Hiking in Jasper National Park.

Wabasso Lake to Skyline Trail

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Wabasso Lake to Skyline Trail

Summary:

The hiking trail for Wabasso Lake to the Skyline Trail is a fairly fast route of historical significgance.
Hiking Distance      It is just over 12km to the Skyline Trail junction, with a distance of 2.7 km to Wabasso Lake.
Hiking Time      It can take from 4-6 hours to reach the end of the hiking trail, with a little less time return. The shorter hike just to Lake Wabasso and back can be done in just a couple of hours or less.
38 m Elevation gain.

Getting There
The hiking trailhead that starts at Wabasso lake is about 14km south on the Icefields parkway. The parking area is marked well indicating the lake and the trail sign indicates distance to both Wabasso Lake and the Skyline trail junction.



The Hike
Your hike to the Skyline trail starts from the parking area and crosses several low hills. To avoid a ford, the hiking trail routes up to a scenic hillside (watch for the switchback to the left, signed "lake") and then turns down towards a beaver pond. When hiking just to Wabasso Lake, we suggest going at least to the far side of the lake.

Hiking past Wabasso Lake, you will cross a creek towards the Valley of Five Lakes junction, keeping straight ahead to Big Shovel Pass. Climb gradually through aspens and cottonwood grove to a creakbed. Hike up the rocky gully for a short distance past the small stream on the right.

The Skyline trail hiking grade starts to increase as you hike towards a pine forest. After passing a horse gate, you will hike past the old campground and where the forest thins, you can see the peaks above Astoria River Valley.

As you hike towards Big Shovel Pass Lodge, the grade eases slightly. From there to the Skyline Trail, the hiking path gets steep.

In addition to many Black Bears, we do encounter Grizzlies and often see large cat tracks between Wabasso lake and the Valley of Five Lakes Hiking Trail.


June 2017 Lynx Sighting - Hike Jasper

Jasper Wildlife Tours