West Coast Trail: Darling River to Cribs

August 8, 2026August 18, 2026 / Maria / 1 Comment

Our strategy with the West Coast Trail was to avoid overwhelming ourselves. We had a few long days in our itinerary, but the goal was to intersperse them with more gentle, rest days. After a busy first day on the trail, involving a 4 hour shuttle ride and 14km of hiking, we planned to hike only 11km on Day 2.

It felt great to wake up on the sandy beach at Darling River. The clouds returned overnight, but it wasn’t raining and it was a cool overcast morning, which is very comfortable for hiking. Even though we only planned to hike 11 kilometres, we had to complete the first 9km before 1pm due to a tidal window.

Managing tides is definitely a big part of the West Coast Trail. As the name suggests, the trail is centered around following the coastline, and where possible, the trail will always follow the beach. There are some sections where there are impassable headlands and you are forced to follow the trail through the forest, and there are other sections where you cannot traverse the beach during high tide. In many cases, these sections have alternative re-routes through the forest, but in some sections, there is no re-route and if you miss the window, you have to wait.

On day 2, we had one section will a high tide cut-off and no re-route. So if we didn’t make it to Klanawa River Campsite by 1pm, we’d have to wait until 3pm. There aren’t a lot of sections like this, most of them have re-routes, and the sections without re-routes are generally only unavailable for a few hours during the very high tide.

We started our day with 3km of beach walking from Darling River, followed by 3kms in the forest. The final 3km before lunch was the tidally dependent section of beach walking. The goal was to start the final section by 11:30am. We were right on schedule, arriving at the beach around 11:15am and taking a short break before starting the beach walk. In general, I found the beach sections to be much easier than the forest. Sometimes beaches can be slow if you have to do a lot of walking across boulders, or cobble, or rocky shelves riddled with surge channels, but as a rule, they are easier to navigate than some of the muddy forest sections (wait until day 5).

The walk to Klanawa River was a little more technical, with some rocky shelves and beaches to navigate, but overall not too challenging and it only took us as hour to complete. Klanawa is a nice campsite on the beach, with a large river flowing through, but I don’t think it gets a lot of campers because it’s only 2km away from the much more popular Tsusiat Falls, which was also our final destination for the day. We weren’t in a rush and took a break for an hour at the river to eat lunch and go for a swim.

The first of five cable cars is located at Klanawa River. I believe later in the summer, you can sometimes cross a large sandbar across the river, but we opted to take the cable car. Fortunately there was a group of 4 guys at the cable car at the same time as us and they offered to assist us across so that we could go in the same car. The cable cars have varying levels of length and difficulty. This one was particularly long and it would be challenging for us to pull ourselves across if we both went in the car at the same time, so we were planning to go one at a time. Since they offered to assist, we went together, resulting in a lot less work.

Once across the river, we enjoyed 2km of forest walking to the beach at Tsusiat Falls. Along the way we passed several viewpoints along the bluffs and were very lucky to spot several whales playing in the shallows! Adriana spotted the first one and then we noticed several more, including a mama and baby. I’m not sure what kind of whales they were, but my guess is humpback or grey. We watched them for a long time because they were quite close to shore.

Arriving at Tsusiat Falls, it’s a long downhill and several ladders to get to the beach. You cross the top of the waterfall about 10 minutes before you arrive at the beach and I advise filling up your water bladder at the river. There is no flowing water at the beach and the waterfall isn’t accessible, so your only option is the pool at the base of the waterfall where everyone swims. We didn’t know this at the time and we didn’t fill up our water. I didn’t want to hike all the way back up to the river later, so I ended up filling from the pool anyways, but I used two methods of water purification, filtering and chemical treatment. It wasn’t my favourite water source, that’s for sure.

Aside from the drinking water issue, Tsusiat Falls is one of the highlights of the trail for a reason! It’s incredibly beautiful and you get to camp right next to the waterfall along the beach. It already felt quite busy with campers when we arrived, but we got there at 3pm and a lot more groups continued to arrive after us, making it even more crowded. There’s a lot of space to set up tents, but it was definitely more people than I like to camp with and what Brandon always refers to as “tent city”. We did find a nice place on the beach to set up and it was really beautiful. Adriana claims it was her favourite spot, but I personally favoured some of the less busy sites more.

