If you are looking for a 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park, look no further than the Highline Trail which takes you from Sunshine Village to Vista Lake on Highway 93. At just over 40 kilometers in length this trail can be completed as a day long trail run, but we decided to split the trail up over three days and two nights.
Reservations for the trail can be difficult, make sure to plan ahead or be flexible with which sites you want to stay at if you are hoping to book last minute. This three day backpacking trip in Banff blew my mind! It was so much more beautiful than I had anticipated.
This 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park packs in views, mountains, lakes and lots of elevation gain! Each day involves some serious climbing up and over mountain passes.
I’d recommend completing this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park, including Egypt Lake, during the Fall because there are an insane amount of larch trees along the whole way which will light up come mid to late September. I’d recommend finishing this 3 day backpacking trip in early July for true wildflower power. We had missed their peak when we did the trip but we saw some flowers and we knew the place would have been so colorful just a few weeks prior.
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Table of Contents
Key Facts For Completing This 3 Day Backpacking Trip
Total Distance: 41.5km
Total Elevation gain: 2132m
Campgrounds on the trail: Healy Creek, Egypt Lake, Ball Pass Junction, Shadow Lake and Twin Lakes.
Reservations required: Yes, book online through Parks Canada
Best time to hike it: Early July for wildflowers of mid to late September for larch trees.
3 Day Backpacking Trip In Banff National Park: Sunshine Village To Vista Lake
Day 1: Sunshine Village To Egypt Lake
You have a few options when starting out on this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park. We chose to start the hike to Egypt Lake right from the parking lot at the base of the Sunshine Village Resort. The trailhead is around the base building, you can see a trailhead sign for Healy Pass, it’s a slow grind up a wide trail from here, before reaching a well signed junction, keep right to continue on to Healy Pass and Egypt Lake.
Alternatively start this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park, by taking the Sunshine Village Gondola and chairlift, this helps gain a lot of the elevation without any of the effort! Then follow the well signed trails for Simpson Pass to join up with the Healy Pass trail and then on to Egypt Lake.
For those hiking up the whole way up, there is no sugar coating it, there is around 800m of elevation gain to reach Healy Pass on day one of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park and a lot of it is through the trees. Which offers great shade on a hot day but is otherwise rather dull. The trail to Egypt Lake passes right through the Healy Creek campground at around the 5 kilometer mark, this makes a worthwhile night for anyone starting the trail late in the day.
Eventually the trail heads out of the trees and wow, what a place it is! Gorgeous meadows greet you, filled with wildflowers in early July, the views up here are spectacular and only get better as you get higher! For many, Healy Pass is a worthwhile day hike objective in summer but especially Fall when the large amount of larch trees turn golden!
After getting to the top of Healy Pass, it quickly starts to descend. You can see Egypt Lake from the pass, but it’s still a ways to reach the first campground on this three day backpacking trip in Banff National Park. The descent is steep at times, poles were key for me while I was carrying my backpack.
When you reach the Warden cabin, the majority of the work for the first day of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park is done! Follow the signs and continue a short way through the valley, the views down here are beautiful! Cross the bridge and its just a small climb up to the Egypt Lake campground, day one of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park is done!
The Egypt Lake campground is fairly big with 15 tent pads, they are fairly spread out and the map isn’t super helpful. We found one right towards the edge of the campground and it was so peaceful! There are bear lockers and drop toilets as well as grey water pits. The water source is a short walk away in the valley.
Day 2: Egypt Lake to Ball Pass Junction
Day two of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park was my absolute favorite! We slept in for a while and took our time to dry off our tent before we hit the trail. We followed the short offshoot trail to check out Egypt Lake on our way to Whistling Pass. It was incredibly windy so we didn’t hang around.
Back on the main trail, a series of steep switchbacks take you up and over the rocky headwall you can see from below. It’s a climb not for the weak, but excellent trail building makes it easier. I found it to be fairly painless when tackled with a slow speed.
You pop out in a meadow, filled with larches and Pharaoh Peak dominating the skyline on one side. You can opt to take a detour and check out Scarab and Mummy Lakes, we decided to keep on climbing. The trail continues to climb, although fairly slowly as it winds around the bottom of Pharaoh Peak.
