How to Backpack to the Stunning Egypt Lake in Banff National Park

If you’re dreaming of an unforgettable overnight adventure in Banff National Park, backpacking to Egypt Lake should be at the top of your list. Tucked deep into the stunning backcountry, Egypt Lake is famous for its dramatic alpine scenery, stunning photographic mirror lake and wild, rugged feel that makes you feel like you are a world away from the usual Banff crowds.

Dave and I love chasing hidden gems in and around Banff, from incredible day hikes like Tent Ridge to mountainside hot spring adventures like Mist Mountain Hot Springs. Egypt Lake, however, was our first big backpacking goal here. One that I will be doing again soon, because Dave missed out this time due to a broken collarbone and I have told him that it is 1000% worth it!

In this guide, I’ll be sharing everything you need to know before you go, including how to plan your route (there are multiple options), what to expect at the campsites, whether it’s all worth the effort (spoiler: yes!), and tips for surviving the mosquitoes because they were that bad.

Everything You Need to Know About Hiking to the Stunning Egypt Lake

Hike Stats

Where is Egypt Lake

Egypt Lake is located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

How to get to the Trailhead & where to park

The trailhead is located at the Sunshine Village Gondola, about a 20 minute drive from Banff Town Centre. Parking is surprisingly free with a National Parks Pass and unlike many of the other parking lots around Banff, it is massive!

The Egypt Lake Trail starts from the same trail and trailhead as the popular Banff Fall hike, Healy Pass. If you need to book a rental car, this is my go to for the cheapest prices.

If you don’t have a car, don’t worry! You can still get to the trailhead by catching the catch the Sunshine Shuttle from Banff and here’s how to visit Banff without a car so you can plan your adventures stress free.

Once you have parked and are ready to go, you will need to walk around the right hand side of the Sunshine Village building and cross the little bridge. This is where the trail starts.

When is the Best Time to Hike to Egypt Lake

The prettiest time of the year to hike to Egypt Lake is either in Fall when the larches are golden or in Summer when the wildflowers are blooming. Part of the trail takes you past the popular wildflower hike, Healy Pass.

If you are visiting in September / October, check out these other incredible Fall hikes in Banff too. The larches are bonkers!

How Hard is the Hike to Egypt Lake

The hike to Egypt Lake is moderate in difficulty. It’s not technical and the trail is well maintained, but it is LONG. Hiking back was the worst because it felt like the trail would never end and my feet were so sore.

The hardest part of the trail for me was coming back up from the campground to Healy Pass because it is quite steep and long. Then the last 3km of the trail to the parking lot was also super tough because I was completely done at this point.

You can also do Egypt Lake as a day hike but if you think it’s going to be too long, the Big Beehive and Lake Agnes Teahouse hike is another must-do with views of Lake Louise from above!

Can dogs do the Egypt Lake hike

Dogs are allowed on the Egypt Lake Trail, however they need to remain on leash because there is a lot of wildlife in Banff National Park and delicate flora and fauna. Make sure you are confident that your dog can walk long distances because once you are out there, it’s a long way back to the parking lot.

Egypt Lake Hiking Time

Depending on how fast you hike, the entire trail out and back could take you anywhere from 8 – 11 hours or longer if you are like my friends and I and stop for hours to take photos at every pretty view you see. haha

I actually think we hiked for almost 2 days straight on this trip because we went to bed super late and got up at 2am to hike to Pharaoh Peak for sunrise before hiking back out to the parking lot.

Facilities on the trail / at the campground

There are bathrooms at the Sunshine Village Gondola, along with a restaurant and gift shop. My friend forgot to bring a mosquito net with her and was desperately trying to find one at the gift shop but sadly they did not have one. If you are camping at Egypt Lake, make sure you get one before you go.

The next toilet you will come to is at the E9 campground and then after that not until you get to the Egypt Lake campground. The toilets at the campground were really smelly. So much in fact, that my friends and I raced to see who could finish first. 😅 Yeah it was bad.

There are bear caches and picnic tables for eating near the campground but honestly, they were located FAR away from where we camped down a very dark trail into the forest so it was a little scary when we went looking for them at night for the first time and the signs weren’t the best. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the food storage area being so far away. Make sure you find them before it gets dark.

Egypt Lake itself and what to expect

I hadn’t seen any photos of Egypt Lake before arriving there so I was pleasantly surprised. From the campground, it’s another 0.8km to the lake. When we arrived, the lake was so still that it looked like glass, with the pointy mountain behind it being reflected in its water.

We ended up spending sunset at Egypt Lake, filtering water and cooking our dinner there.

I swear the amount of stunning lakes in Banff is ridiculous but you don’t need to hike to get to all of them. If you’d rather spend a relaxing day paddle boarding than backpacking, here’s a list of the best lakes for paddle boarding in Banff and Canmore.

The mosquitoes on the Egypt Lake Trail

I don’t usually do a dedicated section for mosquitoes but I figured this trail needed one. It may have just been the time of year that we did the hike but if you are planning on hiking in wildflower season too, then these tips are definitely for you.

The mozzies were bad on the entire trail. As long as we kept moving, we were able to survive but we also used this bug spray while we were hiking which helped a lot.

Then once we arrived at the campground, they levelled up to a whole new level of annoying. I’ve only had to get my mosquito head net out a couple of times (both on the beautiful 5040 Peak on Vancouver Island) before but this campsite has now made it to the list. When they get really bad, I also throw on my rain jacket to help protect me if it is too hot for a sweater.