We started to observe a familiar pattern with the weather on the trail. For the first 4 days, we would awake to overcast mornings that would change to sun by mid-afternoon and stay that way into the evening. It made for really nice days because we had the cloud cover while hiking in the morning, but we got to enjoy the sun while relaxing at camp in the afternoon. The only issue was that it could get quite hot and there is limited shade on the beach.

We brought a tarp with us, which proved very handy, and we got into the habit of Adriana setting up the tent while I would set up the tarp. In my opinion, tarping is a real skill. If you have the right support structures nearby (i.e., trees), it can be really fun, but if you don’t have anything solid in which to attach the tarp, it can be very challenging. Tsusiat Beach was difficult, but I was able to build a reasonably functional shelter. By the time we got it set up, we were feeling overheated and took a break underneath to eat some snacks, but ultimately decided the waterfall was the best way to cool down.

I changed into my swimsuit and walked to the end of the beach to see the waterfall. I’d swam at Darling River the previous day and it had been quite cold, as was the swim at Klanawa River. But I was delighted to discover that the pool at the base of Tsusiat Falls was the warmest freshwater on the trail! It was really refreshing and we were able to linger in the pool for a while. There’s a large rock near the edge of the waterfall and we hung out there, taking turns to swim out under the spray. We met 3 women on the bus that were on a similar itinerary as us and we spent some time with them at the pool (credit to them for the photo above of us on the rock). It was one of the most enjoyable moments on the trail.

It was really nice to arrive at Tsusiat Beach at 3pm, because unlike the first evening, it gave us lots of recovery time before the next day. We had to do a longer distance on Day 3, due to a lack of campsites, so it was nice to have lots of time to take it easy. We enjoyed our dinner and then collected some firewood. Since it was late June, the province wasn’t yet under a fire ban. We weren’t sure how long that would last or how long we would continue to get nice weather, so we took the opportunity to enjoy a campfire. Carolyn introduced me to the one match challenge a few years ago, where you try to light your campfire using only one match. I’ve really taken it to heart and I was successful in getting our fire started with just a single match, of which I’m pretty proud!

Day 3 was our longest day, distance wise. We got into a habit of waking up at 7am and starting our hike by 9am, which I thought was pretty reasonable, but seemed to be late for everyone else. People were often leaving by the time we got up and it wasn’t uncommon for us to be some of the last people to leave. There were two other groups that were of the same mindset as us, the 3 women from the bus, and the group of guys that helped us across the cable car. As a result, we got to know both groups over the course of the week. Although the women ended up increasing their pace at some point at we didn’t see them anymore after day 4.

We had to hike 17km, which was the minimum distance for the day. There’s not a lot of campsites in this section of the trail, so a lot of people stay at both Tsusiat Falls and Cribs Beach because the only other option is to stay in the cabins at Nitinat Narrows, which are more expensive and have limited capacity. Nitinat Narrows is located around the midpoint of the trail and requires taking a very short water taxi across the water. The crossing is managed by the first nations in the area, the Nitinat, who also manage the crab shack and cabins located on the other side of the crossing.

We had to hike ~8km to get to the crab shack, but it’s a quintessential part of the trail and hikers are usually thrilled at the opportunity to have a fresh cooked meal in the middle of the trail. The day started with a long beach walk, during which we got to pass through a sea tunnel at Tsusiat Point since the tide was low. It was really cool, but we did cut it pretty close to the tidal cut-off and the water was nipping at our heels as we went through. The beach was followed by a larger forest section, though you could pop in and out of the forest to hike along the beach in a couple sections. We opted to stick mostly to the forest in this area, which had lots of nice beach viewpoints.

We were very excited when we finally arrived at Nitinat Narrows, which has some of the bluest waters. It’s probably less than 100 metres to cross the channel, but we got to ride with a very nice man named Sam and his very calm dog. But mostly we were excited about the crab shack! In the end, I didn’t actually end up ordering crab because they also had halibut and ling cod, so we opted to get the ling cod with a fully baked potato instead. It was really yummy and not as messy as the crab, but if I ever go back (unlikely), I think I’ll opt for the crab next time.

