SUMMARY:
Vimy Peak is the looming mountain directly across the lake from the Prince of Wales Hotel. There are a few different ways that you can get to the trailhead, but we chose to park a vehicle at the Wishbone Trailhead and bike to it. In total, it took us 9 hours from getting out of the car to getting back in. Around 24 KM, round trip. It's a nice mix of biking, hiking, and scrambling. Makes for a great day of adventure!
Vimy Peak is the looming mountain directly across the lake from the Prince of Wales Hotel. There are a few different ways that you can get to the trailhead, but we chose to park a vehicle at the Wishbone Trailhead and bike to it. In total, it took us 9 hours from getting out of the car to getting back in. Around 24 KM, round trip. It's a nice mix of biking, hiking, and scrambling. Makes for a great day of adventure!
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For years, Vimy has been on my bucket list to do. I've always looked at it from across the Lake and wanted to climb it and then finally on July 12, 2021 I finally did it!
We started our adventure by parking at the Wishbone Trail parking lot, which is along the Chief Mountain Highway, about a half a kilometer off of Highway 5. We got our bikes, backpacks, and bear spray ready, crossed over the highway, and started along the trail at 8:30am. We were told that the trail was quite narrow and the vegetation was quite overgrown due to the low numbers of hikers/bikers who use it. This was pretty accurate. The trail is pretty flat and easy to maneuver, but overall there is a slight, gradual climb. My wife and I are not experienced mountain bikers at all, but we didn't have any problems. Watch our for ridges, rocks, and roots, especially when going downhill with some speed. We were told that this trail is known for a lot of bear activity, but we didn't see any the whole time. There are a lot of blind spots as you bike through some of the thick vegetation though, so it does make you a bit nervous sometimes. Make sure you're being loud to give them plenty of notice if any are hanging around. There are some beautiful views along the way of Vimy, so make sure to stop and take a few pictures along the way.
About 5 kilometers in, you'll get to the river crossing. It's around knee deep, depending on when you go, so fairly easy to cross. Some of us had water shoes, others just crossed barefoot. The water was freezing, but it felt good! On the way back, we ended up finding a makeshift log/rock bridge to cross on, which saved a bit of time and hassle. After the river, you'll bike another kilometer and a half and you'll get to a thick, wooded area where the junction point is. This is where we locked our bikes up to a tree and started the hike. We were about an hour in at this point (9:30am).
As you start hiking, you're in the trees for the first few kilometers, with gradual switchbacks. It doesn't take long before you start seeing some nice views of the lake below. I can't remember, maybe about half way to the peak, you'll come across a cute little waterfall. Around that point, since it was early June, the snow drifts, leftover from the winter, started to appear. This made the hike a bit more difficult, because the drifts seemed to be in the open areas, exactly where the trail was. It made it pretty slippery, and some drifts were probably over 6 feet deep, so you never new when your foot would break through the crusted snow on top and you'd be up to your knees in snow. We tried to avoid the snow wherever we could, but our shoes and socks still ended up getting quite wet.
After about 5 kilometers, you get to a flat area that is surrounded by the ridge of the mountain. There's a big open bowl with a lot of snow still inside of it. The snow had streaks of red in it from dust of the red rocks all around. The trees in this area were pretty grizzled and gnarly. We found some logs to sit on for a little picnic. Normally we would've waited until the peak to eat, but the wind was picking up, and the clouds were rolling in, so we didn't think it'd be very pleasant up there. And we were right.
The last half kilometer or so is a straight up scramble with lots of loose, sharp rocks. There's not a super defined trail, but once and a while you'll see it. If you've hiked to Crypt Lake, you'll see some familiar landmarks as you can see the falls and the lake over to the west! The clouds were all around us at this point and when we finally summitted, we had beautiful views towards the south and the east, but on the other side, there was a wall of mist and we couldn't see a thing! It was pretty eerie, knowing there was a huge drop off only a few feet away. We travelled along the ridge for a bit and eventually hunkered down just below the rocky ridge to get out of the rain and wind, hoping the storm would blow over. Once and a while it would, and we got some pretty awesome views of the lake below, but then the clouds would blow in again. We wanted to do the entire ridge so bad, but because of the poor visibility, high winds, and slippery conditions, we didn't think it was very safe.
