Blessed with stunning mountain scenery, the Chester Lake hike is one of the best hikes in Kananaskis. It’s certainly one of the Kananaskis hikes we have done most often in our lives.
We have hiked and snowshoed the Chester Lake trail in all seasons and keep returning due to its raw natural beauty. Quite simply, we never get tired of the Chester Lake hike.

Chester Lake Hike – Quick Details
Trailhead: Chester Lake Trailhead
Distance: 9.0 km out and back
Elevation: 414 m elevation gain
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Chester Lake Trail Highlights
Unlike typical single-track mountain hiking trails, the Chester Lake hike has a nice wide trail allowing groups of people to easily socialize along the way up. The wide hiking trail makes this an excellent Kananaskis hike for group outings such as a family hike, a stag party hike, team building etc.
The Chester Lake Trail is one of those great hikes where you get the elevation gain out of the way first. You reach your peak altitude after 3.5km and it’s either flat or downhill for the remaining 6.2km.
Once you reach your peak altitude, the Chester Lake Trail ventures into the heart of a beautiful alpine meadow with rocky mountain peaks towering above on all sides. We especially enjoy the massive rock wall created by Mount Chester along the right-hand side.
Having a picnic lunch along the shores of Chester Lake is one of our favorite things to do in Kananaskis. When you reach the lake, watch for a small log bridge which crosses Chester Creek. This leads to a nice little patch of forest alongside the lakeshore.
There is a modest cluster of larch trees along the shores of Chester Lake. If you enjoy larch trees, consider adding on the Elephant Rocks side trail where you will find larger patches of larch trees. The timing varies from year-to-year, but typically the larch trees change color in late-September to early-October.
If you have some energy left after reaching Chester Lake, we highly recommend extending your hike to see the elephant rocks. The elephant rocks are a collection of massive rocks which have tumbled from a nearby mountain long ago – based on their location, we’re guessing these boulders fell from Gusty Peak.
The elephant rocks are great fun to walk around, admire and explore, especially with kids who will absolutely love the adventure of climbing on these amazing rocks.
To get to the elephant rocks, walk along the western side of Chester Lake until you see a well established trail heading into the forest. This is the Three Lakes Valley Trail and the elephant rocks are only 300 m away from the lakeshore.
If you are feeling extra energetic, the Three Lakes Valley trail continues on beyond the elephant rocks into the valley between Mount Galatea and Gusty Peak. Hiking to the third lake extends the round trip distance of this amazing Kananaskis hike to 13.5 km.
Chester Lake Hiking Trail Stats
How Long is the Chester Lake Trail?
The total there-and-back distance of the Chester Lake Trail is 9.0km.
How Steep is the Chester Lake Hike?
You will get all the uphill sections of the Chester Lake hike out of the way in the first 3.5km. Over this span you will climb 310m. The middle 1.5km of this stretch is reasonably steep, but it’s not too bad; anyone who is in reasonable shape will have no issues.
Once you reach the top, you’ll enjoy 6.2km of flat and/or downhill trails!
How Hard is Chester Lake Trail?
We have done the Chester Lake hike with a wide variety of people, ranging from our kids (aged 4 & 6) to grandparents. The 310m incline over the first 3.5km can be a bit tough on people who aren’t accustomed to mountain hiking.
That said, everyone we’ve hiked with has made it to the lake and back, so it’s definitely do-able for most people. We’d rate the Chester Lake hike as a “moderate” Kananaskis hiking trail.
How Long Does it Take to Hike Chester Lake?
It should take a typical adult about 1.5 – 2 hours to hike the full there-and-back distance of Chester Lake.
We most recently did this hike with our kids, so we were a bit slower, completing the full distance in 3.5 hours.
Chester Lake Trail Location
Calgary to Chester Lake
The Chester Lake Trailhead leaves from the Chester Lake parking lot in the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park area within Kananaskis Country.
The fastest way to get from Calgary to the Chester Lake parking lot is to turn south on Kananaskis Trail (Highway 40) and drive all the way to the winter gate, where you turn right on Kananaskis Lakes Trail. In a few minutes you’ll make another right onto the Smith-Dorrien Trail Highway (AB742). This very scenic drive should take you about 2 hours.
Google Maps Directions – Calgary to Chester Lake Trail
Chester Lake Trailhead Location
Banff to Chester Lake
The fastest way to get from Banff to the Chester Lake parking lot is to turn off the TransCanada Highway in Canmore and take the very dusty Smith-Dorrien Trail Highway (AB742). This very scenic drive should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Google Maps Directions – Banff to Chester Lake Trail
Chester Lake Trailhead Location
Read More
Another of the very best hikes in Kananaskis is right across the street from Chester Lake. Find out why the Burstall Pass hike has been one of our favorite Kananaskis hikes for a very long time.
Chester Lake Trail Annual Closure
As part of an ongoing Kananaskis trail closures program, the Chester Lake hike is closed every year from May 1 to June 29 to allow the area to dry and prevent damage.
Biking on Chester Lake Trail
Biking is only allowed on the first 2km of the Chester Lake Trail.
Chester Lake Trail Map
If you’re like me, you’ll want to have a map of the Chester Lake Trail on your phone. We use and recommend the AllTrails app. To get the map, simply click on this link for the “Chester Lake Trail Map”. Be sure to download the hiking map for offline use as you will not have a cell signal anywhere along the trail.