It was really nice to take a break, but we still had 10km to go after lunch, so after massaging our feet and stretching our legs, we returned to the trail. There’s another large forest section after the crab shack, but it had a lot of boardwalk that was still in reasonably good shape, so it made for a quick walk. The West Coast Trail has a reputation for being very muddy and challenging in the forest. We definitely encountered this in a few sections, but overall, the forest walking isn’t too bad on the north side of the trail. It’s much worse on the south side because a lot of the old trail infrastructure and boardwalks are deteriorated to the point that they’re now a hazard rather than a help, but up to this point the forests were still quite manageable.

We stopped at a bluff viewpoint and ended up spotting some more whales! These ones were further out, but we could see them spouting and we were really excited when we got to see one of the whales dive, meaning we got to see its tail. Eventually you arrive at a bridge where you can cross the Cheewhat River, then it’s a nice straight path through the forest to return to the coast. We arrived at Clo-oose Bay, which is a giant golden sand beach that ended up being one of my favourite beaches of the entire trail. It was hot and sunny when we arrived, so we decided to stop for a snack break. The water looked so inviting in the sun, so I convinced Adriana to take our shoes off and we ran into the water to soak our feet before continuing on.

If you time it right with the tide, you can walk along the beach pretty much the entire way to Cribs Beach, but we did not, so we had to go in and out of the forest. We were able to walk most of the way to Dare Point, after which we opted to take the re-route through the forest for a couple of kilometres. The trail returns to the beach at Dare Beach, where we took another break and I ate my second lunch, which was taco salad for taco Tuesday. At this point in the trail, I felt like we were constantly ravenous. Usually it takes me a few days on trail before I get hiker hunger, but both Adriana and I had it from the very beginning. We were honestly worried we were going to run out of snacks and were cognizant of rationing them, but fortunately our hunger did even out later in the trail and I had enough food for the whole trip.

By the time I finished second lunch, the tide had receded enough that we could follow the beach to our final destination at Cribs Creek. There were several rocky shelves and some boulders along the way, which made for a more interesting hike. The only challenge is that at the end of the trail, when you arrive at Cribs Beach, you have to walk out on the rocks partway into the ocean before you can find a place to climb down to the beach. It’s a rock shelf that acts like a natural breakwater for the beach. This was problematic because, while the tide was low enough, the waves were crashing against the rocks on the other side of the breakwater. It was too close for comfort for me, so we stuck to the shallow edge of the rocks in case a big wave came up that could knock us over, and we got out of there as quickly as possible. It ended up being fine, but it wasn’t our favourite.

We were some of the last people to arrive at Cribs Beach for the night and similar to Tsusiat Falls, there was lots of space for tents, but it was very busy. We ended up setting up camp on the far end of the beach, which meant it was quite a walk to the outhouse and bear cache, but there was only one other tent nearby. It was much later in the day when we arrived at Cribs, but it was still hot, so I tried to get another tarp shelter up and failed miserably. It was probably one of my worst tarping jobs. I was able to hide under it for sun shelter, but if tested, it would not have stood up to rain.

I like Cribs Beach, but it felt like we didn’t spend a lot of time there. By the time we set up camp, filtered water, and cooked supper, the sun was already setting. We chatted with our neighbours for awhile, a couple from Saskatchewan. They were nice, but we decided the man lacked some serious judgement. He’d convinced his partner to hike the trail with him and it was both her first backpacking trip and her first time camping ever! To make matters worse, they had a very aggressive itinerary and she was not having a good time. I know the West Coast Trail is a world renowned trail, but most of the people we met were local to BC. Even though it’s popular, it’s a very challenging trail and it’s not a good idea to under-estimate it. It’s definitely not a trail I would recommend for first time backpackers or campers.

At this point, we were more than halfway through the trail, but not halfway through the itinerary. The trail was about to get a lot more technically challenging, and we encountered some pretty adverse weather conditions on day 5. Tune back in next week to read about it!

