Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake Route Guide
Table of contents
Route Description for Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake
The easy to miss Wapta Lake Picnic Area is where the hike begins. Watch out for the West Louise Lodge, as the picnic area is almost immediately afterwards when you are heading west. Enter the parking lot and head to the upper parking lot, where signage and the washrooms are.
A gentle 3 km climb up to Sherbrooke Lake is scattered by two well-marked junctions. After around an hour of hiking you’ll reach the south end of Sherbrooke Lake. The lake itself is not that easy to access along the hike, so save a break for somewhere with a view.
As one continues past the lake, the trail becomes rougher and wetter (especially early in the season), however route finding skills are not required. After the half hour walk from end to end the path slopes upwards as you enter an old forest with a beautiful stream. Within a few minutes you’ll find yourself in an open meadow, with panoramic views of peaks across the valley.
From this point in 2016, several small bridges were broken or missing, so poles were very useful for getting across the streams. As the summer goes on and water levels drop this should reduce the difficulty.
Continue the hike up and pass several cascades and waterfalls until you reach the flat Niles Amphitheatre. Many people stop here, but Niles Meadow is actually another 200 m up. Start from the large Cairn and continue along the surprisingly easy trail switch backing until you find yourself upon Niles Meadow. This picturesque meadow will grant you fantastic views of Mt. Niles and the valley below.
For those really ambitious, a path heads out right towards a large Cairn and goes immediately uphill towards Niles Col. Snow lingers here, and we have been turned back, however getting up high the views are stunning!
This hike is unique as the way back down is almost better than the way up, with grander views.
Insider Hints for Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake
- For those more adventurous continue 1.1 km further to Niles Col (west of Mt. Niles) across the rubble field.
- Start early and bring a picnic to enjoy in any one of the meadows.
- This is a hike you want to do in a group, as it isn't very busy. We saw a lot of recent bear scat and only two other people when we did it on a weekend in early July.
Getting to the Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake Trailhead
Take the Trans-Canada Highway from Field east for 11.4 km. Turn north into the Wapta Lake Picnic Area, right beside the West Louise lodge.Route Information for Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake
When to do:
June through October
Backcountry Campsites:
No
Toilets:
Trailhead
Family friendly:
No
Route Signage:
Poor
Crowd Levels:
Low
Route Type:
Out and back
Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake Elevation Graph
Weather Forecast
Check Area WeatherReviews for Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake
not super well kept but worth some bushwhacking, it's quite the hike
It is one of the most interesting mountains in Yoho National Park. It looks amazing even in black and white!
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
I love the picturesque scenery of Niles Meadow and Sherbrooke Lake!
- Trip Length
- 07:25
- Technical Difficulty
Tried to get to the meadows this past weekend and didn't end up finding them. We hiked past the lake, took the well defined trail up through the forest to the open valley, crossed the valley, then started the next section of forest. The trail led us to a stream crossing and then just disappeared... We searched all over and could only find a faint goat trail. It was late in the day so we decided to turn back. Not sure where we went wrong... we ran into another couple of hikers who had the same issue. Super disappointed! (Gave it a rating of 8 due to the beauty of the lake and the views from the ampitheatre, but can't give a fair rating for the entire hike since we didn't make it to the end.)
- Trip Length
- 05:00
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
We were just in awe with the beauty of the entire hike - the lakes, rocks, dead trees.
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
The hike was really amazing with great views. The trail along the lake is really cool, it's right at the waters edge and even dips into the water a bit at points.
- Trip Length
- 07:00
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
The hike was really amazing with great views. There was a little bit of everything which made the hike really enjoyable.
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
the trail was pretty worn out. It's really bothering me. The views are fantastic but I wouldn't recommend it to small children and the elderly.
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
The panoramic views of peaks and open meadows were fantastic! I'm glad I hiked here!
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
Beautiful nature! There are lots of challenging trails which I’d like to have done.
- Technical Difficulty
- Physical Difficulty
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