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Backpacking the Sawback Trail in Banff National Park

Trip Stats: 83 km from Fish Creek Trailhead in Lake Louise to Mount Norquay Ski area.

Elevation gain over the 83 km:

Why you should do it

The Sawback trail crosses two stunning high alpine passes, including Pulsatilla pass (2400m) and Mystic Pass (just under 2400m). Most of the route, except for the section below the meadows past Baker Lake to just below Pulsatilla Pass is in great shape and easy to follow. The 5 km section just west of Wildflower creek is very slow at times, and in early summer when the runoff is high means you’ll have to hop across lots of creeks, and you’ll likely get your shoes wet.

The trail has a reasonable amount of campsites meaning you can take as long as you want on the trip, if you want to do shorter hikes and side trips. It’s easy to have enough to do here for a week of backpacking. You can also go through it quickly, with the shortest amount of time recommended 4 days (3 nights).

Highlights

This trail is a bit less busy than the very popular Banff Highline, and it’s more likely you’ll find a campsite. Most of the trail is in very good shape, particularly from Norquay ski area (Forty Mile Creek) all the way through Pulsatilla Pass.

The campgrounds are great, all set up with either poles for hanging your food or lockers that keep everything nice and dry.

The passes are quite stunning – both Mystic and Pulsatilla Pass allow for an incredible, long walk in the alpine, and the walk from Pulsatilla Pass almost all the way through Johnson’s Creek is an open meadow, offering dramatic views of the Sawback range. Pulsatilla Pass is particularly stunning, with a great walk past Pulsatilla lake in an alpine cirque.

Dangers and Annoyances

There is one particularly slow and tedious section of the trail, which hasn’t received much attention in recent years since it suffered substantial damage in the 2013 floods. The section below the Pulsatilla pass to just below Baker Lake is not greatly straightforward, and some trail route-finding skills are required in some sections, as sections of the trail disappear when creeks are high. You’ll also likely get your shoes wet if hiking in June or early July through this area, before the runoff subsides. The creeks will also flow high after rain or thunderstorms.

Like most campgrounds in Banff National Park, campsites usually get pretty booked up for the summer months. Campgrounds are small, most have only five sites so they fill up fast. Book as early as you can. That being said, I booked the campsites for our group within 3 weeks of our trip, something which is likely impossible for the Banff Highline, which you have to book during winter for the summer season.

Some people will complain that the trail is mostly in trees in the valley bottom. This is true when compared to the Banff Highline, but still has long sections of walking in the alpine and sub alpine and is worth doing.

Season

The trail has a very short season, much like many trails in the Rocky Mountains. Much of the trail is in serious avalanche terrain, so you’ll have to wait until the snow is gone, usually around mid June. The damage and destruction created by avalanches is very prevalent on this trail, there are many large slide paths that reach right to valley bottom. Note the broken or collapsed trees, including huge sections leading down to Mystic Lake.

You can hike well through September depending on the year, some years are warmer, some colder than others. Usually in September it’s quite cold, particularly in the evenings so be prepared for cold nights and snow. The prime time for this trail is end of June, through all of July and August.

Where to camp

You have many choices of campgrounds in the area. These options can help you extend your trip if you wish to make it longer. Our favourite ones are Baker Lake and Luellen Lake, with Baker lake particularly hard to book due to the frequency of backpackers coming in from Lake Louise and hiking through Skoki.

Mystic Junction

Mystic Valley

Larry’s Camp

Johnson’s Creek

Luellen Lake

Badger Pass

Wildflower Creek

Baker Lake

Merlin Meadows

Hidden Valley

Recommended Campsites

From Lake Louise to Norquay

If you’re hiking from west to east, stay at Baker Lake (if you can get it, this one fills up fast) or Wildflower creek (5km down the trail, and will make your next day’s hike shorter). The second night aim for Luellen Lake or Johnson’s Creek, both very nice sites. If you can’t get either, you can choose from Badger Pass or Larry’s Camp, which would make for one very long and one very short hiking day. Plan your last night for either Mystic Valley or Mystic Junction.

From Norquay to Lake Louise

If you’re hiking the other direction, from east to west, essentially reverse the campgrounds as listed above. So aim for your first night at either Mystic Junction or Mystic Valley, the second at Johnson’s Creek or Luellen Lake, and the third at Wildflower Creek (or Baker Lake, if you want a longer day).

Extend your trip

You can easily extend your trip to 6 nights of camping. Plan your first night at Baker Lake, your second at Badger Pass and make the following day a day hike up Badger Pass, and another night at the same campground. Now you’ve spent three nights and four days, so head over to Luellen Lake/Johnson’s Creek for night four, and Larry’s Camp for night five, and Mystic Valley or Mystic Junction for your last night. There is so much to explore in this area.

How to book

The Sawback trail is all in Banff National Park. To book, go to the Parks Canada website. They have an online booking system that works pretty well.

Route Choices

The trip is great either way, whether you start from Fish Creek Trailhead in Lake Louise or Mount Norquay. We met parties going either way. The minimum amount of time you’ll want to spend on this trail is 4 days (3 nights) but you can also easily stretch it out to a week, allowing for some shorter days and auxillary trips, such as the one up to Badger Pass, which is recommended but not on the route itself. If you hike up to Badger Pass, you’ll get to see one of the highest passes with a trail in Banff Park, and you can camp at Badger pass campground, which is in the valley and along the Sawback route.

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