@Taryn Eyton, Hi Taryn- very helpful and detailed description about this stunning and sacred area. As the time to visit is limited and popular, it made our family camp stay fairly smooth- as it did rain overnight in July your tip about mountain weather was spot on! Happy Trails!

The park is open 24 hours a day. You need to have a pass during the times that passes are checked (generally from 7am to 4pm). The passes are per person – they are not vehicle passes. So if you arrive before 7 am and there is no one to check your pass, you can do the hike. If you are concerned, you can always try to get a pass online two days before, but if you arrive before 7am, there won’t be anyone to check it.

@Taryn Eyton, thank you for this great write up! I just wanted to confirm it’s possible to hike early before staff shows up at 7am? We plan to start hiking at 6am in a few weeks mainly because we have a 6 hour drive to Revelstoke after the hike. Also, should we get a pass to put on our dashboard in this case?

I have heard about the climbing history at Joffre but your info about the hut is news to me. I believe Outward Bound also used the area for courses in the 90s. It’s such a beautiful location and close to a paved highway – honestly I’m not surprised that it’s busy.

Hi Mid-November you will likely encounter snow and ice on the trail. You will need to bring appropriate gear including winter clothing, warm hiking boots, microspikes, crampons, or snowshoes, and hiking poles. The weather is quite variable in November so you are likely to encounter snow, rain, and cloudy weather so you may not get good views of the lakes. As well, the road can be snowy and icy so you will need a car with snowtires. It is not a good time of year to go unless you are prepared. I don’t know of any tours going in November since it is not a popular time to hike there.

If you arrive before there are staff there checking passes, you can enter without a pass. They are there at 7am most days, but on weekdays in the fall, they aren’t always there.