A Complete Guide to Camping at Lake O’Hara – Yoho National Park

An incredible mountain amphitheater, Lake O’Hara is one of the crown jewels of the Canadian Rocky Mountain parks. Visitors to the Canadian Rockies should jump at any chance to visit, but if you are lucky enough to go camping at Lake O’Hara, you’ve truly won the jackpot.

Lake O’Hara camping is a truly unique experience in Yoho National Park. It’s technically backcountry camping as you cannot drive your car to the campsite, but since you can take a bus, you don’t need to hike a long ways with a heavy bag on your back. This makes backcountry camping at Lake O’Hara accessible to just about everyone.

We were lucky enough to get a 2-night reservation for Lake O’Hara camping on the day reservations opened for the season. Based on our experiences, here is everything you need to know about camping at Lake O’Hara.

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How to get a Lake O’Hara Camping Reservation

You need to be very prepared and very lucky to get a camping reservation at Lake O’Hara campground. Every year in late January, Parks Canada has one date where people can attempt to make a camping reservation. Those successfully making a camping reservation at Lake O’Hara will also be able to make a corresponding reservation for the shuttle bus.

To make a Lake O’Hara camping reservation, log into the Parks Canada reservation system at least 15 minutes before the stated start time. When the reservation system opens, you will be assigned a random number by the system.

You will be allowed to enter the reservation system when your number is called – hopefully there will be some campsites left. You can make up to two reservations at one time, for up to three nights each time. If you get a site, you’ll automatically get a shuttle bus reservation.

If you are lucky enough to get a camping reservation, familiarize yourself with the campground facilities and important policies before packing for your Lake O’Hara trip.

Lake o’hara campground facilities

Campsites

There are 30 campsites at the Lake O’Hara campground. Each campsite is very simple, with only a gravel pad large enough for a single 2.5 x 2.5 m tent. Be sure to measure your tent prior to your trip as anything larger will spill over the edges of the pad.

Only one backcountry tent is allowed per site. This is rule is strictly enforced. Two small tents are not allowed, even if they fit on the pad.

Cooking Facilities

There are two covered buildings in the communal campground area. Inside these buildings are a wood burning stove, which can be used for cooking. There’s a spot on top of each stove for a pot to cook meals in.

The covered buildings would be useful during inclement weather, but most people cook on a backcountry cooking stove at one of the many picnic tables in the communal area.

Food Storage

As human food is a major bear attractant, Parks Canada has provided each campsite with their own food storage locker. The lockers are quite large and should be sufficient in size to store up to three days worth of food (which is the maximum length of stay allowed at the Lake O’Hara campground).

There were four us us camping at Lake O’Hara for two nights. Were able to easily store all of our food in two large day bags, which easily fit into our food storage locker. In fact, there was still room to spare.

You can put a lock on your food storage locker if you’d like. You need to bring your own though.

Toilets

There are camping toilets in the communal area of the Lake O’Hara campground. Inside the covered building, there are two pit toilets for each gender. There seems to be a chemical used down below as the smell isn’t as overwhelming as in some untreated pit toilets.

Washing

There are two washing sinks attached to the outside of the toilet building at the Lake O’Hara campground. These sinks can be used for washing your cooking pots, plates, utensils etc. The water is frighteningly cold, so you may need to boil some water to clean greasy pots and pans.

Drinking Water

These water from the washing sinks is potable drinking water.

Campfires

There are no fire pits in the individual campsites at the Lake O’Hara campground. Instead, there is a large fire pit in the communal area with wooden benches all around. There is free firewood available and an axe to chop it with. All it takes is for a camper to take the initiative to start the fire.

During our stay, there was always a campfire going in the mornings and during the evening. It’s a great place to talk to other campers about their experiences hiking around Lake O’Hara.

Luggage Storage

The checkout time for Lake O’Hara camping is at 10:30. The great news is that you can stay as late as you want for the day. All you need to do is pack up your campsite before 10:30 and store your bags in the bag storage building.

As long as you vacate your campsite on time, you can feel free to stay and hike around Lake O’Hara all day. Just keep in mind the last bus departs at 6:30pm.

Taking the bus home

When it’s finally time to leave Lake O’Hara, you can take any of the departing buses for the day – no reservations required. Just show up 20 minutes before the buses scheduled departure time.

Parks Canada staff will do a head count of people wanting to leave at the campground. They then radio this number up to the carrot cake hut where the day visitors are catching their bus home. If the total number of people wanting to take a bus exceeds capacity, they will typically bring a second bus to ensure everyone gets out at their desired departure time.

Lake O’Hara Camping Packing List

Whenever you are going backcountry camping, packing is always a delicate balance. You want to bring everything you need, without bringing too much. As you will be traveling to Lake O’Hara campground by bus, Parks Canada has imposed a few limitations you should be aware of:

• Campers at Lake O’Hara are limited to one large bag per person (maximum weight: 25 kg / 55 lbs and maximum length 97 cm / 38”) or two small bags per person.
• One backcountry tent is allowed per site (max size 2.5m x 2.5m)
• The following are not allowed on the bus (and therefore not allowed at the campsite): storage bins, hard sided food coolers, musical instruments, electronics, chairs, hammocks and plastic bags.

You can see a sample packing list on Parks Canada.

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