Forget Lake Superior, Canada's Underrated Mountain Gem Has Crystal-Clear Waters And Ethereal Mountain Trails

Hidden in Kootenay National Park just off of Highway 93 South is one of Canada's best-kept hiking secrets. Floe Lake is one of Kootenay's most beloved bodies of water, though it's relatively unknown to those outside of scenic British Columbia. It hides immediately below the nearly 10,000-foot-tall Floe Peak as the crown jewel of the famed Rockwall Trail, though you can choose to shortcut hike to Floe Lake itself (a journey of 12.6 miles from the Floe Lake trailhead and back) if you don't want to do the entire 34-mile Rockwall hike. 

The best time to explore Floe Lake is July through October when there's little to no snow on the ground. In the summer, colorful wildflowers abound. In the fall, the larches come ablaze with brilliant color. Both serve as excellent backdrops to the deep turquoise shade of the water which perfectly mirrors the sky above. Perhaps best of all, it's blissfully quiet: there is no cell service and no watersports (including no swimming), making it easy to unplug from life for a while. 

Getting to the trailhead is simple. Just 45 minutes from the scenic town of Banff, on the eastern side of the well-marked 93S, you'll spot signage for the Floe Lake Trailhead. Turn there and find your spot, but know this: You'll want to arrive as early as possible. The parking area fills up fast, especially in the summer. While overflow parking is legal on the sides of the busy 93S in the event that the lot is full up, we don't recommend risking your safety by parking there. Make sure you bring good hiking shoes which you're fine with getting wet, as there are a couple of minor creek crossings. Double-check that your Parks Canada Discovery Pass is visible in your vehicle's windshield and bring plenty of bear spray (just in case) before you embark on this photogenic adventure.

Floe Lake Trail is more demanding on the way in than the way out, as it features more than 3,600 feet of elevation gain along the way. Thankfully, this means the hike out is (mostly) downhill — a welcome respite after the three to four hours of strenuous exercise it requires to reach the alpine water of Floe Lake. 

The trail is quite narrow and requires groups with multiple hikers to travel in a straight line as opposed to side-by-side. It leads adventurers over a bridge and through wilderness that burned in a 2003 wildfire, discernable by the blackened, riblike trees poking through lush, bright green new growth. For much of the hike, the crystalline blue Kootenay River flows nearby (as well as its tributary, the Vermillion River, with which it's commonly confused). 

Once you reach the lake, we highly recommend spending at least one or two nights to truly take it all in. This is not something one can do spontaneously, though; a reservation for the campground must be made (these open up each January). If you can't snag one at first, keep checking back — cancellations happen. No reservation? No worries, Floe Lake is still a rewarding day hike for anyone willing to put the work in. If you find yourself obsessed with Floe Lake, we think you'll want to explore nearby Moraine Lake, which is often called Canada's most beautiful lake (even if you don't agree that it's number one, you might concede that it at least makes the shortlist of Canada's most breathtaking lakes). And while you're in the area, don't forget to spend a day exploring Banff National Park, another area famous for its vibrant blue waters.