Bow Lake is located on the W side of the spectacular Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93 in Banff National Park roughly 22 miles N of the junction with Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1. Bow Lake is clearly visible from the Icefields Parkway which goes right past the E shore. The trail to Bow Glacier Falls starts at the red-roofed Num-Ti-Jah lodge on the N shore of the lake. There is parking, but no sign or official trailhead that Lupe and SPHP have noticed. Just look for the trail heading W along the N shore. It’s easy to find.
Lupe visited Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park on the morning of July 25, 2013, the 16th Day of her 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Beartooths & Canadian Rockies. After seeing the falls, Lupe and SPHP returned to Banff National Park and headed N on the Icefields Parkway, Hwy 93. There was still time for an afternoon trek. On this hot summer day, SPHP had a good one in mind that doesn’t involve too much elevation gain – the trail from Bow Lake to Bow Glacier Falls.
Looking SE across Bow Lake. The Crowfoot Glacier is visible just right of center.
SPHP parked the G6 near Num-Ti-Jah lodge located near the N shore of Bow Lake. The lodge is within sight of Icefields Parkway Hwy 93. It’s red roof is easy to spot coming up the Icefields Parkway from the S. The first thing Lupe did was trot on down to the lake to check out the small beach near the lodge.
The Num-Ti-Jah lodge located near the N shore of Bow Lake. The trail to Bow Glacier Falls starts from the lodge.Lupe on the pebbly beach at Bow Lake near the Nim-Ti-Jah lodge. There were actually quite a few people around at the beach on this hot summer day. SPHP suspects it is best to be part Canadian if you want to go in the water. The water comes right from that glacier in the distance! Bow Glacier Falls, where Lupe was headed, is seen just below the left side of the glacier.
Lupe cooled off a bit wading around in the cold water. She had a big drink out of Bow Lake. There were more people than SPHP expected to see at the beach, but it wasn’t a big crowd. A few hardy souls were even in the water, mostly children who tend not to notice hypothermia much. Lupe and SPHP set off on the trail to Bow Glacier Falls sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. The trail starts off heading W along the N shore of Bow Lake.
Looking S across Bow Lake at Crowfoot Mountain(10,023 ft.) from the Bow Glacier Falls trail.Looking back to the E along Bow Glacier Falls trail on the N shore of Bow Lake.Bow Lake in Banff National Park. Bow Glacier Falls is visible below the Bow Glacier, which is part of the Wapta Icefield.
There were quite a few people on the trail to the falls. There were a couple of big scary dogs, too. Lupe got by them when the big dogs decided to go for a swim in the lake. The trail gradually curves toward the S as it proceeds along Bow Lake. By the time it leaves the lake behind, the trail is heading SW. There the trail enters a still nearly level area of gravel deposited by the Bow River. The trail heads for a narrow gap at the S end of a small ridge ahead. A steep set of stairs climbs up the small ridge on the N side of the gap.
Beyond the lake now, Bow Glacier Falls trail heads for the gap at the S end of the small ridge ahead. Bow Glacier Falls is visible above the small ridge.Looking NE back at the stream from Bow Glacier Falls on its way to Bow Lake. A small section of Bow Lake is visible through the trees. The bottom of the stairs leading up the small ridge is in the foreground.
As the trail climbs the stairway, it can be seen that the stream from Bow Glacier Falls is passing in a torrent through a very narrow, but deep gorge just to the S of the trail. The gorge is so narrow that near the top there is a huge boulder wedged high up between the edges of the gorge. The boulder spans the gorge creating a natural bridge. People cross this boulder to a side trail that heads S into a gorgeous valley leading to St. Nicholas Peak, Mount Olive and part of the Wapta Icefield.
(Note: Later in the day, on the way back from Bow Glacier Falls, SPHP really wanted to go explore this wonderful valley to the S, but crossing the boulder looked just too scary. Although the boulder was very large, it was rounded, not flat. It really wasn’t all that tricky, but the roaring water gushing through the narrow chasm below gave SPHP visions of Lupe’s claws being unable to hang onto the solid rock of the boulder, and Lupe falling into the raging torrent to be lost forever. No valley, no matter how wonderful, was worth a chance of losing the sweet dingo. If SPHP had thought of exploring this valley earlier, it would have been easy to just cross the stream below Bow Glacier Falls and head for this valley.)
The wonderful valley to the S that SPHP was too chicken to let Lupe explore.
Once on top of the small ridge, Bow Glacier Falls is in clear view ahead. The trail drops partway back down the other side of the ridge and then steadily climbs through a mostly barren rocky area. This area is roughly the same size as the area between Bow Lake and the small ridge. The climb steepens as the trail nears the falls, but it’s pretty easy. It never gets all that steep. The trail ultimately disappears among the rocks near the base of the falls.
