Best lake hikes near Banff
The 15 best lake hikes near Banff, out of 56 that we map, ranked by trail score.
How we rank trails Ranked by trail score and distance from Banff, so the score is one of two inputs.
- All hikes
- Easy 105
- Moderate 110
- Hard 138
- Under 5 km 184
- Kid friendly 95
- Waterfalls 24
- Summits 79
- Views 196
- Canyons 9
- Loops 25
- Backpacking 28
- Wheelchair friendly 7
The list
Sorted by rank- 1Vermilion Lakes RoadNear Banff · Banff National ParkEasy · 8.5 km · 58 m gain · 2 h 15 min · 4 km from BanffLake · Views · River or creek · Passes 3rd Vermilion Lake and Vermilion Lake Viewpoint91score
- 2Cascade PondsNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 2.1 km · 31 m gain · 35 min · 5 km from BanffLake · Waterfall · Passes Cascade Ponds87score
- 3Lake MinnewankaNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkModerate · 3.5 km · 78 m gain · 1 h · 10 km from BanffLake · Views · River or creek · Passes Lake Minnewanka and Lake Minnewanka Cruise87score
- 4Grassi LakesNear Canmore · Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial ParkEasy · 3.0 km · 150 m gain · 1 h 15 min · 16 km from BanffLake · Waterfall · Views · Passes Lower Grassi Lake88score
- 5Mount Girouard RouteNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkHard · 18.0 km · 1,655 m gain · 11 h · 7 km from BanffLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Johnson Lake and Mount Girouard76score
- 6Two Jack LakesideNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 3.2 km · 61 m gain · 60 min · 8 km from BanffLake · River or creek · Passes Two Jack Lake76score
- 7Cascade ValleyNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkModerate · 118.2 km · 2,481 m gain · 36 h 15 min · 9 km from BanffLake · Waterfall · Views · River or creek · Passes Wigmore Lake76score
- 8Water TowerNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 7.9 km · 172 m gain · 2 h 30 min · 5 km from BanffLake · Passes Cascade Ponds and Johnson Lake72score
- 9Johnson Lake SouthsideNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 2.6 km · 72 m gain · 50 min · 6 km from BanffLake · Passes Johnson Lake73score
- 10Johnson Lake LoopNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 2.9 km · 65 m gain · 55 min · 6 km from BanffLake · Passes Johnson Lake73score
- 11Riders of RohanNear Canmore · Bow Valley Wildland Provincial ParkModerate · 2.4 km · 267 m gain · 1 h 45 min · 16 km from BanffLake · Waterfall · Views · Passes Lower Grassi Lake83score
- 12Heather's TrailNear Anthracite · Banff National ParkEasy · 1.6 km · 32 m gain · 30 min · 7 km from BanffLake · Passes Johnson Lake70score
- 13Harvey PassNear Sawback · Banff National ParkModerate · 4.5 km · 319 m gain · 2 h 15 min · 16 km from BanffLake · Views · Alpine · Passes Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass77score
- 14East End of Rundle RouteNear Canmore · Banff National Park of CanadaHard · 4.7 km · 859 m gain · 5 h 15 min · 16 km from BanffLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Whitemans Pond and Rundle 877score
- 15Elk LakeNear Banff · Banff National ParkModerate · 18.2 km · 614 m gain · 6 h 15 min · 7 km from BanffLake · Views · Camping · Alpine · Passes Elk Lake67score