Mount Bourgeau ... sort of ...

I had always dismissed Bourgeau Lake as a "tourist" hike. Its proximity to Banff and the fact that there are guided tours to this location did me no favours. But with Nicolas saying how idyllic the summit of Mount Bourgeau was, and Angie now adding it to her list of "must do" hikes ... well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a peek.


It was a cold and rainy day in Banff, so I expected the trail to be fairly empty. Arriving at the parking lot a bit before 9am, there were 3 cars ahead of me, one of which still had its occupants (a family of 4).

The trail up to Bourgeau Lake is very gradual, but as it goes entirely below the treeline, there are never any views to be had. In fact, it's quite the boring slog, but it's not even really a slog, so there isn't even the "pain and suffering" aspect to keep one busy.

As soon as I left the car, it started raining. Not your typical Alberta torrential downpour, mind you, but a more unusual misty drizzle. Great for flower shots, but kind of miserable otherwise.

Bourgeau Lake is uninspiring, which is disappointing considering you just hiked through 7.4 km of forests with no views to speak of. But it appears as though most people stop here.

Past the lake, things start getting steep, but the views improve dramatically. Well, they would, if the weather weren't so horrendous. It was raining / snowing / hailing on me the entire time, and my lack of gloves was a very poor oversight.

On the right, you can kind of make out the clouds which were covering the summit of Mount Bourgeau. Because of the limited visibility, and the fact that I was freezing, I decided not to go for the summit this time.

On the way down, it occured to me that the trail would be excellent for skiing, either light touring or something a little more heavy duty. There's no mention of this trail in any of my ski trails books, but I only saw one avalanche slope on the way up to Bourgeau Lake, and the area near Harvey Pass would be excellent for some turns.