In later September 2024, we hit the peak of golden larch colors in Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park, in Alberta, Canada. Booked 1.5 years in advance, backcountry Skoki Lodge was worth the wait — a great 3-night base for hikes amid striking fall larch colors, punctuated by delicious gourmet meals and comfortable beds in private rooms.
Above photo: snow-clad summits soar above Lower Minnestima Lake — a less-crowded side trip from Larch Valley Trail — in Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park.
To begin a two-week Canadian Rockies vacation, we drove 7 hours from Seattle to Revelstoke, British Columbia, to stay in a beautiful apartment rental at Basecamp Resorts Revelstoke. The next day, we drove 4.5 hours to Indie Campers in Calgary, left our car, picked up a 24-foot RV rental (for Sept 16-23), then drove 2 hours to Elkwood Campground in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to meet Rebecca (who drove a separate car) in Kananaskis Country.
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Kananaskis Country, Alberta
Little-known to foreign visitors, Kananaskis Country rivals the beauty of the more famous parks to the north such as Banff and Jasper. Kananaskis is a rural improvement district west of Calgary and south of Canmore in the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies.
Above and below: Mountain reflections in Marl Lake can be enjoyed from a 1.5-mile loop trail from Elkwood Campground, in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
In Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, we plugged in our rental RV at Elkwood Campground for 4 nights and used Rebecca’s car to reach hikes. About half of the campsites were untaken Monday-Thursday in mid September. Being here after Canadian Labour Day, Elkwood’s sites had electric hookup but no drinking water, except at the restrooms. Using the RV’s hot showers sufficed instead of the Campground’s pay-token showers. The nearby Canyon Sewage Dump Station was open (typically mid-May through Thanksgiving). With no cell service in the park, we used the free Wi-Fi at nearby Peter Lougheed Park Discovery Centre.
- Weather forecast for Mount Arethusa in Peter Lougheed Park
Impressive peaks reflected in Elbow Lake, in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Starting from its trailhead between Highwood Pass and Little Highwood Pass, we hiked 3 miles round trip with 460 feet gain to Elbow Lake.
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) are commonly seen along the highways in Kananaskis Country.
A bold ptarmigan eyed us along Elbow Lake Trail.
At Elkwood Campground, a wild turkey approached us closely looking for food handouts. Please don’t feed the wildlife.
Rising above Upper Kananaskis Lake, Mount Putnik forms part of a majestic rock wall surrounding Upper Lake Picnic Area, one of the most impressive parking lot views of the world. For more views while you’re here, walk the nearby 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Interpretive Trail from Interlakes Parking Area, optionally reached by walking across the dam.
A fly mimicking a bee pollinates a purple aster flower.
Frozen Lake (8.9 mi round trip with 1600 ft gain & loss) lies in an impressive cirque in Elk Lakes Provincial Park, British Columbia, hiked from Elk Pass Trailhead in Alberta’s Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
Ptarmigan Cirque Trail: Highwood Pass — the highest paved pass in Canada — offers quick access to see larches up close. We followed the construction detour signs to reach Highwood Pass Trailhead, where we enjoyed hiking the Ptarmigan Cirque Loop (3.1 mi, 730 ft gain), in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
ALERT: Highwood Meadows Day Use Area Parking Lot and its trail to Pocaterra Ridge was closed in summer 2024-25 due to a parking expansion project. I’d like to hike Pocaterra Ridge some other year.
Reflections in Spillway Lake.
Banff National Park, Alberta
I booked all lodging, camping, and Park Shuttles for this trip online far in advance — crucial for popular Lake Louise Campground and Skoki Lodge. To double our chances for a good weather day, I reserved two days on the National Park Shuttle to Moraine Lake and Lake Louise lakeshore. After a perfectly sunny, but overcrowded day on the gorgeous Larch Valley Trail, we skipped the second Shuttle day (planned to visit Lake Louise), in favor of hiking much-quieter Helen Lake near Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint.
Additional Park Shuttle seats in 2024 were released in a rolling window, at 8 am MDT two days prior to departure day. For self-drivers, Lake Louise Parking lot regularly filled up before sunrise.
Valley of the Ten Peaks: hike from Moraine Lake to Larch Valley & Minnestima Lakes
Sunrise at Moraine Lake in Valley of the Ten Peaks. Banff National Park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site honored by UNESCO.
Canoes on Moraine Lake at sunrise in Valley of the Ten Peaks.
A bear sculpture captures Carol’s attention at Moraine Lake Lodge in Valley of the Ten Peaks.
Moraine Lake Lodge.
Rental canoes on Moraine Lake at sunrise in Valley of the Ten Peaks.
Above and below: Autumn leaf color in Larch Valley, Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park. We hiked from Moraine Lake to Larch Valley and Minnestima Lake (7.8 mi round trip with 1850 ft gain).
Minnestima Lake reflects the Ten Peaks (8 shown here), below Sentinel Pass along the Larch Valley Trail.
Peaks reflect in Lower Minnestima Lake, a less-crowded side trip from Larch Valley Trail.
Sunrise illuminates clouds over Mount Rundle, in Banff National Park.
