Chester Lake

Chester Lake is a very popular hike in Kananaskis off the Smith Dorrien Trail. It yields amazing scenery with very little effort.

Park in the Chester Lake trailhead parking lot. It is a huge parking lot that is well marked and easy to find. It's opposite the Burstall Pass trailhead. You can follow the Smith Dorrien Trail from Canmore if you like but it's a dusty bumpy road that can be slow going when traffic exists. Otherwise take Highway 40 to the Kananaskis Lakes Road. Watch your speed as the limit is 50 kph and the rangers do activity enforce the limit. A few minutes down the Kananaskis Lakes Road you'll pass Pocaterra Creek and arrive at the junction with the Smith Dorrien Trail. Head northwest for 20 minutes to the Chester Lake parking lot.

The trail departs the parking lot at a clearly marked trailhead, complete with outhouses and a large information board. The trail follows some old cut-lines that serve as cross country ski routes in the winter. The trail can seem a little confusing as it branches and twists but don't worry. As long as you generally keep turning right and heading uphill you'll get there. All trails will eventually get you there and none is significantly worse than any other. The climb never exceeds moderate and even those sections are brief.

It won't take long for the trail to change from an old cut line to a nice boot beaten path through the forest. It's a lush forest with plenty of wildlife. Before long you'll break out of the trees into a high alpine meadow at the base of Mount Chester, which you will skirt to Chester Lake.

Too many people stop at Chester Lake and it's hard to blame them as it is a beautiful lake. The trail follows the west shore of Chester Lake and there are several branches heading off to the northwest towards the valley of three lakes between Gusty Peak and Mount Galatea.

The trail we followed up the valley was thin and not heavily used but we were rewarded with an amazing creek cutting it's way through the earth with several small but pretty waterfalls.

The Elephant rocks are a quirk left from the last ice age. Huge rock formations deposited by the glaciers. It's fun to climb up and around the rocks. From here there is a quick and obvious trail straight back to Chester Lake. From the lake you can retrace your steps back to the car or take any one of the well defined trails back.

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