Bald Hills in Jasper National Park, Alberta is a popular hiking trip for experienced hikers – however, even I was able to do this and I am the type of person who does a hike like this every couple of years or so.
Bald Hills is located near Maligne Lake, which is famous for the Spirit Island photo.
There are two trails within the trail; there is an old fire road that is longer but easier than the going straight up and is extremely difficult. We took the easy way up and the hard way down. We were extremely happy we did this; if it was the opposite, I would probably still be there today. For the first few kilometers, it was pretty flat with a slight gain but nothing too major, then after 3 km or so it started to gain elevation. The climb was fine but you couldn’t see far ahead of you because of all the trees which made it difficult to image your goal to make it to the top.
After a good hour and a half, we finally reached the old hitching Post near the lookout site. Here we took a much-needed 20 minutes break!
After our break, we continued on to the top of the hill. We headed South from the lookout point instead of climbing straight up. The slope ascended gradually and it doesn’t kill you. We noticed little yellow flags and made them as stop points to help keep us in spirits. Finally! After a long 30 minutes, we reached the summit. But we were not done yet…
We headed to the opposite end of the summit, where we saw a beautiful site; a peaceful valley with a beautiful mountain peak and a 2,000 foot drop. I do admit, after reaching the very end of the trail, I did do a Bear Grylls shout!
To get to this point, it took 2.5 hours with all stops and breaks…. It was totally worth it.
Our friends, Mike and Grace, especially our friend Mike, are experienced hikers, He did this hike in snowshoes one year with is wife – Grace, several years back. So this hike can be done both summer and winter!
The hike is 13 km round trip. I would recommend this hike; it’s hard but it’s worth it!
Grab your water, hiking backpack, camera, energy bars and enjoy the view.
Featured writer: Janelle Slingerland – Travel Heart
These photos are amazing! I’m adding Alberta to my bucket list now. I heard about the beauty there before but I never thought about going until now.
Thanks for the beautiful photos and for taking me along on the trail.
Kayla
Hi Kayla,
I’m glad you liked my photos 🙂
Alberta is simply beautiful! It’s worth coming out! Lots to do throughout the year, winter time, lots of skiing/snowboarding, you can snowshoe, skate and other things. Summer time, Calgary has it’s Calgary Stampede, lots of hiking, sight seeing, horseback riding, and loads of fun.
Janelle (Travel Heart)
The last picture is my favorite. Was it taken with your phone?
Hi Jean,
Yes it wash
Janelle
We were in Alberta, Calgary, in Aug./ Sept and visited Jasper and surrounding areas. Natural beauty at its best
For sure!
Janelle