Lupe reaches Bow Glacier Falls.
Lupe and SPHP climbed up very close to the falls, had a snack and photo session, and then climbed even higher until almost in the falls itself. Lupe and SPHP lingered there for a while enjoying the sound of the water and the amazing world on display.
SPHP took this photo on 7-25-13 looking NE from Bow Glacier Falls. It wasn’t until writing this post on 8-2-15, that SPHP realized this is a photo of Cirque Peak(9,820 ft.) which Lupe climbed on 7-27-14 during her 2014 Dingo Vacation. (She went up the long slope at the right.) Click this red link to view the post on Lupe’s ascent of Cirque Peak which includes a view of Bow Lake, Bow Glacier Falls and the huge Wapta Icefield from the summit!
There was almost no one left on the trail by the time Lupe made her return trip to Bow Lake and Num-Ti-Jah lodge. Lupe and SPHP drove a short distance to the SE along the Icefields Parkway Hwy 93 to a picnic ground located on the E side of Bow Lake. Here Lupe and SPHP spent the rest of the evening having a very pleasant time looking at the mountains and watching the sun sparkle on Bow Lake as it slowly sank behind the glorious Canadian Rockies.
Early evening at Bow Lake from the Bow Glacier Trail. The picnic ground is located among the trees across the lake along the shore seen on the left side of this photo. Photo looks SE.Crowfoot Glacier above Bow Lake.
The hike up to the summit of Cirque Peak(9,820 ft.) in Banff National Park was recommended by a couple of friendly Canadians that Lupe and SPHP ran into on a different trail a couple days before. Those Canadians really knew what they were talking about! This is a fairly long day hike, but the scenery is absolutely wonderful. From the summit of Cirque Peak are splendid 360° views. The most impressive of all is the view to the SW of Bow Lake, Bow Glacier Falls, and another even higher little lake and falls all fed by the giant Wapta Icefield.
The trailhead for this hike is the Helen Lake Trailhead along the E side of the Icefields Parkway Hwy 93. It is located directly across the highway from the pullout for viewing the Crowfoot Glacier at the S end of Bow Lake.
Lupe got off to an early start on this fabulous hike, leaving from the Helen Lake Trailhead at 6:45 AM. The skies were totally clear, the wind non-existent, and it was a crisp 39 °F out.
The first part of the 14.5 km hike to Cirque Peak is the 6 km trek to Helen Lake, which basically consists of two parts. On the first part, the trail starts out climbing fairly steeply through the forest. Pretty soon the rate of climb slackens and the trail gradually works its way SSE towards the S end of the high ridge to the E. Through occasional breaks in the forest, increasingly impressive views of the Crowfoot Glacier to the SSW, Bow Peak to the S, and Mt. Andromache and Mt. Hector to the SSE are seen as the trail gains elevation.
About 1/2 way to Helen Lake, the trail finally rounds the S end of the ridge to the E and the view changes. A large deep valley heads up towards Cirque Peak now visible to the N. Dolomite Peak, which has somewhat the appearance of the spine of a Stegosaurus with the top of the N end of the spine snapped off, lies to the E of the valley.
Dolomite Peak(9,383 ft.) to the E of the Helen Lake Trail.Cirque Peak looms ahead to the N shortly after the Helen Lake Trail rounds the S end of the ridge.
The trail is already pretty high up on the W side of the valley, near the tree line. It heads N towards Cirque Peak, now along the E side of the ridge the trail just rounded. The valley below to the E is heavily forested, but the trail ahead goes through stretches of open heather, stunted forests and scattered trees. The trail is now nearly level for a fairly long stretch, and even has a few occasional drops as well. Numerous hoary marmots whistle their alarms as one approaches, which greatly interested Lupe.
The creek below Helen Lake along the Helen Lake Trail, Banff National ParkLupe gets refreshed in the creek near Helen Lake, Banff National Park, Canada
Eventually the trail resumes its climb and rises above tree line, crossing open heather while gaining elevation at a comfortable pace. Lupe came to a nice creek flowing through a small ravine where she was able to cool off and get a good drink.
Lupe on the Helen Lake Trail. Mt. Andromache (Center L) and Mt. Hector (Center) to the S.
