Story:
We arrived at the car park around 10:15am to catch the yellow school buses into the area. We had booked the 10:30 bus. Make sure you are there on time as they leave promptly. There were people waiting who didn't have a booking and even though there was plenty of space on the bus, they were not let on.
We arrived at the car park around 10:15am to catch the yellow school buses into the area. We had booked the 10:30 bus. Make sure you are there on time as they leave promptly. There were people waiting who didn't have a booking and even though there was plenty of space on the bus, they were not let on.
View of hike using Google Earth
You arrive first at the camp site and then move onto the starting lodge. At the lodge you can get some carrot cake and a map of the area. We had packed food and water for the whole day so we didn't need to buy anything.
We decided to go clockwise around the lake and we are very glad we did so, as the climb up is more gradual, whereas the climb down was extremely steep.
We started our hike at around 11:15am and stopped regularly to take photos and relax. We got back to our starting location at 5:15pm. So in total it took us about 6 hours, but we you could probably do it faster if you didn't stop so regularly or take such a long lunch.
There were some spots where we lost the path, but if this happened we could always see the path in the distance somewhere and find our way back to it.
Tips:
There are only a few buses each day that can take people into this area. Book far in advance by phone +1 250-343-6433. For more information on buses and the area look here - http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/yoho/activ/ohara/a.aspx . I did see people walking the route from the car pack to the lake, but this is a really long way, and all views are blocked by trees.
We stayed at the Mount 7 Guesthouse in Golden, BC before and after our day hike (highly recommended). The road from golden to the car park had single lane road works and a few stops but we still made it in about 45 mins (although I would recommend allowing much more time).
On the day of your booking you will need to catch the bus from here : http://g.co/maps/7zawx
It is best to take food with you.
You can buy a simple paper map of the area once you get in for about $0.50.
For other great day hikes I would recommend Sulphur Skyline in Jasper National Park, or any of the hikes in "The Best Day Hikes in the Canadian Rockies" by Tim Jensen
Tags:
hike, day hike, lake OHara, Yoho National Park, Canadian Rockies
hike, day hike, lake OHara, Yoho National Park, Canadian Rockies
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