Lake O'Hara was our second basecamp during our two week stint in the Canadian Rockies. Lake O'Hara is widely considered one of the crown jewels of the Canadian Rockies, equaled only by Mount Robson and Mount Assiniboine. Access to Lake O'Hara is heavily regulated and reservations are extremely difficult to get. Fortunately, we were very flexible with dates on this trip and we landed a three night camping reservation.

Lake O'Hara has a lovely campground that accommodates approximately 30 people. Amenities include picnic shelters, fire pits, food lockers, trash disposal (very important when you have dirty diapers), and potable water; which all makes for a very comfortable stay by outdoor standards.

Starting from the campground several trails lead to spectacular vistas and turquoise lakes. During our stay in Lake O'Hara we covered quite a bit of ground hiking to McArthur Lake, The Alpine Circuit, Odaray Grandview, and Yukness Mountain. By far, our favorite hike was the Alpine Circuit which stays completely above treeline for eight miles and provides unsurpassed views of the surrounding mountains. The Alpine Circuit is definitely one of our top ten hikes of all time. The other hikes in the Lake O'Hara were just as nice. Odaray Grandview was simply amazing, Lake McArthur was so peaceful, and Yukness Mountain provided a nice scramble to a high summit.

Norah didn't necessarily agree with our assessment of the views. She more enjoyed collecting wood for the other guests in the campground for their campfires, eating popsicles at the c-store, and poking her dad in the back of the head with twizzlers as she was carried through this amazing part of the world for three days.

We certainly recommend a trip to Lake O'Hara to anyone who is visiting the Canadian Rockies and lucky enough to score a permit.