So even though it wasn't the ideal summit experience, the hike was amazing and would definitely recommend if you're looking for a full day of adventure! Since this hike is on the opposite side of the lake, it's not super popular, so there aren't the big crowds you might see on some of the other big hikes in Waterton. As a bonus, you don't even have to have a park pass to do this one, since it's outside the Park gates! I love variety, and so this one gave you a bunch of things to keep it interesting for the entire day. The nice thing about climbing Vimy, is that whenever you're in Waterton, you can easily look across the lake and see the peak and say that you've been there!
We started our adventure by parking at the Wishbone Trail parking lot, which is along the Chief Mountain Highway, about a half a kilometer off of Highway 5. We got our bikes, backpacks, and bear spray ready, crossed over the highway, and started along the trail at 8:30am. We were told that the trail was quite narrow and the vegetation was quite overgrown due to the low numbers of hikers/bikers who use it. This was pretty accurate. The trail is pretty flat and easy to maneuver, but overall there is a slight, gradual climb. My wife and I are not experienced mountain bikers at all, but we didn't have any problems. Watch our for ridges, rocks, and roots, especially when going downhill with some speed. We were told that this trail is known for a lot of bear activity, but we didn't see any the whole time. There are a lot of blind spots as you bike through some of the thick vegetation though, so it does make you a bit nervous sometimes. Make sure you're being loud to give them plenty of notice if any are hanging around. There are some beautiful views along the way of Vimy, so make sure to stop and take a few pictures along the way.
About 5 kilometers in, you'll get to the river crossing. It's around knee deep, depending on when you go, so fairly easy to cross. Some of us had water shoes, others just crossed barefoot. The water was freezing, but it felt good! On the way back, we ended up finding a makeshift log/rock bridge to cross on, which saved a bit of time and hassle. After the river, you'll bike another kilometer and a half and you'll get to a thick, wooded area where the junction point is. This is where we locked our bikes up to a tree and started the hike. We were about an hour in at this point (9:30am).
As you start hiking, you're in the trees for the first few kilometers, with gradual switchbacks. It doesn't take long before you start seeing some nice views of the lake below. I can't remember, maybe about half way to the peak, you'll come across a cute little waterfall. Around that point, since it was early June, the snow drifts, leftover from the winter, started to appear. This made the hike a bit more difficult, because the drifts seemed to be in the open areas, exactly where the trail was. It made it pretty slippery, and some drifts were probably over 6 feet deep, so you never new when your foot would break through the crusted snow on top and you'd be up to your knees in snow. We tried to avoid the snow wherever we could, but our shoes and socks still ended up getting quite wet.
After about 5 kilometers, you get to a flat area that is surrounded by the ridge of the mountain. There's a big open bowl with a lot of snow still inside of it. The snow had streaks of red in it from dust of the red rocks all around. The trees in this area were pretty grizzled and gnarly. We found some logs to sit on for a little picnic. Normally we would've waited until the peak to eat, but the wind was picking up, and the clouds were rolling in, so we didn't think it'd be very pleasant up there. And we were right.
The last half kilometer or so is a straight up scramble with lots of loose, sharp rocks. There's not a super defined trail, but once and a while you'll see it. If you've hiked to Crypt Lake, you'll see some familiar landmarks as you can see the falls and the lake over to the west! The clouds were all around us at this point and when we finally summitted, we had beautiful views towards the south and the east, but on the other side, there was a wall of mist and we couldn't see a thing! It was pretty eerie, knowing there was a huge drop off only a few feet away. We travelled along the ridge for a bit and eventually hunkered down just below the rocky ridge to get out of the rain and wind, hoping the storm would blow over. Once and a while it would, and we got some pretty awesome views of the lake below, but then the clouds would blow in again. We wanted to do the entire ridge so bad, but because of the poor visibility, high winds, and slippery conditions, we didn't think it was very safe.
So even though it wasn't the ideal summit experience, the hike was amazing and would definitely recommend if you're looking for a full day of adventure! Since this hike is on the opposite side of the lake, it's not super popular, so there aren't the big crowds you might see on some of the other big hikes in Waterton. As a bonus, you don't even have to have a park pass to do this one, since it's outside the Park gates! I love variety, and so this one gave you a bunch of things to keep it interesting for the entire day. The nice thing about climbing Vimy, is that whenever you're in Waterton, you can easily look across the lake and see the peak and say that you've been there!