Skoki Lodge, in Banff National Park
After being stymied by a season fully booked 7 months in advance, we reserved rooms at Skoki Lodge 1.5 years in advance, for this article’s trip (September 24-26, 2024). Wide expanses of larch leaves glowed bright yellow as we hoped. All meals and afternoon tea were provided by Skoki Lodge after arrival, including sack lunches supplied at breakfast time. We enjoyed four days as follows:
Skoki Day 1
- We rode the Skoki Lodge Shuttle from Fish Creek parking lot (“Skoki Loop Trailhead“) to the “Trailhead at Temple Lodge” (2.7 miles with 1300 ft gain).
- Donning lightweight packs containing extra clothes for 3 nights, we hiked via Hidden Lake (a side trip) and Packer’s Pass to Skoki Lodge (8.3 mi, 1740 ft up, 1300 down), a good choice in beautiful weather. En route are the lovely lakes of Myosotis and Zigadenus — the highlight of the Skoki area — which can also be day hiked from Skoki Lodge.
- If starting in bad weather, we recommend walking the easier Deception Pass on the way in to Skoki Lodge. By trekking the Skoki Loop counterclockwise, the tougher Packer’s Pass Trail is easier to find and easier to scramble up southwards (outwards from Skoki Lodge).
Hidden Lake trail, side trip, Skoki Trails.
Boulder Pass, along the Skoki Loop Trail.
Fossil Mountain reflects in Ptarmigan Lake, at Boulder Pass, along the Skoki Loop.
On the way to Skoki Lodge, we descended from Packer’s Pass to Zigadenus Lake, embraced by groves of yellow larch trees.
Above and below: beautiful golden larches surround blue-green Myosotis Lake.
Above: we slipped under this chockstone during the steep descent on Packer’s Pass Trail through a crack in the cliff below Myosotis Lake. Stone steps thereafter descended the scree by this waterfall:
Skoki Lodge’s living room and dining table. In each private room, a hot water thermos and pan was provided for washing. A few steps outdoors reached clean outhouses.
Above: A delicious gourmet dinner at Skoki Lodge.
Skoki Day 2
- We hiked the scenic circuit from Skoki Lodge to Merlin Lak, Dragons Drink, and Castilleja Lake (5.8 mi, 1300 ft gain and loss).
- On the southerly portion of the loop, scrambling the scary cliff chute and steep scree below Merlin Lake is best as an ascent, recommended clockwise. Carol found counterclockwise too scary and slippery downwards.
Below: gourmet breakfast.
Magenta sunrise over Skoki Lodge.
The Wall of Jericho (left) dominates Merlin Lake. At right, a glacier clings to Mt Richardson.
Above and below: After descending some very steep, scary, loose scree through a crack in a headwall below Merlin Lake, we rock-hop on the trail to the south of Castilleja Lake to return to Skoki Lodge.
Skoki Day 3
Rebecca and I hiked on a steep scree trail from Skoki Lodge to scenic Skoki Peak (2.5 miles round trip, 1950 ft gain).
Atop Skoki Peak, gaze south to Fossil Mountain (center) and Myosotis & Zigadenus Lakes (on right).
Above and below: Myosotis and Zigadenus Lakes, seen from atop Skoki Peak.
Red Deer Lakes & Cyclone Mountain seen from atop Skoki Peak.
Skoki Day 4
To exit, we hiked from Skoki Lodge via easy Deception Pass to our car parked at Fish Creek parking lot, 9 miles with 1100 ft ascent and 2660 ft descent (skipping the 3:00 Skoki Shuttle).
Magenta sunrise over Skoki Lodge.
Trekking to Deception Pass via golden larch trees in autumn.
Redoubt Mountain rises over Ptarmigan Lake.
Skoki weather forecast for Redoubt Mountain along Skoki Loop Trails.
Mount Temple seen from Boulder Pass, Skoki Loop Trail.
To plan a trip, see Tom’s Guide to Canadian Rockies & Columbia Mountains parks.
North America has three native larch tree species
- In the Canadian Rockies, Lyall’s larch fall colors typically peak from September 20th to October 4th. The main larch species in Banff, Kananaskis Country, and the Enchantments of Washington is Larix lyalli (of the pine family, Pinaceae), aka the subalpine or alpine or Lyall’s larch, found above 5900 feet / 1800 m elevations.
- North America’s second kind of larch has a more expansive range: western larch or Larix occidentalis grows almost exclusively in the drainage of the Columbia River at 1,600–7,900 ft elevation, from the northern half of Oregon and Idaho, east of the Cascades in Washington, well into British Columbia, staying west of the Continental Divide.
- North America’s third kind of larch is Larix laricina, aka the tamarack or eastern larch, native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and south into the upper northeastern United States. All three kinds of larches turn yellow and drop their leaves in autumn.
This page shows favorite images gleaned from Tom’s PhotoShelter gallery “2024 Sept CANADA: Kananaskis; Skoki, Banff NP.”
All were shot on a 37-ounce Sony RX10 IV (price at Amazon) with versatile 25x zoom lens — read Tom’s “RX10M4 review.”