The Berg Lake trail is a 21km trail located in Mount Robson Provincial Park. It traverses through the Valley of a Thousand Falls, along the Robson River, to Berg Lake, with prominent views of Mount Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, the entire way.
I was lucky to spend three days and two nights on the Berg Lake Trail in September 2020 with absolutely perfect weather. It was certainly one of the highlights of a difficult year and “peaked” my interest in spending more time in the Rockies.
Here is some beta for you to use while planning your hike on the Berg Lake Trail.
Trail Stats
Distance: 21km one-way to Berg Lake Campsite
Elevation: 788m (from trailhead to Berg Lake)
Route Type: Out-and-back
Difficulty: Moderate
Hiking Season: July – October
Planning Resources
- The BC Parks website has lots of information and maps of the trail
- Taryn at Happiest Outdoors (one of my favourite blogs) has a very informative guide to the trail
Preparing for the Trip
Itinerary
We opted to stay for two nights on the trail so that we could spend our second day on a day trip from the Berg Lake campground. Given the amount of day trips and exploring that you can do from Berg Lake, I think you could easily spend 3-4 nights on the trail and use the campsites around the lake as a “base camp” to do different day hikes from.
I did the Hargreaves Lake to Toboggan Falls route as a day trip on our second day, but there are several options for day trips from Berg Lake campsite:
Hargreaves Lake Route – 8km round trip
Toboggan Falls/Mumm Basin Route – closed indefinitely
Snowbird Pass Route – 22km round trip
Adolphus Lake – 7km round trip
Transportation to Trailhead
I parked my vehicle at the Berg Lake trailhead, which is just down the road from the Mount Robson Visitor’s Centre on Highway 16.
Sleeping Options
All of the campsites on the Berg Lake Trail require reservations. If you are very lucky, you may be able to secure a last-minute spot, but generally you will need to book your camping spots well in advance of your trip.
When I booked our dates in 2020, I had to wake up at 6am two months ahead of the trip to log into Discover Camping and register just to get two mid-week nights on the trail. Even then, we did not get the exact dates or the exact campsites we had intended to. I would recommend being very flexible with your dates and campsites.
Check the Discover Camping website to see when registrations will open for the dates you plan to go.
There are seven campsites at intervals along the Berg Lake Trail:
Kinney Lake – 7km
Whitehorn – 11km
Emperor Falls – 16km
Marmot – 19km
Berg Lake – 21km
Rearguard – 22km
Robson Pass – 23km
If you are lucky enough to register for two simultaneous nights at the Berg Lake Campsite itself, you should seriously consider buying lottery tickets.
We stayed on the trail for two nights, and spent the first night at Berg Lake campsite (km 21) and the second night at Marmot campsite (km 19).
On the Trail
Day 1: Mount Robson Visitor’s Centre to Berg Lake Campsite
I originally intended to do this trip with one of my friends who I have hiked with quite a bit before; however, a few days before the trip she fell ill, and given the COVID situation, we decided that she would not join me on this trip. For a while I considered doing the trip alone, but ended up convincing one of my roommates at the time (who was a VERY GOOD sport about the whole thing) to join me.
We drove up from Vancouver over two days and camped at Robson Meadows campground, which is just across the highway from the Mount Robson Visitor’s Centre. After a rainy night at the campsite, we checked in at the Visitor’s Centre and picked up our camping permits before driving to the trailhead at the end of Kinney Lake road and heading off on our journey.
The trail crosses the rushing Robson River, and begins to wind its way along the side of the river, slowly gaining elevation at a mellow grade. This section is very wide, and the grade would lend itself well to bikepacking if you are looking to move a little faster on the flats. In fact, bikes are allowed on the trail up until Kinney Lake (km 7). Next time I do this trail, I would definitely cycle this section and lock my bike at Kinney Lake to switch things up a bit.
After a couple of hours, we arrived at the shore of Kinney Lake and admired the mountains reflecting in the still water.
Once you arrive at the lake, the trail continues through the forest around the lakeshore until you arrive at the Kinney Lake campsite. This site has 14 tent pads, and a very solid-looking outdoor cooking shelter. We stopped for a quick snack and continued onwards.
From Kinney Lake, the trail undulates along the banks of the Valley of a Thousand Falls, before heading downwards to cross the valley over a series of small footbridges. It begins to climb slightly from there, before you cross back over the Robson River and arrive at Whitehorn camp.
The Whitehorn campsite is nestled in the forest on the banks of the Robson River. The campsite has 22 tent pads as well as another solid-looking cooking shelter. After a lunch break where we took off our shoes and submerged our feet in the icy river, we put our boots back on and continued up the valley.
The trail very quickly begins to climb after Whitehorn Campsite, so be prepared for 5km and 600m elevation gain between Whitehorn and Emperor Falls. You pass some spectacular waterfalls, and eventually catch a glimpse of the massive Emperor Falls. There is a small side trail that will lead you to the foot of the falls if you feel the need to cool off after that climb.
