The day after Melissa’s it was time to hit the hiking trails again! I’ve had Bourgeau Lake on my radar for a year. This was the day to do it since this might have been our last weekend to hike this summer. Unfortunately for the Hubby his knee was bugging him after the race and he decided to sit this one out. We had a race the next weekend and his knee needed to be good for that! Luckily my friend Claire was game for a hike.
Since the trail head is so close to the highway there is a fence, some steps and a gate to kick things off. The early part of the trail is closed in forest but there were some beautiful patches of light streaming through the trees.
Within a few km the trail opened up for a view of the mountains! Unfortunately the air was very hazy that day and our views weren’t super spectacular. It was also really hard to capture what I was seeing on camera.
We got to cross a more traditional bridge on our way up the mountain.
Plus we also got to cross a different kind of bridge made just out of rocks.
About 7.5 km in we reached Lake Bourgeau! We found ourselves a large rock to sit on and have a snack. By this point in time we felt like we hadn’t been hiking that long so we decided to press on towards Harvey Pass. Apparently the views from Harvey Pass are amazing so it was onwards and upwards!
There was a beautiful waterfall to see along the way!
Soon the trail changed to steep and rocky. Not my most favourite to descend, but I didn’t have to worry about that quite yet…
On the way up there were a series of rockbound lakes to see. While beautiful the big payoff still lay ahead!
As we kept going the views were becoming more amazing as we looked down on where we came from.
Around 10 km we reached Harvey Lake. 
Just a short walk around the lake and the panorama of mountains around from Harvey Pass was amazing. 
Plus check out those larches!
Like I said, unfortunately the haze compromised the picture and it really doesn’t do how beautiful it was up there justice.
We spent some time enjoying the views from the pass and looking around the lake before making our way back down the mountain.
Thank you Claire for keeping me company on the hike! It was truly amazing out there and I can’t wait to take the Hubby out there next year!
Bourgeau Lake – Harvey Pass in Banff National Park, AB
~21 km round trip to Harvey Pass and back
1300 m elevation gain
~6:30 hiking time