For those who are bold with strong legs a detour up Pharaoh Peak can be completed as part of day two of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park. It’s a steep grind though and not for everyone! We opted to continue on, the pass was in sight and the trail got a little steeper on the way.
Once at Whistling Pass, the views are incredible! Looking back you can see Scarab Peak and The Sphinx. Looking ahead you can see down to Haiduk Lake with Mount Ball in the background.
It’s a steep and loose descent from Whistling Pass down to Haiduk Lake but the views are distracting which makes it easier! Once at Haiduk Lake the trail levels out, there are a few spots along the lakeshore to stop for a break but it was still very windy so we kept on going.
From here the rest of the second day of our 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park, was fairly easy, the trail was mostly flat and easy to follow, eventually you descend again and pop out a river, you are minutes from the Ball Pass Junction Campground. The end of day two of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park.
I loved the Ball Pass Junction Campground, it is small, with only five tent pads and the creek runs right beside the camp. There are also incredible views all around camp! Since it was a fairly short day, we got to camp mid afternoon and relaxed in the sun, soaking our feet in the river.
A short walk from the tent pads is a small cooking area with food lockers, tucked into the forest. The outhouse is across the bridge in the forest.
Day 3: Ball Pass Junction to Vista Lake
The last day of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park is a big one! It starts nice and easy with a fairly flat walk alongside the river all the way to Shadow Lake. It was pouring rain when we reached the lake, so we didn’t get to see it in all its glory. It was still beautiful though, it’s still a bit of a walk to get to Shadow Lake Lodge and the campground. But you can stop here on night two which would make the final day a little shorter.
A sign right at the lodge points the direction to Gibbon Pass and Twin Lakes, our way out. It is also possible to hike out via the Red Earth Creek trail to that parking lot. Shorter and easier but less scenic.
Gibbon Pass was steep, definitely the biggest pass of our 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park! We took a lot of time and went really slowly up here, it is mostly in the forest until you get near the top when you start walking through wildflowers and larch trees before the views open up. It was still pouring rain so we were mostly surrounded by cloud covered peaks.
There was a pass marker at the top and it is possible to see part of Lower Twin Lake from up high! You are soon descending, and it is a long descent, which is mostly not steep but takes some time to get down. We encountered some fallen trees across the trail that proved fun obstacles with full packs.
The trail eventually pops out at the end of Lower Twin Lake, it is possible to get to the lakeshore but it was very muddy, so we stuck to the main trail and went uphill to Upper Twin Lakes, which is where the Twin Lakes campground is located. A worthy stop for a night if you want to turn this into a four night trip. We stopped here for a break under some trees to stay out of the rain.
Once refuelled it’s a climb out of Twin Lakes, it was steep but nowhere near as long as Gibbon Pass. From the top of the trail it’s all downhill and it is steep. My knees were not happy, but hiking poles helped. Arnica Lake arrives as a nice break spot after the first steep descent.
We were mostly either hiking in a cloud or in the forest on the final day of our 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park, so we didn’t get any views. Just a lot of steep descending on a skinny trail with some loose rocks to contend with. Eventually you reach Vista Lake, for us, this is when the sun came out for the first time all day. You are a one kilometer climb from here up to the parking lot and the end of this 3 day backpacking trip in Banff National Park.
Items You Need For This Trip
Hiking boots – Goretex was perfect on this wet trip for me, excellent grip is a must.
Tent – We had rain both nights and even sleet at one point. Pick a tent which won’t let you down.
Hiking Poles – For those steep mountain passes, carrying a heavy pack, this will save your knees.
Backpack – This can make all the difference between having a great hike and a terrible hike. It is worth spending the money on a good pack in my opinion.
Sleeping pad – Getting a good night’s sleep can make or break a trip, I like to carry the extra weight for this super comfortable pad.
Garmin InReach Mini 2 – We never head into the backcountry without our InReach, it gives our families peace of mind as we are able to check in with them and they know we can get help if we need it.
