6 Beautiful Larch Season Hikes in Banff National Park

If you’re just starting with planning your larch season trip to Banff, there’s one thing we can tell you right from the bat – you’re in for a real treat.

There is just something about those crispy mornings, hot chocolates and short-lived display of colors that makes this season so magical. The larch trees typically turn yellow in the last few weeks of September, creating the most stunning contrast with the blue lakes and grey mountain peaks.

In our opinion, larch season is the best time to go hiking in Canadian Rockies, so if you’re wondering about which hikes you should hit, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite trails to see larch trees in Banff National Park.

A larch tree is a unique conifer that is deciduous, meaning it loses its needles each fall unlike most evergreen conifers. They’re adapted to cooler temperatures and are often found in the alpine mountainous areas in the northern hemisphere, so you’ll typicaly have to hike to see them.

Their needles turn a beautiful golden color before they drop, creating the most stunning fall hiking conditions. This window only lasts few short (but sweet) weeks, which makes the larch season in Banff so special.

We get this question by the end of every summer and to be honest, it’s a hard one to answer as conditions vary from year to year depending on the temperatures and weather we get.

Your best chance to see the larches in their bright yellow state is typically in the last two weeks of September and first week of October, but if you only have few days, we’d recommend to aim your visit for the last week of September.

Just because it’s fall in Canadian Rockies, it doesn’t mean things can’t get busy. While you’ll generally see fewer crowds compared to summer months, people tend to be very concentrated on the trails that have larches, which suddenly turns them into busiest trails in the park.

Locals sometimes call this season the “Larch Madness” because things can get a little wild when it comes to parking and crowds on the trails with larches. But can you really blame anyone from wanting to experince this magical time of a year?

So to answer the question – yes, larch season hikes can get really busy and you’ll want to start your days early, and ideally on weekdays, to have a more peaceful experience.

Lenght: 8.9 km out-and-back to Larch Valley and 11.1 km out-and-back to Sentinel Pass
Elevation gain: 564 meters to Larch Valley and 749 meters to Sentinel Pass
Duration: 3-4 hours for Larch Valley, 5-6 hours for Sentinel Pass
Difficulty: Moderate (Larch Valley) to Hard (Sentinel Pass)
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

Larch Valley is undoubtedly the most popular larch season hike in Banff and it’s easy to see why – as the name suggests, you’ll find yourself in a beautiful alpine valley, surrounded by the most impressive display of golden yellow hues.

In our opinion, this place lives up to the hype and if it’s your first time visiting Banff during the larch season, it should be on your list. However there is one thing to keep in mind – Larch Valley trailhead starts at Moraine Lake. As you might know, the road to the lake is closed for personal vehicles since 2023, so be sure to do some research about alternative ways to get to Moraine Lake.

For the most epic fall day in Rockies, we recommend starting your day with a sunrise at Moraine Lake and hitting the trails right after that to avoid crowds. It only takes a few switchbacks to start seeing the first yellow larch trees and it gets better and better as you hike up to the valley. If you have an extra time and energy, make sure to continue up to Sentinel Pass. Not only you’ll see the larches from above, but you’ll also enjoy incredible views of Paradise Valley on the other side!

Lenght: 17.9 km out-and-back via Healy Pass Trail
Elevation gain: 816 meters
Duration: 5-6 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

Healy Pass is a wonderful larch season hike given that you enjoy longer trails. Altough rated as hard on AllTrails, we find the incline on this trail to be gradual and manageable even for novice hikers. Considering its length, we would personally rate it as moderate.

To be honest, the long forest part of the trail is pretty boring, but once you make it to the open meadows, it’s a great payoff! You’d see lots of wildflowers up there in the summer, but it’s even more magical when the surrounding larch trees turn yellow in the fall.

While this is another popular larch season hike in Banff National Park, great news is that the trailhead starts at Sunshine Village parking lot which is huge, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding a spot and it’s only a 20 min drive from the town of Banff.

Lenght: 9.3 km out-and-back via Arnica Lake Trail
Elevation gain: 738 meters
Duration: 4-5 hours
Difficulty: Hard
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

The trail to Arnica Lake is one of the quieter larch season hikes in Banff, but it’s one of our favourites as it offers amazing views both along the way and at the lake itself!

To reach the trailhead, you’ll need to drive to Vista Lake car park along the Highway 93, which is around 30 minutes from the town of Banff. Even though this trail isn’t as busy as other larch season hikes in Banff, the parking lot is small, so we’d still recommend arriving early, especially on the weekends.

Once you descend to Vista Lake, you’ll be greeted with first fall colors and it only gets better after the steep climb to Arnica Lake which is surrounded by both larches and evergreens.

Lenght: 6.6 km out-and-back via Saddleback Pass
Elevation gain: 592 meters
Duration: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

Saddleback Trail isn’t generally very well known, but it is a fantastic larch season hike that offers amazing views of Mount Temple and Paradise Valley.

While there are more routes up to Saddleback Pass, the best starting point is Lake Louise. From there, it is a pretty straightforward ascend to the pass, which is located between Saddle Mountain and Fairview Mountain on the south side of Lake Louise.

The fall colors are absolutely spectacular and the trail is generally very quiet, but the downside is that you’ll have to deal with parking at Lake Louise lakeshore. Make sure to arrive early to get the spot and don’t forget to pay the daily parking fee.

Lenght: 13.2 km out-and-back via Taylor Lake
Elevation gain: 912 meters
Duration: 5-6 hours
Difficulty: Hard
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

We don’t know about you, but we can never get enough of stunning mountain lakes, especially if they’re as beautiful as Taylor Lake.

The lake is enjoyable year round, but you’ll be absolutely mesmerized if you visit during the larch season in Banff. That being said, the majority of the trail is a steady climb through a forest, so there aren’t any views along the way. It’s still absolutely worth it though and there’s a beautiful nearby meadow which is full of larch trees. You’ll reach it if you continue hiking just a few hundred meters from Taylor Lake towards the Panorama Ridge.

The parking lot for the trailhead is located just along the Trans-Canada Highway, which makes this trail very accessible, so we’d recommend arriving early if you plan to visit on the weekend.

Lenght: 7.4 km out-and-back via Lake Agnes Trail
Elevation gain: 435 meters
Duration: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed: Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash

While this trail doesn’t have as many larches as other hikes mentioned in this list, it offers a well-maintained, easier path that still lets you enjoy a taste of the golden beauty. You’ll see a few larches scatered around the back side of the lake and it’s especially pretty if the water is calm and there is a reflection.

There’s an option to extend this route to multiple viewpoints in the area, which we highly recommend. If you continue up to the Little Beehive, Big Beehive or Devil’s Thumb, you’ll see some larches from above and get an epic view of Lake Louise.

Note that these are some of the most popular trails in all Canadian Rockies, so if you’re seeking a quiet experience, you might want to pick different routes.

Once again, make sure to do some planning around the parking at the Lake Louise lakeshore, as that’s where the trailhead starts, and don’t forget to pay the daily parking fee.

A trip to Banff is never a bad idea, but if you can make it during the larch season – chances are that you’ll never want to leave! There’s just something about those crispy mornings and beautiful golden colors that makes for such unforgettable experience.

We hope this list helped you to pick the right larch season hike for your next trip to Banff, but just in case you have any other question – feel free to drop it into comments below!

Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Your support through these links helps sustaining the content creation on this blog and providing valuable information and resources to our readers. Thank you for your support!