The Valley of the Five Lakes is a great hike for gloomy days as the lakes are stunningly blue and green in any climate. We really enjoyed this hike on a cloudy day and appreciated that the highlights here are not far away peaks, but up close clear waters. Our trail guide is for the longer loop around all of the lakes and into the forest. If you have other plans for this day, or interested in a shorter hike, we strongly recommend just completing the short loop to see the lakes and return to the parking lot. While the longer loop was a good workout, it was mostly through the woods and less exciting than just meandering around the lakes. We also did not have to battle with many crowds as we had a less than ideal day of weather, but know that this is a very popular trail in Jasper and can get quite crowded.

The Details: There are two options for completing this hike, the small loop (4.5km round trip) or the large loop (9km round trip) and both start out at the large parking lot off the Icefields Parkway. The parking lot has nice bathroom facilities, picnic tables, and plenty of space for cars and campers.

The trail starts off in a forested, and for us quite muddy, section to get to the lakes. When we arrived at the meadow just beyond the wooden bridge, we stayed right along the 9a trail. This will pop you out at the fifth lake first. If you prefer to go in numerical order, take the 9b trail on the left (be careful not to jump on the 9 at the far left, or you will just go through the meadow and get on the long loop). There are some steep sections of rocky terrain as you near the lakes, but they are easy navigate if you go slow. Proper footwear is essential here.

If you stick with our path, you will eventually pop out of the forest and up onto a ridge where you will get a great view of the lakes below. There is another pair of Parks Canada chairs here, so be on the lookout! We did not want to wait in line to get a photo with them, so I have no evidence to share, but they offer a fantastic view of the Third Lake.

As you approach the Second and First lake on this circuit, cut left onto 9b to return to the parking lot and complete the short loop. We continued on the 9a along the entire length of the First Lake and then made it all the way to the junction with the 9 trail. We hung a left here and took the long way around back to the meadow and bridge completing the long loop. We were disappointed that this long loop was not as tight to the lake shore as we expected, but the views from the ridge in the meadow were nice. The sun FINALLY peeked out as we broke from the dense trees.

To wrap up, this trail, especially the long loop, can have a lot of bear activity in the summer months because there are berries all throughout this area. It is very important that you make noise as you are walking, like talking loudly, and bring your bear spray. Click here to head back to our full Jasper guide. For more packing information, check out our packing essentials. Happy Hiking!

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