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Taylor Lake

Difficulty Rating: YDS I (Hiking I when dry)Exposure Rating: 1/5
Our total trip time and GPS recorded stats for our specific route.
Our stats: 6 hours, 15.6 km, 790 m (with meadows)

The total trip time that would be reasonably expected of a party of good fitness and technical ability in good conditions. The distance and elevation according to a topographic map.
What your trip should look like: 3-5 hours, 13.1 km, 610 m elevation for just Taylor lake. 3.5-6 hours, 15.0 km, 700 m elevation for the meadows. 4-6 hours, 17.0 km, 750 m elevation for O'Brien Lake. 5-8 hours, 19.0 km, 1100 m elevation for Panorama Ridge (East).

Directions
Google maps logoGoogle maps logo
GPS TrackGaia GPS
September 22, 2024
Notes:

Completed in fall after a heavy rain and the trail was quite the mess, especially near the lake. We went to Taylor Lake and the meadows, which are worth the diversion. This hike is possible at all times during the year and is wonderful and easy at all times of the year (unless directly after a large snowfall). There is a backcountry campground at the lake that would make an amazing trip to experience a sunrise.

History/Background:

Taylor Lake is situated directly across the Bow Valley from Castle Mountain and is sandwiched in between the many other lakes of the area (Boom, Consolation, Moraine). It is one of the most accessible high lakes in the Lake Louise area, requiring simply a straightforward hike from the highway, although you do have to gain a fair bit of elevation. Among others, Taylor lake sits in alpine paradise, with a larch ring around it in an amphitheatre that was carved out by a glacier. A tiny remnant glacier still exists on the west side of the lake, although upon seeing it, one generally would not consider it to be a glacier. The lake is surrounded by the towering cliffs of Mount Bell and Panorama Peak.

Access:

The trail begins at the Taylor Lake parking lot, which is in between Castle Junction and Moraine Lake. It isn't hard to miss, as there is a sign on Highway 1 indicating "Taylor", which is where the parking lot is situated. The parking lot is approximately 1:30 hours driving time for the Calgary city limits.

Routes:

This route is extremely straightforward and follows a wide trail from the parking lot to the lake. The first section is very flat and wide and then the trail angles up for the rest of the hike, switchbacking up until the clearing, which may be boggy and muddy before you reach the lake. If you'd like to add on some extra distance, there is an option to head to Panorama Ridge or the meadows, which shows incorrectly on most maps. Once you reach the campground, simply head up into the bench area, where you will soon see a sign that says "Panorama Ridge" and an obvious trail leading straight up the hill. From here, it is your choice how far you push on, but the further you go, the better the views get. If you are planning to do the O'Brien Lake extension, the route is a bit simpler, with a left turn before reaching Taylor Lake. The trail then drops down and finally gains elevation to the lakes. If you're a little crazy like me, at this point you could also scramble up Mount Bell or do a thru hike to Boom Lake, which would make some cool days. For each route, descend the same way (unless you spice it up with a thru hike).

Taylor Lake and meadows Gaia GPS route

I have to start this one off just by saying that you should either do it with plenty of good company or trail run it very quickly, otherwise it would likely be very boring and actually rather unpleasant.

Obviously, this meant that it was the perfect family hike, so we invited some friends and actually quite enjoyed the "boring" and "unentertaining" hike that most reviews tend to dislike.

We went up with the intention of seeing some yellow larches, but unfortunately we arrived about a week early, although some did still sparkle. However, the red and yellow grasses were in full, so it was still worth it to head up to the meadows. Now that I look at it, I may have to come back for the Panorama Ridge East Peak, since that is supposed to be quite amazing in full on larch season.

Our start time was about 8:45, and surprisingly we were some of the first people that were there. How pleasant.

After crossing the fence by using the funny gate thingy, we strolled on the very wide trail and it did stay very true the reviews. It was boring and had zero views. It was a very foresty forest, or at least that's one way to put it.

