The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe is one of our all-time favourite easy snowshoe trails in Kananaskis country. It’s our go-to snowshoeing trail any time we want to take an out-of- town visitor snowshoeing, as it’s the perfect easy Kananaskis snowshoe trail for beginners.
Along this short Kananaskis snowshoe trail, you’ll be rewarded with a wide variety of Rocky Mountain scenery. On the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe you’ll pass frozen lakes, frozen creeks, and walk through many open areas which provide outstanding views of the iconic Kananaskis mountain peaks all around.
There are not many easy Kananaskis snowshoe trails which offer a better effort-to-scenery ratio than the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe trail.
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Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe – Quick Details
Trailhead: Burstall Pass Day Use Parking Lot
Distance: 4.2 km Loop
Elevation: 109 m elevation gain
Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Trail Highlights
I love it when you arrive at your Kananaskis snowshoe trail and the views are already outstanding from the parking lot. This is true from the Burstall Pass parking lot where you’ll enjoy excellent views of the snowcapped mountains of Commonwealth Peak (2,774 m) and Mt. Birdwood (3,097 m) ahead of you and the majestic Mt. Galatea (3,185 m) behind you.
You’ll begin your easy Kananaskis snowshoe outing along the Burstall Pass trail (one of the best larch hikes in Kananaskis). The first section of trail is along a raised berm with Mud Lake below on the right. You’ll see Mt. Burstall (2,760 m) ahead of you on the left.
Most official Kananaskis snowshoe trails are easy to follow thanks to the orange diamond snowshoe signs on the trees. There’s almost always one orange diamond sign visible ahead of you, so just follow the signs.
Your first orange Kananaskis snowshoe sign appears on the right shortly after the berm ends. This marks the beginning of the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail.
This section of the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe is through an open meadow with amazing Canadian Rocky Mountain views. Look for the shark-tooth shaped Prairie Lookout (3,185 m) which appears behind Mt Burstall.
To your right you’ll see Mt. Chester (3,054 m – home to one of our favourite Kananaskis snowshoe trails – Chester Lake), Mt. Chesmill (2,829 m)and Kent Ridge North (2,914 m).
The Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe trail stays quite wide for a while, with a snow covered, frozen creek on your right. You’ll eventually meet up with the southwestern shore of the frozen Mud Lake as well.
The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail enters a beautiful, snowy evergreen forest at the 700 m mark. This is the beginning of a 1 km long snowshoe through the forest. Straight ahead of you, Mt. Birdwood and Commonwealth Peak poke up through the trees.
Although the snowy evergreen trees mostly block the mountain views, there’s still a lot of interesting things along this very flat snowshoe trail including the first of two crossing over a frozen Burstall Creek. Watch the trees for beautiful Whiskey Jack birds, who love to fly near you from branch-to-branch, hoping you’ll give them some human food.
They are without question a beautiful bird, and its tempting to feed them, but please help us keep them wild by not feeding them.
The trail along this section of the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe is nice and wide, giving you an opportunity to walk in deeper snow on the edge of the packed down trail.
With plenty of undisturbed snow along the side of the snowshoe trail, this is a fun place to look for animal tracks in the snow. Most of the animal tracks are rabbit tracks, but you’ll occasionally see larger animal tracks as well.
At the 1.8 km mark of the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail, you’ll near the bottom of Commonwealth Peak. You can see large, steep treeless sections where falling snow makes it impossible for trees to grow. There is increased avalanche risk here, so take a picture or two, but don’t linger for long.
You’ll reach the far end of the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe after 1.9 km of snowshoeing. From here you’ll now follow along the frozen shores of the Hogarth Lakes.
The best thing about snowshoeing in Kananaskis near frozen lakes is the open spaces it affords. Unlike summer, you can snowshoe out to the middle of the lake and enjoy the Rocky Mountain views all around (make sure the ice is thick enough first, of course!)
In this instance, you’ll enjoy views of Mt. Burstall and Mount Murray (3,024 m) as you snowshoe along the Hogarth Lakes. A few really cool looking dead trees around the Hogarth Lakes make for some interesting pictures.