Soon after crossing the creek, the trail comes over a ridge from which Helen Lake can be seen just ahead. A headwall is visible not far to the N and E of Helen Lake. The long rocky S ridge coming down from the summit of Cirque Peak is seen above the headwall. Helen Lake itself seemed more like a pretty green pond than a lake. It just wasn’t terribly big. Something (small fish?) seemed to be hitting the surface of the still waters of Helen Lake while Lupe trotted by heading E on the trail above the S shore.
Lupe reaches Helen Lake below Cirque Peak. Dolomite Pass is beyond the headwall at the right side of the photo. Banff National Park, Canada.
Lupe met the first other hiker of the day at Helen Lake. A fisherman looking to catch a few cutthroat trout was heading for considerably larger Katherine Lake on the other side of Dolomite Pass. He overtook SPHP, but stopped briefly to chat and pat Lupe before continuing on. Lupe continued on as well and followed the trail up over the headwall to the E of Helen Lake reaching the start of the Dolomite Pass area.
Cirque Peak from Dolomite Pass, Banff National Park, Canada
At Dolomite Pass, it was time to leave the trail. The trail continued over the pass to the E, but Cirque Peak was now almost due N. A broad rocky plain with little vegetation stretched off to the N gradually losing elevation until it got close to the S ridge coming down from Cirque Peak. SPHP did not notice any clear trail or cairns suggesting which way to go. So SPHP was uncertain whether to try to go up the toe of the S ridge or up the side of it a bit to the NE of the toe, but decided to head N and try the side of the ridge.
Now N of Dolomite Pass, Lupe cools off in “Gnat Pond” at the base of Cirque Peak.
After a pleasant easy stroll across the rocky plain, Lupe and SPHP arrived at a very shallow pond at the base of the S ridge a bit NE of the toe. There was water in the cracks between the rocks around the pond from which clouds of gnats swarmed up. SPHP led Lupe around the E side of the pond and over to the S ridge.
Lupe E of “Gnat Pond” at the base of Cirque Peak. This photo looks SW and shows a portion of the Crowfoot Glacier beneath the distant ridge at the right side of the photo.
The rocks forming the side of the S ridge looked a lot bigger than they had from a distance. In fact, they were boulders of various sizes. It didn’t look like too hard a climb to get up on the ridge though, so Lupe and SPHP started scrambling up the side of the ridge. The ridge had several little false summits and near the real top there were rock walls. However, after some false starts and various explorations, the top of the ridge was gained.
The S ridge leading up to Cirque Peak.
Once on top of the S ridge, the way up Cirque Peak was obvious – just follow the ridge right on up. The ridge was pretty broad, there were several unmaintained trails, and the rocks on top of the ridge were nearly all small – not boulders – so it was easy to just keep trudging on up the mountain. Lung capacity was the only limiting factor. However, lung capacity quickly came into play, as the long climb up the ridge became progressively steeper.
The small loose rocks and mud forming the ridge started to give way beneath every step. Even Lupe was sending showers of small rocks sliding as she climbed. SPHP felt guilty about greatly increasing the erosion rate just by struggling up the mountain. The slope of the mountain near the top seemed to be the maximum slope that the laws of physics would allow for such a loose pile of dirt and rock to even support itself.
Near the very top of Cirque Peak, the loose rock finally met up with a 30 to 50 foot layer of dark gray solid rock. Fortunately, the solid rock was not just a wall, and was climbable without any great difficulty. When Lupe reached the summit, there were two people there ahead of her. They had passed Lupe and SPHP on the steepest part of the loose rock not far from the summit a short time before, and were the first to arrive at the summit of Cirque Peak this day. They said they were originally from Hungary, but were now living in Canada.
Lupe checks out the view to the SSW towards the Crowfoot Glacier and the S end of Bow Lake from the false summit of Cirque Peak.
The Hungarians quickly pointed out that technically Lupe and SPHP were still only at a false summit. The true summit of Cirque Peak was a slightly higher rocky crag just a short distance to the E. The Hungarians had already been there. Lupe and SPHP rested and had some water at the false summit while the Hungarians were still there.
The false summit area wasn’t terribly big and was almost completely surrounded by cliffs or very long steep slopes. Fortunately, there were some good solid rocks providing relatively comfortable and secure perches. It felt like being up in a small plane with so much air around in every direction.
Dolomite Peak, Mt. Andromache & Mt. Hector (progressively more distant near the center of the photo) to the SSE from Cirque Peak.
The views from Cirque Peak were spectacular in every direction. To the S were Dolomite Peak, Mt. Andromache, Mt. Hector, and way off in the distance was a glimpse of Mt. Assiniboine(11,864 ft.). Far below was “Gnat Pond” at the base of the S ridge of Cirque Peak, and even farther below was Helen Lake. Portions of Katherine Lake were visible beyond Dolomite Pass.