Shortly after the turnoff for Emperor Falls, the trail arrives at Emperor Falls campsite. There are 9 tent pads here, some sitting right on the Robson River, but no cooking shelter.
Once you pass Emperor Falls campsite, the trail exits the forest, and you enter a massive open valley. The trail cuts across a rocky slope with the Robson River weaving its way through the meadows below and the mighty Mount Robson towering overhead. I was barely able to concentrate on my feet, I was so swept away by the scenery. The braided strands of water reminded me of the Waimakariri River on the South Island of New Zealand, but the evergreens and the geomorphic structure of Mount Robson reminded me of my presence in Canada.
The trail winds along the edge of the valley before arriving at the crest of Berg Lake and Marmot campsite.
Marmot Campsite is located right on the southwest corner of Berg Lake. It has 7 tent pads nestled in the forest, and no cooking shelter. Even though it doesn’t have the iconic view of Mount Robson across Berg Lake, it is quieter than the main campsite, and still affords amazing views of Berg Glacier and Rearguard Mountain.
We continued the next 2km through the forest around the lake, where we arrived at our destination: Berg Lake campsite. This campsite has 26 tent pads nestled uphill of the trail in the woods, as well as two seperate cooking shelters.
Quickly, we found an available site, set up the tent, and then decided to cook dinner on the rocky shores of Berg Lake while watching the sunset over Mount Robson. Even in early September, we were absolutely freezing as soon as the sun went down. Thankfully, a warm meal of Annie’s Mac & Cheese perked us up, and with food in our bellies we clambered into our tent and fell asleep fast.
Day 2: Hargreaves Lake Route (Day Trip)
Given that we had to move from Berg Lake campsite to Marmot campsite, we decided to wake up fairly early and do that first thing so that we could have the day to enjoy ourselves. After a warm meal served on the rocky beach at Berg Lake, we packed up our gear again and backtracked the 2km to Marmot. We snagged a campsite just off the rocky beach and set up our stuff again.
My roommate was pretty beat after the previous’ day’s hike, and I wasn’t feeling motivated enough to tackle a bigger day hike such as Snowbird Pass, so I opted to do a quick solo hike up to Hargreaves Lake, across to Toboggan Falls, and then back along the lakeside trail we had already walked once that day.
The Hargreaves Lake trail starts a few hundred metres past the Marmot campsite towards the Berg Lake campsite. It quickly climbs upwards through rocky brush, and after 30-45 minutes, arrives at a rocky knoll with fantastic views of Hargreaves Glacier and Lake in one direction, and very clear views of Mount Robson and Berg Lake in the other.
After a snack break admiring the 360 degree views, I continued to traverse along the trail northwards towards Toboggan Falls. I did not run into anyone else on the Hargreaves Trail; however, I did run into quite a lot of fresh bear scat. Thankfully I had my bear spray armed and ready to go, and tried to walk very loudly to detract any surprise visitors.
The Toboggan Falls and Mumm Basin route was closed due to a landslide in 2020, but I turned down the slope and walked downstream with the outflow from the falls. The way the rocks had been shaped by the water over hundreds of thousands of years was really mesmerizing.
I arrived back at Marmot Campsite after a 3 hour hike, and spent the rest of the day bundled up on the rocky beach basking in the sun and reading my book. We then cooked dinner on the beach while we watched the sun set over Mount Robson from a slightly different angle.
Knowing the next morning would be an early one, and given the sudden drop in temperature after sunset, we climbed into our sleeping bags quite early, and dozed off to the sound of the Robson River rumbling in the distance.
Day 3: Marmot Campsite to Mount Robson Visitor’s Centre
As we were aiming to drive part of the way back to Vancouver, we were up before sunrise, and ate our warm bowls of oatmeal under the stars as the sky began to lighten. We backtracked across the rocky slope and watched the sun rise over the valley, and then started the descent to Whitehorn campsite.
The walk out was fairly uneventful, and we made it back to my car by mid-afternoon. We had the foresight to leave some drinks and snacks in the car, which were miraculously still cool! From there, we started the long drive back to the city, not without a stop or two at A&W to consume multiple ham-BERG-ers in honour of the trail we had just completed.
Summary
The Berg Lake Trail is a spectacular sample of what hiking in the Canadian Rockies has to offer. The trail itself is very mellow but has fantastic scenery. There is a reason it is so popular!
I would definitely do this trail again and spend a bit more time camped up at the sites near Berg Lake in order to complete some of the other day hikes in the area, especially Snowbird Pass. I’m also intrigued by the Moose River Route, which starts at Berg Lake and traverses into Jasper National Park over 5-7 days.
Do you have any plans to check out the Berg Lake Trail?