Be careful along this stretch of the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail in early winter or spring as the trail is often over frozen water. In these periods, we’ve seen evidence of snowshoes breaking through the ice.
The snowshoe trail leaves the Hogarth Lakes behind and re-enters the forest at the 2.9 km mark. This begins another short stretch of walking through the snowy forest. Again, it’s nice and wide allowing you to snowshoe alongside your friends or family. Near the end of this stretch you’ll cross back over Burstall Creek again.
At the 3.8 km mark of the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe trail you’ll leave the forest and enter a clearing where you’ll be blown away by some amazing Kananaskis mountain views. Mt. Galatea is on the left, Mt. Chester is on the right and a very pointy Gusty Peak (3,000 m) splits the two peaks right in the middle.
Just 100 m later, the Hogarth Lakes trail meets up with the Burstall Pass trail again for the final leg back to the trailhead. There’s a fun snowy hill next to this trail junction which is great fun for kids to climb and slide down.
As with the initial leg of the Burstall Pass trail, the views along the raised berm are outstanding, except this time you’ll enjoy the views from the opposite direction.
Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Trail Stats
How Long is the Hogarth Lakes Loop Trail?
The Alberta Parks webpage states the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe loop is 3.9 km long, where the sign at the trail has it at 4.6 km. Using the AllTrails app we recorded the Hogarth Lakes Loop to be 4.32 km.
How Steep is the Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Trail?
The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail is about as flat as you’ll find for snowshoe trails in Kananaskis. The total elevation gain is 109 m. Since this trail snakes around the Hogarth Lakes, it stays pretty flat the entire time.
How Hard is the Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Loop?
This is ones of the easiest snowshoe trails in Kananaskis, but like any snowshoe trail, how easy or hard it is will depend entirely on how packed down the trail is. If you are snowshoeing on a well packed trail, this will be an easy snowshoe.
In fact, you can probably leave the heavy snowshoes behind and opt for microspikes for traction (only if the trail is very hard packed otherwise you’ll be sinking into the snow).
If you happen to be the first one out after a big snowfall, then you’ll be amazed at how much more difficult a short and easy trail like Hogarth Lakes can be.
This is a popular Kananaskis snowshoe, so it’s likely it will be packed down. As we mentioned previously, this is a great beginner snowshoe in Kananaskis and one we usually take first time snowshoers on.
How Long Does It Take to Snowshoe Hogarth Lakes Loop Trail?
It should take an adult about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete the full loop of the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe trail.
We recently did the Hogarth Lakes Loop snowshoe trail and it took us just over 1 hour to complete the loop. We did this same trail with our kids (aged 5 & 7) last winter when it was packed down and it took us under 2.5 hours with them.
Hogarth Lakes Loop Snowshoe Trail Location
The Hogarth Lakes Loop Snowshoe trailhead is found in the Burstall Pass Day Use parking lot on the Smith-Dorrien Highway (Hwy 742).
Directions to the Burstall Pass Day Use Parking Lot
There are two ways to get to the Burstall Pass Day Use from Canmore and Banff. From Canmore and Banff, you’ll save 10 minutes by taking Hwy 742 for 43 km. The Burstall Pass Day Use will be on your right coming from this direction.
Alternatively, you can drive to the Burstall Pass Day Use Parking Lot from Canmore, Banff or Calgary by taking the TransCanada Highway to Kananaskis Trail (Hwy 40).
Drive south until you reach the Kananaskis winter gate, where you turn right onto Kananaskis Lakes Trail. After approximately 2 km, make another right onto the Smith-Dorrien Trail/AB-742 and drive another 20 km. There’s a sign for the Burstall Pass Day Use before the left turn into the parking lot.
Hogarth Lakes Loop Trail Map
Alberta Parks has plenty of orange diamond snowshoe trail markers along this trail plus a trail map at the start of the loop to make it easy to navigate this short loop. If you want to have a map of this snowshoe on your phone, use the AllTrails app as it’s easy to download the maps and have it available while you snowshoe.