10 Easy Day Paddles near Vancouver

July 28, 2026 / Maria / Leave a comment

The main focus of this blog is definitely backpacking, which is one of my favourite summertime activities. But I also spend a lot of time kayaking and have slowly been working my way around the easy paddling trips near Vancouver. My husband and I own two sea touring kayaks and for this post, I decided to compile some of our favourite day trips near the lower mainland! It’s easy to rent boats for a lot of these trips, but there are a few where it’s easier if you have your own.

Jug Island / Twin Islands

A kayaker paddles towards Jug Island on a sunny day with calm waters in Indian Arm. Jug Island is located near Belcarra Regional Park in Vancouver, BC.

Jug Island is by far our most frequented kayak day trip. It’s located near Belcarra Regional Park and can be accessed from either Belcarra or Deep Cove. We always choose Belcarra since we live in Coquitlam, but it’s a ~5km round trip from both starting locations. There’s a large beach where you can land your boat and an outhouse, so it’s a nice place to stop. It usually takes us ~45 minutes to paddle there from Belcarra and we’ll often take a break and then continue on to explore Bedwell Bay or Twin Islands. Twin Islands makes for a longer day, as it’s a ~9-10km paddle, but it’s very beautiful there and it’s fun to swim from the south island. If you’re renting, you can choose from Deep Cove Kayaks or Takaya in Belcarra. Alternatively, you can also rent from Cates Park for a slightly longer paddle.

Barnet Marine Park / Rocky Point

A female kayaker wears a lifejacket and holds a paddle while smiling next to her yellow Boreal storm kayak on the rocky beach of Barnet Marine Park with the ocean and mountains in the background in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

There are a few options for where you can paddle from Barnet Marine Park. I usually just use it as an alternative access point for Jug Island since it’s located in Burnaby and is sometimes a closer drive, but you can also paddle between Rocky Point and Barnet Marine from either location. Rocky Point is located in Port Moody and is a very easy access point. The annoying thing about Barnet Marine is that they now limit parking to 4 hours, which is difficult if you’re looking to do a longer trip. If you leave from Rocky Point, parking is also a challenge in the summer, but it’s easier to rent boats from Rocky Point than Barnet.

Buntzen Lake

Buntzen Lake is located super close to the city, in the town of Anmore. It’s the perfect place for beginners because the lake isn’t that long, but it’s big enough to make for a nice paddle to the end and back, roughly 10 kms. Plus you can also explore around the river and hang out on either end of the lake. A day pass is needed in the summer, which is free, but must be obtained 2 days in advance from BC Hydro. There are often canoe rentals available along the south beach.

Whytecliff Park

Whytecliff Park is located in West Vancouver near Horseshoe Bay and is one of many paddling options in West Vancouver. You can launch your boat from Whyte Cove, which is located in the park, or from Batchelor Bay or Horseshoe Bay. If you don’t mind a longer paddle, you could also launch from Eagle Harbour, at the beach next to the yacht club. There are no rental options from this location that I am aware of, but it’s a fun place to explore. Watch out for ferry traffic if you are paddling around Horseshoe Bay.

Bowen Island

I haven’t actually done this trip myself, but I’ve heard Bowen Island is great for kayaking. The best option is to walk on the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island and rent boats from Snug Cove on the other side. From here, you can paddle around the edge of the island. I recommend heading north as there are more beaches to land at in this direction. I believe more experienced paddlers will cross from Horseshoe Bay on their own, but I don’t recommend this.

Keats Island

Keats Island is a great destination from Gibsons. You can launch from the marina and paddle across the straight to Keats Island. Follow the coast north past the Shelter Islets until you reach Plumper Cove Marine Park, which is a great place to hang out for the day or to camp overnight. It can be windy crossing the straight, so I recommend doing this trip early in the morning. Rentals are available from the marina in Gibsons.

Widgeon Creek

Widgeon Creek is a very popular summer paddling destination in Pitt Meadows. Park at the main lot on Pitt Lake and paddle across the Pitt River to Widgeon Creek, which is a leisurely 6km paddle to the campsite. From there you can do a day hike to Widgeon Falls. This area is very busy in the summer, but head out in April or May to avoid the crowds. Be careful crossing the Pitt River, which can have strong currents, and leave early to avoid the wind. You can rent boats from Katzie in the summer, or through independent operators that deliver the boats to the lot.

