Emerald Lake (Yoho)

Interesting facts

From 1954 to 1971 the back of the Canadian ten-dollar note showed Emerald Lake with Mount Burgess behind it, based on a photograph taken for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Thanks to that banknote, Mount Burgess is still informally known as Ten Dollar Mountain.

Mount Burgess gave its name to the Burgess Shale, the roughly 508-million-year-old fossil beds discovered nearby by Charles Walcott in 1909, famous for preserving soft-bodied animals.

The mountain's lower northern summit is called Walcott Peak in honour of the palaeontologist who found the Burgess Shale.

Mount Burgess, about 2,599 metres high, was named in 1886 by the astronomer Otto Klotz after Alexander Burgess, Canada's deputy minister of the interior.

The Canadian Pacific Railway built Emerald Lake Lodge in 1902, as part of its effort to bring tourists to the Rockies along its line.

While only about a metre of snow settles at the lake in winter, more than ten metres can fall on the surrounding peaks.

An alluvial fan on the north-eastern shore turns into a wildflower meadow in late June and early July.

The shores carry trees typical of British Columbia's wet interior forests, such as western red cedar, western hemlock and western yew.

Why it is worth it

Emerald Lake lies in Yoho National Park, on the British Columbia side of the Canadian Rockies, and its name is an exact description. Glaciers on the surrounding peaks grind the rock to a fine powder, and these particles, suspended in the water, scatter sunlight so that the lake glows a vivid, opaque green — greener than the bluer lakes across the divide in Banff. Around it rise the peaks of the President Range, named after leaders of the Canadian Pacific Railway, with Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain close by.

The lake lies at about 1,200 metres in a basin that catches weather: summers bring frequent showers, and winters heavy snow. It freezes from November until late April or early May, so its famous colour is a seasonal thing, deepening through the summer as glacial melt brings more rock flour. On still days the reflections of forest and mountain are almost perfect.

The first non-indigenous visitor recorded here was Tom Wilson, a guide and packer working for the railway, who came upon the lake in 1882 while tracking runaway horses. He named it for its colour, the second "Emerald Lake" he had named that year — the first, a few months earlier, is now known as Lake Louise. Emerald Lake Lodge now stands on the shore.

An easy trail of a little over 5 km circles the shore, with the view changing at every turn as the peaks of the President Range swing in and out of the frame. More demanding paths climb into the surrounding basins. Steller's jays are common around the lake, and both black bears and grizzlies live in the area.

Getting there

The lake is reached by a 9 km paved road branching off the Trans-Canada Highway near Field, a small railway village inside the park; on the way the road passes the Natural Bridge, where the Kicking Horse River has cut through a rock barrier. Golden lies about 50 km to the west and Lake Louise about 39 km to the east by road. Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the usual gateway, a drive of a little over 200 km; Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) is about 210 km away in a straight line.

Emerald Lake (Yoho)

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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