accordingly. Any time of summer, this is arguably the most spectacular high-pass view in the entire Banff–Lake Louise corridor.
5. Cavell Meadows — Jasper National Park
Distance: 8 km (5 mi) loop | Elevation gain: 380 m (1,250 ft) | Difficulty: Moderate
Mount Edith Cavell is the most dramatic peak in Jasper, and the hike to Cavell Meadows puts you right at its feet. The trailhead sits at Cavell Lake, where the Angel Glacier drapes itself over a vertical cliff face above the water — an otherworldly scene before you’ve even taken a step. The loop trail splits into a lower path (easy, hugging the moraine lake shore) and an upper route that climbs steeply into open alpine meadows with close-range views of the glaciated north face of Edith Cavell. In July, the meadows blaze with wildflowers — Indian paintbrush, mountain fleabane, and white mountain avens carpeting the slopes in color while glacial ice looms overhead. The combination of lush alpine flora with vertical ice is genuinely unusual and makes this hike feel distinct from anything else in the Rockies. On warm days you’ll hear — and possibly see — ice calving from the Angel Glacier into the lake below. The road to the trailhead is narrow and winding; RVs and trailers are prohibited, and parking fills up quickly by mid-morning.
6. Bow Glacier Falls — Banff National Park
Distance: 9 km (5.6 mi) round trip | Elevation gain: 175 m (574 ft) | Difficulty: Easy–Moderate
This underrated gem along the Icefields Parkway rewards hikers who don’t need a famous name to feel satisfied. Starting from Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on the shores of Bow Lake — itself one of the most beautiful lakes in the Rockies — the trail follows the lakeshore and then climbs gently through meadows and moraine to reach a spectacular hanging valley. Bow Glacier Falls plunges roughly 120 meters down a vertical headwall at the far end, fed by the Wapta Icefield above. The noise before the falls come into view is tremendous; the spray and cold air hit you well before you see the cascade. Beyond the falls, a scramble up the headwall leads to the Bow Glacier itself, though most day hikers are more than satisfied at the base. The relatively modest elevation gain makes this accessible to a wider range of fitness levels, and the combination of the iconic lake approach with the dramatic finish at the falls makes it far more rewarding than the difficulty suggests. This one often gets overshadowed by the marquee hikes nearby, which means the crowds stay manageable.
Practical Notes
- Bear safety: All these trails are in active grizzly and black bear habitat. Carry bear spray, hike in groups, and make noise. Check Parks Canada for current trail closures.
- Moraine Lake access: Parks Canada requires reservation-based shuttle access from Banff or Lake Louise to reach Moraine Lake during peak summer. Book well in advance at reservation.pc.gc.ca.
- Seasons: Most trails are fully accessible from late June through mid-October. Wilcox Pass and Cavell Meadows can hold snow into July.
- Park passes: Both Banff and Jasper require a Parks Canada discovery pass, available at park gates or online.
- Icefields Parkway: Several of these hikes sit along or near the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93), one of the great drives in North America. Build in extra time — you will stop constantly.