I really appreciated a good conversation with James about acting and playwriting and about this website and then various short and wide ranging conversations with the others. Once again, I have to stress the hiking buddy thing for this one, either that or just trail run it. Anyways, on the way up, I also appreciated the fresh air and easy trail and pace, something I don't often get to do.

The Taylor Lake Trail

The trail was a little muddy in places, but wide enough to walk beside a friend. Very thoughtful of the trail builders.

The grade increases on the Taylor Lake Trail

The grade then increased a bit and continued like this for the majority of the way up.

James and David on the Taylor Lake Trail

Probably the steepest section of the trail on the way to the lake.

Mud on the Taylor Lake Trail

The trail was quite muddy in some places too which made things a bit tricky.

The bridge on the Taylor Lake Trail

This may be the highlight of the entire trail up to the lake...

The boggy section before Taylor Lake

And then here's that boggy section right before the lake.

Taylor Lake

Lake time!

I have some better photos of the lake from after, so make sure you see those, since this first one doesn't really get its full beauty.

Once we got up there, we were fairly impressed at how nice it was, but unfortunately not so impressed by how green the larches still were. We all settled for quite some time and had a relaxing lunch. Christine even got a phone call since apparently there is 1 bar of service at the lake. Who would've known...

After lunch, we scouted around for the trail to the meadows, eventually finding it to just be directly in the campground and up the hill to the north.

My mom heading up to the meadows above Taylor Lake

My mom heads up the skinnier and steeper trail to the meadows.

Old bear scat on the trail to the meadows above Taylor Lake

Some old but massive bear scat on the trail.

James emerges into the meadows above Taylor Lake

James emerges into the meadows

Where we turned around in the meadows above Taylor Lake

This is the viewpoint where we ended up turning around. The larches were a bit better than they seem in the photo and overall the view was nice. The further you go I'm sure it would get even better than this (and maybe a little later in the season too).

Heading down from the meadows above Taylor Lake

The gang heading down minus my dad and David.

Little beards on the Taylor Lake trail coming down from the meadow

Fluffy beard looking things on the trail (should probably find out what these are).

Heading back down to Taylor Lake

Heading back down to the lake.

Taylor Lake

Here's the best photo of the lake (edited), but that was how I could best mirror what it was like to be there in real life. It was quite magical and the larches ended up popping a bit more than expected.

Taylor Lake

Here's an unedited picture just for comparison.

When we got back to the lake, we stopped once again and chatted with a lady about hiking in Mount Assiniboine (where my dad and I would be going literally the next day) and we got very excited. Unfortunately, we did have to break ourselves away and continued the boring hike down.

On the way down, Christine kept stopping to take pictures of mushrooms with her phone and they worked out quite well. We also ate some berries and had a fun time spotting all the little mushroom paradises that we saw. It felt a little longer on descent but was easy and still enjoyable.

Christine's mushroom photos on the Taylor Lake Trail

Epic mushroom photography by Christine.

Mushroom photography on the Taylor Lake Trail

Another great shot. These were so cool to look at and it's impressive what the iPhone cameras can do. Christine is also a photographer so likely some of the "luck" of the shots comes from there.

Well that's it. Another one in the books.

As I've been getting out to the mountains more, I'm realizing that as nice as getting peaks are, other adventures do exist and are worth doing sometimes. After this hike, I was not disappointed by not bagging another peak, but rather, I actually enjoyed a bit of an easier non-stress outing. So if you're like me and you've been slightly obsessed with getting peaks, consider just getting out for a walk. It'll do you some good just as much as peak will, maybe even more. I do admit that it's a different kind of "sport" the hiking to a lake vs dragging yourself to a summit, but both offer different perspectives and rewards in their own ways. And don't worry, I will be back for the peaks around this area. I do want to see it from all angles, since I know that sometimes getting to the top can just be a tad better.