A recent App of the Year winner, AllTrails is also one of the best apps for visiting Banff! Enjoy map downloads and many more premium features with a 7-day free trial of AllTrails+!
Hiking Chester Lake with Kids
Due to its moderate difficulty, Chester Lake isn’t found on many lists of kid-friendly hikes in Kananaskis, but if your kids are active then they will enjoy it, just budget a little more time. The wide trail at the start of the Chester Lake hike is great for families as it allows easy side-by-side conversation.
Being largely in a dense pine forest, your kids will have endless fun balancing on fallen tree trunks, finding treasures, etc. The flat stretch along the top to and from the lake is easy and often prompts a game of tag or hide-and-seek.
If you are considering hiking Chester Lake with a baby, we would not recommend a stroller due to the steepness and the presence of tree roots and big rocks in the trail. When we hiked Chester Lake with our babies, we really enjoyed hiking with our Deuter hiking baby carrier.
If you made it all the way to Chester Lake with your kids, we highly recommend continuing on the Three Lakes Valley Trail for another 300 m to reach the elephant rocks. Your kids will love the adventure of exploring and climbing on these massive boulders. Be warned – your kids will not want to leave the elephant rocks!
With the larches around Chester Lake and the stands of larches near the elephant rocks, we’d consider this one of the best larch hikes for kids.
We have some great resources for hiking with kids on our Family Can Travel website. Check out our best tips for hiking with kids, the best hiking gear for kids and the 9 Best Hiking Songs for Your Family.
Chester Lake Larch Trees
It may sound funny to those who are not familiar, but larch trees are the rock stars of the Canadian Rocky Mountain forests. Larch trees look like normal evergreen trees, but their needles turn a beautiful golden color in the fall, before falling off like a leaf. Seeing a cluster of golden larch trees on a sunny fall day is nothing short of breathtaking.
There are better Alberta larch tree hikes such as the Valley of the Larches (Larch Valley) or Saddleback Mountain in Banff, Ptarmigan Cirque or Arethusa Cirque in Kananaskis, but they get so crowded that the parks often place limits on daily hikers, making Chester Lake a good alternative.
Read More
Check out our list of great Alberta larch tree hikes for all the info!
Where to Stop for Lunch or a Break
There are a few good spots to stop for lunch or a break along the way, but the best spots are found around Chester Lake. Once you reach the lake, our favorite spot can be found by crossing a little wooden bridge on the right.
This takes you to a patch of trees along the shores of Chester Lake where you can stop and soak in the majesty of this special place.
There are no picnic tables or benches on the Chester Lake hike, so a compact picnic blanket is a nice treat if you have room in your pack. We always seem to forget ours and regret it every time!
Chester Lake Trail Safety
Keep Your Dog On Leash
Although you will see lots of people with off-leash dogs on the Chester Lake Trail, please keep yours on leash. Besides being the law, an off-leash dog can very easily draw a bear or cougar back to your group.
This happens far too often and puts your life and the life of the animal in danger. It’s just not worth it. Here’s a recent example of a person who was lucky to walk away from a Kananaskis grizzly attack.
Chester Lake Trail Report
We recommend checking the latest Chester Lake Trail Report for trail conditions and possible closures before you head out.
Wildlife Safety
When hiking in Kananaskis Country, you are responsible for your own safety. Before hitting the hiking trails we highly recommend you read our 9 Essential Kananaskis Hiking Tips for information about bear safety, trail conditions, wildlife warnings and possible closures.
Chester Lake Trail Logistics
There are toilets at the Chester Lake trailhead. There is also a porta potty along the trail as you near Chester Lake. It’s about 100m away from Chester Lake on the left-hand side.
There are no drinking water facilities, so fill your hydration packs before you leave.
There is no camping or fires allowed in the area, instead find the best Kananaskis camping here.
Chester Lake is a dog-friendly hike in Kananaskis. Dogs must be on-leash at all times.
What to Bring for Hiking Chester Lake
As the Chester Lake Trail is a moderate Kananaskis hike, you need to be properly prepared for a day of safe hiking in the mountains. Before hitting the trail, please take the time to review our recommended hiking gear for Kananaskis Country.
Chester Lake in Winter
Chester Lake is a popular winter activity in Kananaskis. There are separate trails for people on snowshoes or on cross-country skis, so please follow the signs for your activity.
If you are considering visiting Chester Lake in winter, you may wish to consider putting a traction device, such as ice cleats on your winter boots instead. Chester Lake is so popular that the snow on the trail will almost always be hard packed, making snowshoes unnecessary. When on popular winter Kananaskis snowshoe trails, I find hiking with ice cleats on preferable to using snowshoes.
Read More
We have a full post on the Chester Lake snowshoe trail with all the information you need to enjoy Chester Lake in winter.
Chester Lake is one of our all-time favorite hiking trails in Kananaskis Country. We hope that it is one of the highlights of your visit!
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Dan Brewer, a life-long Alberta resident, calls Canmore home along with his wife and two kids. He is the co-owner of Travel Banff Canada, where he gets to share his passion for the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Dan, along with his family, love being outdoors doing one of the many activities they enjoy in the mountains: hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, skiing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
When he's not in Canmore enjoying one of his favourite local hikes, you can find him hoping on a plane to explore a new country with his family or working on one of their other two travel sites: Family Can Travel and Baby Can Travel.