Alouette Lake

Golden Ears Park is most popular for paddlers in the Gold Creek area, especially for SUP. But I think all of Alouette Lake is a great option for paddling. The easiest location to launch from is the boat launch at South Beach, and then you can head north on either shore of the lake. But pick one or the other because it gets windy on the lake and it’s not easy to cross back and forth. I regularly like to go out for a few hours and paddle up to Gold Creek and back. You can usually rent canoes on South Beach in the summer.

Harrison Lake

Harrison Lake is somewhere that you need to be really careful paddling, but can make for a fun trip in the right conditions. It can be very windy at the lake, so my recommendation is to stick to early morning paddling and stay near to the edge of the lake. We camped at Bear Creek on a rainy weekend in June and stumbled into premium kayaking conditions. It was dead calm on the water and mystical with the cloudy skies. But exercise caution on a nice day.

Lightning Lakes

Lightning Lakes is a pretty safe place to kayak and is incredibly scenic. It’s located in E.C. Manning Park, east of Hope, and comprises two lakes connected by a small creek. It is possible to navigate between the two lakes, but it is narrow, so exercise caution. The views are beautiful and there’s no power boats, so it’s a great place to explore and enjoy the water and the mountains.

Berg Lake Trail Backpacking Guide

November 20, 2025 / Maria / 8 Comments

The Berg Lake Trail is one of the most iconic backpacking trails in the Canadian Rockies. It’s been on my bucket list for a long time, but it was closed for 3 years due to flooding that washed out portions of the trail in 2021. It finally re-opened in 2025 and I was super keen to visit the same summer. I spent 6 days hiking along the trail and it was easily the highlight of my summer! I’ve already published a 3-part trail report about my experience, which you can read starting here, but I had a lot of other learnings about the trail that I’d love to share. Reservations for the 2026 season are releasing at 7am on December 2, 2025. so here’s everything you need to know about the Berg Lake Trail!

The Trail

The Berg Lake Trail is a 42km there-and-back trail located in Mount Robson Provincial Park in BC. The trail starts at the parking lot north of the visitor centre and continues for 21km to the beach at the back of Berg Lake. There are 7 campgrounds in the park, with the most popular being the Berg Lake Campground.

There are a few options for how to hike this trail. If you’re not a backpacker, it is possible to day hike the entire thing, but you should give serious consideration to your fitness ability and previous hiking experience if you decide to attempt it. While the trail itself is not technical, it is a considerable distance and it covers almost 1000m in elevation gain. Approximately 500m of the gain is done in a 3km span, so it is a challenging and tiring hike. If you are not used to hiking long distance or you don’t have experience hiking in the mountains with significant elevation gain, I strongly recommend against attempting this as a day hike. If you do plan to day hike, I recommend starting before sunrise to give yourself lots of time, or consider biking as far as Kinney Lake. I found that the day hikers were primarily tourists who either don’t camp, or weren’t aware of the lead time required to secure permits.

If you are able to backpack it, I think this is a more enjoyable way to experience the trail. I did the trail over 5 nights, splitting the trail into 2 parts on the way up and down, and then camping 3 nights at Berg Lake to do day hikes. If you have more time to spend in the park, there’s lots to explore, but you can also enjoy this trail over a shorter period. I’d recommend a minimum of 2 nights. Most likely your itinerary will be limited by what permits you are able to obtain.

A photo of a female backpacker on a mountain overlooking Berg Lake and Mount Robson on a sunny day, on the Berg Lake Trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park in BC.

Time of Year

The best time of year to visit the Berg Lake Trail is pretty straight-forward. Mount Robson is the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, so the trail is covered in snow for most of the year, limiting the core hiking season from late-June to mid-to-late September. You can visit year round, but you must be prepared for winter conditions and be aware of avalanche risk, which I won’t be discussing in this post.

I think there is slightly less traffic in September, as it gets cold quickly in the Rockies, but otherwise, avoiding the crowds isn’t really possible. If you go in late-June, be aware that there may still be snow on some of the trails; and if you go later in the summer, it’s more likely that your trip might be impacted by wildfires. Mid-to-late July might be the sweet spot, but I visited during the first week of August and lucked into great conditions. The mountains are always susceptible to storms, so be prepared for that.