View to the N from Cirque Peak. A portion of Peyto Lake is visible at the left side of this photo.
To the E was a broad expanse of air before reaching jagged mountains beyond a deep valley. To the N, a snowfield or small glacier lay far, far below Lupe and SPHP at the base of the towering N cliffs of Cirque Peak. A thin, treacherous ridge extended NW from Cirque Peak just to the W of the snowfield. Beyond were more mountains and Peyto Lake in the distance.
Bow Lake, Bow Glacier Falls & the Wapta Icefield from Cirque Peak.
The most magnificent view of all though lay to the SW. Most of Bow Lake was in sight and beyond it Bow Glacier Falls. A lake Lupe and SPHP had never seen before was above Bow Glacier Falls, and another waterfall plunged into it from the Bow Glacier extending out from the vast expanse of the Wapta Icefield.
Lupe on the true summit of Cirque Peak and the view to the E.
Once the Hungarians started down, Lupe and SPHP worked their way over to the true summit of Cirque Peak. This involved a climb down of maybe 20 to 30 feet, traversing a fairly narrow saddle with dizzying drops on either side, and an easy climb up a craggy knob slightly higher than the false summit to the W.
The rocky E crag that is the true summit of Cirque Peak. NOT a good place to race around chasing squirrels!
Incredibly, after reaching the true summit, Lupe found a squirrel way up here and about gave SPHP a heart attack by chasing it around the rocks oblivious to the cliffs all around her. Lupe was quickly brought under control again and taken back to the false summit for a more secure vantage point from which to appreciate the stupendous scenery.
Conditions on Cirque Peak were near perfect. The sky was now partly cloudy, but mostly sunny and non-threatening. Amazingly, there was no wind at all most of the time, just a gentle breeze that came up now and then. Temperatures were in the upper 50’s or low 60’s. Visibility was wonderful. Lupe remained on top of Cirque Peak as long as she and SPHP were the only ones up there, which was quite some time.
The S ridge, the way back down Cirque Peak, as seen from just below the solid rock layer at the top. “Gnat Pond” (L) and Helen Lake (Center L) far below.
Visible below, however, were lots of hikers strung out all along the SW ridge making their way steadily up. When the next hikers finally got close, Lupe started down Cirque Peak just in time to get off the layer of solid rock before meeting up with the next party and their dog, Ella, at the very top of the steep slope of loose rocks.
Lupe meets Ella and her humans at the base of the solid rock layer which forms the summit of Cirque Peak.
Even more loose rocks showered down the steep upper slopes of Cirque Peak on the way down than on the way up. Lupe had to lose a lot of elevation before reaching firm footing again. On the way back down, SPHP learned that the proper route onto the S ridge was NOT the climb over the boulders above the shallow pond, but via an unmaintained trail heading N along the top of the headwall E of Helen Lake.
This trail eventually winds its way up onto the rocky toe of the S ridge. There were cairns along the headwall marking the path, but SPHP had gone too far E to have noticed them on the way up. Lupe and SPHP followed other hikers down off the S ridge via this route and saw that it was much superior to the way they’d come up in the morning.
Dolomite Peak (which SPHP thinks looks like a Stegosaurus with the N end of the spine snapped off) and Mt. Hector from the S ridge of Cirque Peak.
The rest of the hike back to the Helen Lake Trailhead was just retracing the hike up earlier in the day. There were lots of people around on the way back, compared to virtually none on the way up. Lupe arrived back at the trailhead at 4:54 PM. It was 68 °F, partly cloudy and calm. Lupe and SPHP headed to the picnic ground near the S end of Bow Lake for a shared evening meal of sardines. Then it was time for a bit of relaxation soaking tired paws and feet in the cold lake while watching sunlight sparkle brilliantly on the waves.
This photo of Bow Lake showing the Crowfoot Glacier was taken on 7-25-13 on Lupe’s 2013 Dingo Vacation to Canada.The Crowfoot Glacier above the S end of Bow Lake on 7-25-13. This photo was taken not far from the picnic ground near the S end of Bow Lake on Lupe’s prior 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies.
Lupe and SPHP strongly recommend the hike up Cirque Peak if conditions are good. The fantastic views are well worth the effort. However, under wet conditions, the hike up the S ridge of Cirque Peak is probably a horrible muddy slog to be avoided, even if visibility is acceptable.
Lupe and SPHP climbed up very close to the falls, had a snack and photo session, and then climbed even higher until almost in the falls itself. Lupe and SPHP lingered there for a while enjoying the sound of the water and the amazing world on display.
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