#13 – Canadian Rockies Day Hikes: Kinney Lake Trail
- Location: Mount Robson Provincial Park
- Trailhead: Berg Lake Trail
- Type: Out-n-Back
- Rating: Moderately-Easy
- Total Distance: 6 to 10 miles
- Trailhead Elevation: 2,736′
- Total Elevation Gain: 530′
- Recommended Time: Full-day
- Recommended Season: Mid-June to Early-October
Kinney Lake Trail
Is a 26-mile journey on our #1 backcountry adventure in the Canadian Rockies, Berg Lake, too much for you? You can still grab a piece of Mount Robson Provincial Park’s amazing Berg Lake Trail by venturing to the richly saturated turquoise waters of Kinney Lake. The 3 mile (one-way) trail follows the Robson River through a dense rainforest full of hemlock and red cedar trees. The landscape is covered in green and dotted with mushrooms and other varieties of fungi. The Kinney Lake trail is a beautiful relatively easy journey to a truly stunning destination.
Kinney Lake
The turquoise waters of Kinney Lake are sublime. There are picnic tables available on the south end of the lake or at the campground on the eastern edge. Either spot makes for an amazing lunch outing in the woods. The reservation-only campground also makes a great overnight destination for those looking for an easy but beautiful trail to try your hand at backcountry camping.
The Kinney Flats
If traveling in the latter part of the summer/early fall, take the easy stroll past the lake and into the delta known as The Flats. (It’s about 5-miles from the Trailhead). This area is usually flooded in the late spring and early summer but it is a beautiful stroll on the river rocks once the majority of the meltwaters have subsided. There are gorgeous waterfalls crashing down from the high cliffs above making this well worth the limited effort when hiking the trail to Kinney Lake.
Hike or Cycle?
Autumn is the best time to do a Kenney Lake hike. Yellow and orange leaves reflect off the lake’s mirror-like, albeit turquoise-colored surface. This is even one of the few trails on our best Canadian Rockies day hikes list where bicycles are allowed. You can cycle your way to this amazing spot if that is your preference. The cycles aren’t allowed into The Flats but there is a bike rack so you can lock your bike up and head into the delta.
Early Birds
Like many of the stunningly beautiful richly colored lakes in the Canadian Rockies, the Kinney Lake trail gets crowded. It isn’t a Lake Louise level crowd but parking is more limited. If you arrive too late, you will want to add on about 2 miles to the journey for hiking the road as the road parking can run all the way down to the Mount Robson Visitor Centre. We recommended arriving before 8:00 am (PST) to have a good chance of parking in the lot at the trailhead or close to it.
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