Getting There

I think it may be possible to take a bus to Mount Robson Provincial Park from either Jasper or Kamloops in the summer, but it’s not a common route and I don’t know how reliably buses run. Similar to other popular Canadian parks, the easiest way to access is by driving. The park is located on Highway 16, which is a 5 hour drive from Edmonton, 7 hours from Calgary, and 7.5 hours from Vancouver (all without breaks). It’s not an easy park to access, but I promise it is worth your time. There is a very large parking lot at the trailhead, which is relatively secure, but never leave valuables in your vehicle.

https://flic.kr/p/2rs1WuZ

Permits

Without a doubt, getting permits will be the hardest part of your trip to Berg Lake. This is a world-renowned hiking trail and attracts crowds of visitors every year. If you don’t get camping permits, then day hiking may be your only option to visit the park. If you want to try and get camping permits, then it’s important to mark your calendar with the permit release date. The permit release date for 2026 is Dec. 2, 2025. Unlike other BC parks, the permits for the Berg Lake Trail are released all on one day. The date is usually announced on the Mount Robson Provincial Park page, as well as on BC Park’s instagram. They usually don’t give a lot of notice (1-2 weeks), so you should be prepared to check in regularly at the end of the year until it is announced. The easiest way is to follow their social media.

Once released, you will have to book your permits on camping.bcparks.ca. Unlike Parks Canada, there is no random queue generator and you will have to login to your account, so there is no benefit to using multiple devices to try and get higher up the queue. However, if you have multiple people going on the trip, it is advantageous if you all login to your respective accounts to try for reservations (effectively giving you multiple chances to get your desired itinerary). I recommend creating an account in advance of release day (when the website will likely be slow due to traffic) and logging in before the sites release.

Once booking opens, select “backcountry reservations” and search for your start date. You will be forced to build your itinerary day by day, which can be a little frustrating. Once you get a date in your cart, you don’t need to worry about losing it, but it will become more challenging as the dates book up to continue building the itinerary. For example, by the time you get Whitehorn in your cart for your first night, Berg Lake may no longer be available for your second night. People are constantly adding and changing dates and campsites in the rush to get their itinerary, especially if you have multiple people from the same party trying to make 1 booking. So the trick is to frequently refresh. Just because you don’t see Berg Lake available right away, doesn’t mean it won’t show up if you keep refreshing.

My recommendation for booking a longer itinerary is to take what you can get and make changes later. If Berg Lake is not available, book Marmot or Rearguard and move on to the next day before those dates book up too. Once you have secured a booking for each of the dates in your itinerary, go back and look for cancellations. Keep refreshing until you see one, and then make a change to your booking to add it. This does cost more money as the change fee is $6, but I was able to get bookings for Berg Lake after the fact using this hack. When I made my first booking, I had 3 nights split between Marmot and Robson Pass campsites. I was able to change my reservation from Robson Pass to Berg Lake within the hour from people dropping sites, and I was able to get a cancellation later in the season and change my booking from Marmot to Berg Lake. So in the end, my starting itinerary (which had no nights at Berg Lake) ended up with 3 nights. You can track cancellations on Schnerp, which will notify you when a site opens up.

A female hiker walks in front of an epic glacier icefield at the top of Snowbird Pass in Mount Robson Provincial Park, off the Berg Lake Trail, in BC.

Campsites

There are 7 backcountry campsites in the park, so there are lots of options for where to stay and opportunities to customize your trip. The first 3 campsites are located along the trail to the lake, while the last 4 campsites are all located within 3.5km of one another around the lake. I’ll discuss itineraries below, but here’s an overview of the 7 campsites along the trail. All campsites include outhouses and bear lockers and as discussed above, require valid permits for the duration of your visit.

