Lake O'Hara

Lake O'Hara lies at about 2,020 metres in a high cirque of Yoho National Park, just west of the Continental Divide, ringed by some of the most dramatic peaks of the Canadian Rockies — Mount Huber, Mount Victoria, Mount Biddle among them — and by glaciers that hang above its basin. The lake itself is a brilliant blue-green, but what makes the place exceptional is that it is the hub of a whole landscape of smaller lakes, hanging valleys and alpine meadows, each a short walk from the next.

Within a few hours on foot from the shore lie Lake Oesa, a jewel-blue tarn in a rock amphitheatre, reached on a path that climbs beside a waterfall; the Opabin Plateau, a grassy shelf scattered with small lakes and larches; and Lake McArthur, known for an especially deep blue. More ambitious walkers can link high ledges into an alpine circuit far above the main lake. In late September the larches on the plateaus turn gold, and the contrast with the blue water is extraordinary.

Many of these trails are works of craftsmanship in their own right. Lawrence Grassi, an Italian immigrant to Canada, laid out much of the network here with stone steps and carefully fitted rock, so well made that the trail itself becomes part of the experience. The lake has drawn artists too: John Singer Sargent painted it in 1916, and J.E.H. MacDonald of the Group of Seven returned to paint the area repeatedly between 1924 and 1932.

The lake takes its name from Colonel Robert O'Hara, from County Galway in Ireland, who heard of the valley from the surveyor J.J. McArthur. Access is deliberately limited to protect the fragile alpine environment: there is no private traffic, and numbers on the park bus are capped. Lake O'Hara Lodge stands by the shore, and the Alpine Club of Canada's Elizabeth Parker Hut lies in the meadows a short walk away.

Getting there

The road to the lake starts at the Lake O'Hara parking lot off the Trans-Canada Highway, about 12 km west of Lake Louise and 13 km east of Field. From there an 11 km gravel road, closed to private vehicles, climbs about 500 metres to the lake: visitors either ride the Parks Canada bus, with seats allocated by advance random draw, or walk the road. Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the usual gateway by road; Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) is about 200 km away in a straight line.