Steve and I first visited Berg Lake in Mt. Robson Provincial Park in 2006 and we immediately put it on our unofficial Top Ten Backpacking Trips of all time. So when planning a return trip to the Rockies in 2015, it wasn’t a hard decision to revisit this gorgeous park. This time we would backpack it as a group of three; Norah was 7.75 at the time of our hike and looking forward to the trip after hearing us talk about it. Berg Lake is a great place for a family backpack; not only is it beautiful but the trail system is great. The trails are nicely maintained, the elevation gain is not bad for the distance covered, and there are several campgrounds that can be used to break up the hike. With so much to see along the trail - turquoise lakes and rivers, lush forests, waterfalls, glaciers, and dramatic peaks - the hike never feels like a slog and the miles fly by.

Mt. Robson Provincial Park, located in British Columbia, is the largest provincial park in the Canadian Rockies. It shares a boundary with Jasper National Park; a 200 km stretch of the Continental Divide (note: be aware of the time change between British Columbia and Alberta). Mt. Robson, standing at 3,854 m (12,972 ft), is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and a difficult climb due to the poor weather. Mt. Robson towers two vertical kilometers above Berg Lake, which is the primary destination of any backpacking trip in the park.

It is 21 km/13 miles to Berg Lake and while it can be done in one shot, many people camp at either Kinney Lake or Whitehorn Campground to break up the hike. Because we were driving from Edmonton on Saturday we knew we would be getting a late start and opted to stay our first night at Kinney Lake (7 km/ 4.3 miles). The next day we continued to Berg Lake. With 26 tent pads, Berg Lake Campground is the largest and most popular campground around Berg Lake. It has a prime location next to the lake with great views of Mt. Robson and Berg Glacier (which we could also hear at night). It is also quite busy. Quieter campgrounds include Marmot (2 km before Berg Lake), Rearguard (1 km beyond Berg Lake), and Robson Pass (2 km beyond Berg Lake).

We camped two nights at Berg Lake to allow for a day hike to Snowbird Pass; a 22 km/13.7 mile hike that provides stunning views of the backside of Mt. Robson, Robson Glacier, and the Reef Icefield. We also fit in a side trip to Mumm Basin, although I almost wished we had stayed an extra night to do the Mumm Basin-Hargreaves Glacier Circuit (11.6 km/ 7.2 miles) as a more leisurely day hike. At any rate, I highly recommend a minimum of two nights at Berg Lake to allow some time for exploration of the area.

Excluding some hazy skies due to wildfire smoke, we had fantastic weather for our trip. It was just as beautiful as I remembered and we all had a wonderful time. And props to Norah - we ended up covering quite a few miles in four days and she hiked like a champ!

Final stats on the trip:

Day 1: Trailhead to Kinney Lake Campground: 7 km/4.3 miles, 131 m/430 ft ascent
Day 2: Kinney Lake to Berg Lake Campground: 14 km/8.7 miles, 657 m/2155 ft ascent + day hike to Mumm Basin/Mumm Peak: ~ 7 km/4.3 miles; 350 m/1148 ft ascent/descent
Day 3: day hike to Snowbird Pass: 22 km/13.7 miles; 770 m/2526 ft ascent/descent
Day 4: Berg Lake to trailhead: 21 km/13 miles, 788 m/2585 ft descent

Total: 71 km/44 miles; 1908 m/6260 ft ascent/descent

Resources:

Official park page, including information about making online reservations (a must!): Mount Robson Provincial Park - Berg Lake Trail

Handy reference map with all the essential information at a glance: Berg Lake Trail Map

On all four of our trips Brian Patton and Bart Robinson’s book has been indispensable in planning: Canadian Rockies Trail Guide