To find this snowshoe trail on AllTrails, look for Hogarth Lakes 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+!
The Hogarth Lakes trail also appears on this pdf map of Peter Lougheed Winter Trails.
Snowshoeing Hogarth Lakes Loop with Kids
The Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe trail is a kid-friendly Kananaskis snowshoe trail. The short distance of around 4 km plus plenty of opportunities to play in the deep snow on the lakes (when fully frozen), make it ideal for a fun outing with kids.
We’ve done this trail several times with our kids, starting when they were just babies in the chariot. They are now capable of doing the entire Hogarth Lakes snowshoe on their own.
If you are snowshoeing with a baby or toddler, note that portions of the Hogarth Lakes loop snowshoe may be too narrow or steep for a chariot. We’ve pulled our kids in a chariot on the Hogarth Lakes trail and found it difficult in few places, but it is doable. It’s best if there are two adults – one to pull and one to help in the difficult spots.
Where to Stop for Lunch or a Break
We always stop shortly after reaching the Hogarth Lakes for a snack on the Hogarth Lakes trail. This roughly half way before you continue the trail along the lakes.
Even with snow pants on, it can get cold sitting on frozen trees or picnic table benches, so we recommend you bring a winter picnic blanket if you have room in your day bag.
Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Trail Safety
Kananaskis Wildlife Safety
In the dead of winter, the bears around the Hogarth Lakes should be hibernating (be careful in early winter or early spring though!) But that’s not a reason to let your guard down as wolves, cougars, elk, etc. still provide a safety risk to Kananaskis visitors. Take a few minutes and read “Living with Wildlife” by Alberta Parks.
Hogarth Lakes Snowshoe Loop Trail Report
It’s always a good idea to check the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail conditions before you leave home. Alberta Parks publishes a Hogarth Lakes Loop Snowshoe Trail Report for the snowshoe trail which details any area closures, known animal risks, etc.
Hogarth Lakes Loop Snowshoe Trail Logistics
- There are toilets at the Burstall Pass Day Use area.
- There are no drinking water facilities, so bring as much water as you’ll need from home.
- There is no camping or fires allowed in the area.
- On-leash dogs are allowed on the Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail.
What to Bring for Hogarth Lakes Loop in Winter
It’s really tough to decide how to dress for winter hiking or snowshoeing in Kananaskis. If you snowshoe at a fast pace or decide to have fun in the deep snow, you’ll get hot pretty quickly, even when it’s cold outside.
The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail spends some time in the forest, keeping you in the shade some of the time but also out of the wind. When you are in an open area along the Hogarth Lakes, you may enjoy the warmth of the sun, but the cold winds across the lakes will make you cold quickly. In the winter, shade and wind result in noticeably colder temperatures, so you’ll be adding layers quickly to keep warm!
Given these challenges, we recommend dressing in layers while snowshoeing in Kananaskis and having a good daybag to store your unused layers in.
Read More
Learn more about dressing properly for Kananaskis snowshoeing in our post on how to dress for winter in Banff.
Hogarth Lakes Loop Foot Traction Recommendations
The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail has very few short, steep sections, but you’ll want some sort of traction on your feet to help. In fact, even on flat trails traction devices are always a good idea – you never know when you’ll hit an unexpected icy patch.
Read More
There are several option for traction devices which work well in Kananaskis. Learn more about the best options in our post on winter traction devices.
The Hogarth Lakes Loop is the perfect beginner snowshoe trail in Kananaskis, but everyone will enjoy the incredible scenery.
Other Nearby Kananaskis Snowshoe Trails
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Celine Brewer, a local Canmore resident, is the co-owner of Travel Banff Canada. She has a passion for being out in the mountains any time of year. In the summer, you'll often find her hiking or mountain biking. In the winter, she enjoys cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and winter hiking the most.
As much as she loves the mountains, she also loves travel! When she's not playing outdoors at home, she's either traveling the world with her husband and two kids or working on their other two travel sites: Family Can Travel and Baby Can Travel.