Berg Lake Trail hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Berg Lake Trail is the classic backpacking trip of the Canadian Rockies. It climbs the Robson River valley in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, past Kinney Lake and the Valley of a Thousand Falls to Berg Lake, where icebergs break off the Berg Glacier below the north face of Mount Robson (3,954 m), the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It ends at Robson Pass on the Alberta border. It is an out-and-back trail: you walk in, camp, and walk out the same way. You sleep only in the seven BC Parks campgrounds, and in peak season every night must be booked.

The route

The trail starts at the end of Kinney Lake Road, 2 km from the Mount Robson Welcome Centre on Highway 16. The first 7 km are a wide, gentle path through old cedar and hemlock forest along the Robson River to Kinney Lake. From there new trail sections, built after the 2021 flood, cross the gravel flats on long bridges to Whitehorn, below the Valley of a Thousand Falls. The hard part comes next: about 500 m of climbing in 4 km on switchbacks past three big waterfalls to Emperor Falls. Above them the valley opens out, and the trail runs almost flat past Marmot to Berg Lake, Rearguard and Robson Pass.

This guide follows the rebuilt route as mapped on OpenStreetMap: 21 km one way from the trailhead to Robson Pass Campground, split into 5 stages from campground to campground, about 4.2 km each. BC Parks still gives 23 km; the rebuilt route is a little shorter. The stages only cover the way in. The walk out is the same trail in reverse: Berg Lake to the trailhead is about 19 km and mostly downhill, and fit hikers walk it in one day (5 to 7 hours). Others break it with a night at Whitehorn or Kinney Lake. The trailhead is at about 850 m and Berg Lake at about 1,640 m.

Side trips from Berg Lake (not in the stage line)

• Snowbird Pass: a long day (about 20 km return, 800 m or more of climbing, 7 to 10 hours) along the Robson Glacier to a pass above the Reef Icefield. It is closed from 1 May to 1 July for caribou calving, and dogs are never allowed.
• Mumm Basin: a 7 km loop above Robson Pass with views over Berg Lake and the Berg Glacier, back via Toboggan Falls. A 2018 landslide damaged part of the route, so ask about it at check-in.
• Toboggan Falls, Hargreaves Lake, the Robson Glacier toe and Adolphus Lake: shorter walks of 2 to 4 hours from the campgrounds.

When to go

The peak season, when campgrounds must be booked, runs from 27 May to 29 September 2026. Snow often lies at Berg Lake into June, and Snowbird Pass only opens on 1 July, so the best time is July to mid-September. July and August are warmest, but snow, cold rain and freezing nights are possible in any month; September is quieter and colder. Outside the season you can camp free, first come, first served, but nothing is serviced, and winter brings deep snow and avalanche paths.

How many days do you need?

• 2 days: Berg Lake on day 1 (19 km with the big climb), out on day 2.
• 3 days: the most common plan. Day 1 to Whitehorn (stages 1 and 2, about 10.4 km), day 2 up to Berg Lake (stages 3 and 4, about 8.8 km), day 3 out.
• 4 days: add a full day at Berg Lake or Robson Pass for Snowbird Pass or Mumm Basin. This is the best plan if you can get the bookings.

Difficulty

The trail is moderate, well built and signed, with bridges over the big streams. Only the climb to Emperor Falls is steep, and a rocky stretch near Marmot is slow. With a full pack, plan on 7 to 9 hours from the trailhead to Berg Lake. The real risks are weather, glacier rivers, bears and the lack of phone signal.

Permits, booking and fees

• Reservations: every night in peak season must be booked at camping.bcparks.ca or on 1-800-689-9025. The whole 2026 season opened on one day, 2 December 2025 at 7 am Pacific, and popular dates sell out quickly. The 2027 opening day is announced on the Mount Robson Park page.
• Fees (2026): $10 per adult (16 and over) and $5 per youth (6 to 15) per night, free under 6, plus a $6 transaction fee per tent pad per night (up to $18). From 2027 BC Parks will add a $20 non-resident fee for adults who live outside B.C. on this trail.
• Check-in: before you start, register your whole party at the Welcome Centre, watch the trail video and collect the permit tag for your tent.
• Rules: camp only on tent pads, no campfires anywhere, no dogs overnight, no bikes past Kinney Lake, no drones, and boil or filter all water.
• Robson Pass Hut: the Alpine Club of Canada's new 12-bed hut at Robson Pass (built 2026) is booked through an ACC ballot.

Getting there and away

Mount Robson Park is on Highway 16 just west of the Alberta border: about 35 km (30 minutes) north of Valemount, about 1 hour from Jasper, 3.5 hours from Prince George and 5 hours from Edmonton. There is no public transport to the trailhead, so most hikers drive or come in a rental car from Prince George, Kamloops or Edmonton airports. Mount Robson is on Pacific Time, one hour behind Jasper.

Robson Helimagic flies hikers to Robson Pass on Monday and Friday mornings ($300 plus tax in 2026). It is drop-off only: you walk the whole trail out.

Money, food and phone signal

There is no shop on the trail. The Welcome Centre has a gas station, a café and a small store; buy food and stove fuel in Valemount or Jasper. There is no mobile signal anywhere on the trail: the Welcome Centre is the only place in the park with signal, payphones and Wi-Fi. Carry a satellite messenger or a personal locator beacon, and a paper map.

What to pack

A three-season tent, a sleeping bag good to about -5 °C, a stove, a water filter, rain gear, warm layers, hat and gloves, bear spray, trekking poles, toilet paper and bags to pack out all garbage.

Safety

Call 911 in an emergency; this only works where there is signal or with a satellite device. The RCMP send volunteer search and rescue, often by helicopter. Grizzly and black bears live along the trail: make noise, carry bear spray and use the bear lockers for all food and toiletries. Glacier rivers are fast and freezing: never wade, and stay off undercut banks. The valley is flood-prone: the 2021 floods destroyed bridges and campsites, and heavy rain or a fast snowmelt can close the trail again. Check the BC Parks advisories before you go and at check-in. The nearest help is the Valemount Health Centre; the nearest 24-hour emergency departments are in McBride and Jasper.