Kinney Lake – This is the first campground, located right on Kinney Lake at the 7km trail marker. It has 18 tent sites and a large open-air shelter. It’s a beautiful campground with several lakefront tent pads and a lovely view from the shelter. The trail to Kinney Lake is a gentle uphill, so this campsite is often overlooked because it is less than halfway to Berg Lake. But it’s a great option if you have a late start on your first day, as well as for families or those who want to experience Mount Robson’s backcountry, but have concerns about the strenuous hike up to Berg Lake. There are bike racks located at the back of Kinney Lake for those who bike up.

Whitehorn – This campground is located along the Robson River at the 11km trail marker. It has 22 tent sites and a large open-air shelter. This campground is ideal if you’re looking to split the hike to Berg Lake in half. It splits the elevation gain in half as well, though day 2 is slightly more strenuous. Some of the tent pads are along the river, while others are in the woods, but there’s a beautiful view of the valley and the backside of Mount Robson from the campground.

Emperor Falls – This campground is located just past the viewpoint for Emperor Falls at the 16km trail marker. It has 9 tent sites and some picnic tables, but it does not have a shelter. While the tent pads are located right next to the river, making for a nice view, the main downside to this campsite is that it’s located at the top of all of the elevation gain, so it leaves you with a big day if you’re hiking from the parking lot. I would probably avoid it on the way up, but it’s a good option to shorten your hike on the last day.

Marmot – This is the first of the upper campgrounds, any of which can be used as a base for day hikes. It’s located at the foot of Berg Lake at the 19km trail marker. It has 7 tent sites and a recently constructed semi-enclosed shelter (this one has windows, unlike the shelters at Kinney Lake and Whitehorn). Most of the tent pads are located in the woods, but 1-2 have a direct view of Mount Robson. While the view from Marmot is not quite as good as from Berg Lake, it is located right on the lake and would be my first choice if I couldn’t get a site at the Berg Lake Campground. Some people really like this campground because of how small it is, so you can avoid the crowds.

Berg Lake – This is the most popular campground on the trail. If you can score a permit for this campground, do not hesitate to book it. It’s located at the head of Berg Lake at the 21km trail marker. It has 26 tent sites and a fully enclosed cooking shelter with a large porch and view of the Berg Glacier. This is the most beautiful campsite on the trail, but it will be very busy as a result. Most of the tent sites are in the woods, though there is one premium tent pad with a lake view. A few of the sites at the back of the campground also have mountain views.

Rearguard – This campsite is located just past the Berg Lake Campground at the 22km trail marker. It has 6 tent sites and is a good option if you weren’t able to get a campsite at Berg Lake. It’s not located on the lake, but it does have nice views of Mount Robson and the river delta. The main downside is that there is no shelter, so if it rained, I’d prefer to be at Marmot.

Robson Pass – This is the last campsite in the park, located at the 23km trail marker. It has 15 tent sites. It’s located a little bit further away, but it can still be a great base if you’re planning to do some day hikes. You can access Snowbird Pass from this campsite, as well as you can hike up the backside of the Mumm Basin Trail – although be aware that this trail no longer connects to the Toboggan Falls trail due to a rockslide in recent years – but I’ve heard it still has a great view. Similar to Rearguard, the main downside of this campsite is that it doesn’t have a shelter.

Robson Hut – Another option to be aware of in the future is that the ACC is currently constructing a brand new mountain hut at Robson Pass, which should be open for the 2026 season. You will be able to book this hut through the ACC and it will be the swankiest accommodation available in the park. Please note that this is separate from the BC Parks booking system and it is not an open hut that you can visit. A booking will be required to use the hut.

Robson Meadows – Just to cover my bases, I want to mention that there is a frontcountry campground located off the highway near the visitor centre, which is a great option for camping the night before or after your backpacking trip.

A photo of Mount Robson on a sunny day with the Robson River in and trees in the foreground and the mountains and glacier in the background, on the Berg Lake Trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park, BC.

Itineraries

I’ll keep this fairly simple. It’s not easy to get permits, so it’s really a take what you can get scenario, but there are a few strategies you can employ.

Strategy 1: Hike all the way to Berg Lake in a day. The idea with this strategy is that you book as many nights as you want at the lake, prioritizing day hikes from the lake. The benefit is that you can immediately concentrate on getting bookings for Berg Lake before they fill up and maximize your time at the lake. The downside is that you need to be prepared to do the full 21km in a day, which is challenging, but allows you to spend more time at the lake if time is limited.

