Hiking Guide: Paget Lookout/Peak, Yoho National Park
Paget Lookout is an abandoned fire lookout on the Main Ranges of Yoho National Park. You start out with an easy walk through the white pine grove, and as the trail steepens and the tree foliage weakens, you are opened up to very rewarding views. This portion of the trail is 3.5 km each way gaining over 500 m in elevation. You can continue past the Lookout and scramble up Paget Peak. This scramble would be considered easy, but good hiking boots are highly recommended for this scramble; as they are for any scramble!
This hike starts meters away from the Great Divide Lodge, about 5 km west of the Alberta/British Columbia border. Parking is available at the Wapta Lake Picnic Area, just up the road from the Lodge. There are picnic tables, a sheltered picnic area and outhouse, which the trailhead is just behind. After the first 100 m of the trail, you will come to a junction. Turn left towards Paget Peak/Sherbrooke Lake Trail. It is a narrow, easy to navigate trail that has a couple foot bridges crossing over streams, with a few rocky, rugged, uprooted sections throughout the trail.
After about 1.4 km into the trail you will come to your second trail junction. Turn right up to Paget Peak. If you turn left, that will take you to Sherbrooke Lake, which some people choose to do on their way back from the Lookout. You can get some slight glances of the lake and its beautiful turquoise waters while hiking up to the Lookout. This is where the trail starts to gain more of an incline, gaining 300 m in the last kilometer before the Lookout. As you are walking along the side of the mountain, this is where you will get the limited views of Sherbrooke Lake and Mount Ogden off to your left. You will then encounter about 5 switchbacks, and as the treeline becomes less dense you will get awesome views of Cathedral Mountain across the TransCanada Hwy.
You get no hints of how close you are to the Lookout as it is hidden within the trees. The Lookout kinda just "pops" out at you once you get out of that tree'd trail, and you get a feeling a relief. The views take you back for a moment, just embrace it. If you hit this on a clear day, you can see for miles. Once you visit this site and see the views it provides, you will then realize why it was considered a crucial vantage point when fire lookouts were being built throughout the mountain parks in the 1940's. This site gives you views of the Kicking Horse Valley and Pass, Lake O'Hara environs and the Bow Valley near Lake Louise - giving you optimal views of the surrounding in regards to fire watching. You can go into the lookout and read a few excerpts on the wall about the Lookout and history behind it. It is quite windy up there and weather can turn on you very fast, so make sure you are prepared for all weather conditions and take advantage of a sheltered area, especially for those super windy, chilly days (Like the day we went, which we were waiting for snow to start coming down.... The next day, the whole peak was covered in snow, along with all the peaks of the surrounding mountains! We did this trail at the beginning of September).
After refueling with some lunch and your preferred drink choice, you can turn around or continue on up to scramble the peak. You will be able to see the trailhead just behind the large rock behind the lookout. It is about a 10 minute hike to the base of the scramble, with quite the steep, rocky incline. On a favorable day, the summit can easily be reached in less than an hour. Follow the trail up to the cliff line seen from the bottom and make your way in front of it towards the direction of Sherbrooke Lake. Try to find secure footing as you make your way up the mountain, following close to the few trees remaining trees on the mountain. It will become clear where the Peak is and push towards it. Several large rocks jut out of the mountain towards the top. Climb over the top of these and you will be staring down the cliffs on the other side of Paget Peak. Fascinating 360 degree are displayed on clear day. It is possible to continue along the narrow ridge line from here, but this is where my adventure ended.
Once you’ve enjoyed the views and taken your photos, it is quite windy and cold up there so you will probably want to head back soon. Be careful as you are climbing down the mountain. I slid down on my hands and butt for a bit of this. Be careful and cautious of the people in front of you and that you aren’t pushing rocks down towards them. Lean your weight backwards when descending. You will be able to see the cairns that mark where the trail is to head back to the lookout. Once you get back to the lookout, enjoy these views one last time and then continue on your descent. It took about half the time to descend as it did to ascend. On your way down, you have the option to continue your adventure on the Sherbooke Lake trail, which we did not.
Feel accomplished after completing this modest day hike — whether you chose to stop at the Lookout or continue on to the pass. If you complete this hike, I’d love for you to share your experiences with me, or if you happen to carry on to Sherbrooke Lake, just send me a message. Thanks for following along. Let me know what you think! Subscribe below to get a updates on all my latest blog posts and my travels!