Strategy 2: Break up your hike to Berg Lake into 2 days, staying at one of the middle campgrounds on the way up, but planning to hike all the way back to the parking lot in a single day. Again, book as many nights as you want at Berg Lake after you arrive. This makes your hike in easier than strategy 1, but still gives you extra time at the lake, as the hike down is much easier than the hike up.

Strategy 3: Break up your hike to Berg Lake into 2 days on both the way up and down. If you have more time available, you can still book multiple nights at Berg Lake in the middle to do day hikes, but the benefit is it gives you a more relaxed hiking timeline, especially if you are worried about the challenging terrain.

Personally, I would only do strategy 1 if I only had 1 night. I used strategy 3 for my visit because I had lots of time, but I would have been comfortable with strategy 2 as well. It is more manageable to do the hike down in a single day. Here’s a couple of options based on the number of nights you have. (D=day, N=night)

Number of Nights	First Choice Campground	Alternate Campgrounds
2 days, 1 night (strategy 1)	D1: Hike to Berg Lake D2: Hike out	Marmot, Rearguard
3 days, 2 nights (strategy 1)	D1: Hike to Berg Lake D2: Day hike, stay at Berg Lake D3: Hike out	Marmot, Rearguard
3 days, 2 nights (strategy 2)	D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Hike out	N1: Emperor, Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard
4 days, 3 nights (strategy 2)	D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Day hike, stay at Berg Lake D4: Hike out	N1: Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard N3: Marmot, Rearguard
4 days, 3 nights (strategy 3)	D1: Hike to Whitehorn D2: Hike to Berg Lake D3: Hike to Whitehorn D4: Hike out	N1: Kinney Lake N2: Marmot, Rearguard N3: Kinney Lake, Emperor
5 days or more	Same as 4 day options, but add multiple nights at Berg Lake

Day Hikes

There are several great options for day hiking along the Berg Lake Trail. I really think it’s worth it to try and fit in at least one day hike if you can get multiple nights at campsites near the lake, but if you can’t, it’s not the end of the world either. Berg Lake is a world-class trail on it’s own and the entire trail is stunning, whether you have time for side quests or not. If you do have time, here’s the trails I would recommend.

Snowbird Pass – In my opinion, this is the best trail in the park. People like to prioritize the Berg Lake Viewpoint on the Toboggan Falls Trail, but this trail is the real gem. It’s a 20-km round trip hike from the Berg Lake Campground, so you definitely need a full day for it, but it features views of both the Robson Glacier and the Reef Icefield. It’s stunning from start to finish. If you don’t have enough time to do the whole trail, it’s still worth it to hike the 3km from Berg Lake to the lake at the base of Robson Glacier. I’ve written an entire blog post about this trail.

Toboggan Falls to Berg Lake Viewpoint – This is the most popular side trail in the park. From the Berg Lake Campsite, you can hike 1km up along the Toboggan Falls trail (enjoying the view of Toboggan Falls along the way), to a junction that takes you another ~1km up to the Berg Lake Viewpoint. From here, you can get the iconic photo of Berg Lake, the delta, and Berg Glacier. You don’t need a full day to do this hike, so if you’re short on time, you can probably knock it out in ~2 hours after you arrive at camp.

Hargreaves Lake Loop – If you have a full day, expand your hike up to the Berg Lake Viewpoint to also include the loop around to Hargreaves Lake via Marmot Campground. It’s approximately 7km round trip and in my opinion, Hargreaves Lake is really underrated. There’s a small viewpoint off the trail that takes you up to a lookout of Hargreaves Glacier and the Marmot branch of the Berg Glacier at the same time. I’d recommend a day if you’re doing the whole loop, but if you’re staying at Marmot, you could easily hike up to Hargreaves Viewpoint and back in an evening, as it’s only ~3km round trip.

Adolphus Lake – I haven’t done this trail myself, but if you have the time, you can hike out from Berg Lake to Robson Pass and then continue on to see Adolphus Lake. It’s ~2.5km from the Berg Lake Campground, but along completely flat ground. It’s a great option if you’re staying at Robson Pass.