Both of these were super helpful at the campground and at Egypt Lake itself but if you want to have EXTRA defence against the mozzies, I recommend the Backpacking Thermacell. I didn’t have it for this trip but have used it lots of times before and it’s great for when you are chilling at the campsite or trying to make dinner.

Animals in the Egypt Lake area and along the trail

In the Egypt Lake area, there is a lot of wildlife including Elk, Deer, Grizzly Bears, Wolves, Marmots, Pikas and Ground Squirrels. Make sure you carry bear spray with you and know what to do if you see a bear.

Leave No Trace

Whenever you are enjoying the beautiful nature that our world has to offer, remember to leave no trace (LNT)! Respect the beautiful places that make our world beautiful and take out everything that you take in, take only photos and respect the wildlife and other people. You can read more on the 7 LNT principles here.

Egypt Lake Hiking Trail Description – The Route we took

We started from the Sunshine Village Gondola and took the Healy Pass Trail. This is the most direct trail to Egypt Lake.

The start

After you cross the bridge onto the fire service road, the trail takes you up a steep hill. After a while, you will come to a smaller off shoot trail to your right with a sign pointing to Healy Pass and Egypt Lake. Take this trail to Egypt Lake. The first half of the trail is all through the forest and is all uphill but you don’t notice it too much because it is very gradual.

Getting to Healy Pass

After around 7km, you will cross one last little stream and reach the meadows. I recommend filtering some water here because there is no more water after this until you get to Egypt Lake. You’ll know you are at the last stream because the trail opens up into meadows in front of you and you will see a large boulder on your right. A good place for a rest.

This is where the wildflowers start in the Summer and the larches in the Fall. The meadows take you uphill, now a little steeper.

Healy Pass is located at the tippy top of all the meadows. The views from the top are awesome! If you are here for epic mountain and alpine lake views, this is your moment to pull out your camera!

Healy Pass to Egypt Lake

Now that you’ve climbed to the top of Healy Pass, you now need to start heading back down into the valley. You’ll take the trail on your right once you reach Healy Pass. Once we started going downhill, this area was really great for wildflowers too when we were there so make sure you enjoy it and get some photos.

Soon the wildflowers start to disappear and you’ll notice that you are hiking once again through a forest. This portion of the hike went FOREVER for me because I knew that we were almost there.

Finally, you’ll emerge into more meadows and see a bridge with a river. The campground is not too far away over this bridge. This is another good spot for filtering water while you are at the campground. Alternatively, you can filter from Egypt Lake which is also what we did but it’s a bit further away from the campground.

Alternative Route via the Sunshine Village Gondola

Distance: 26km/ 16 miles
Time: 8-11 hours
Elevation: 585m / 1,919 ft

There is an alternative route that you can take to Egypt Lake which cuts off some of the elevation by taking the Banff Sunshine Village Gondola up into the mountains – get gondola tickets here. The distance is pretty much the same, but instead of 1,396m of elevation gain, it’s only 585m.

This route also has much better views than the classic Healy Pass trail that we did so I definitely want to try it next time.

Backpacking to Egypt Lake

You can do Egypt Lake as a day hike but I think it works better as a backpacking trip because the trail is so long. There are also a bunch of other hikes that you can do from the Egypt Lake campground, so spending at least 1 night there is the way to go.

We only spent 1 night there and wished we had 2 because it’s such a long hike in. We felt like we were literally hiking non stop for 2 whole days.

How to book an Egypt Lake campsite

To stay at Egypt Lake campground, you will need to book via Parks Canada. Once you are in the reservation area, hit the backcountry option and then backcountry zone with the access point as Healy Pass Trailhead. Once you click search, Egypt Lake will come up as one of the options.

Make sure you are aware of the dates that the campground permits are released nice and early in the year because getting these permits can be extremely competitive. This sometimes changes year to year so double check Parks Canada to find out the exact release dates.

Things to do once you make it to Egypt Lake Campground

Once you make it to Egypt Lake Campground, there are lots of other trails to explore.

Egypt Lake

Distance: 1.6km / 1 mile | Elevation: 35m / 114 ft

Egypt Lake is the obvious one. It is not far from the campground so we decided to have our dinner there and take some photos of course. Even though it was freezing, I got into my swimsuit and gave my aching legs a cold plunge. It felt SO good. Would recommend.

Pharaoh Peak

Distance: 7.8km / 4.8 miles | Elevation: 690m / 2,263 ft

This is the hardest hike in the area, but also the one with the most epic views. My friends and I hiked Pharaoh Peak at 2am for sunrise and I’m not going to lie, I found this hike terrifying. We didn’t make it all the way too the top because I was stressing too much about coming back down. Turns out, I found going up way harder than coming back down which was surprising.

The Sphinx

Distance: 7.8km / 4.8 miles | Elevation: 500m / 1640 ft

This is another scramble which ends in views looking over Mummy Lake and Scarab Lake. The views from up here look incredible and I’ve officially added it to our list for next time.

Scarab Lake

Distance: 5km / 3.1 miles | Elevation: 230m / 754 ft

Scarab Lake is perfect for hikers of all levels. At the end of the trail, you’ll reach a tranquil lakeside spot where you can relax, swim, and take your incredible surroundings in.

Mummy Lake

Distance: 6.4km / 4 miles | Elevation: 350m / 1,148 ft

This is a good one to couple with Scarab Lake because you only need to add on 1.4km to your trip.

Hiking boots or trail runners for Egypt Lake

I wore my favourite hiking boots for the Egypt Lake Trail but honestly I think go with whatever you are most comfy in. If you decide to do Pharaoh Peak from the Egypt Lake campground, hiking boots would be the way to go because the trail is very technical with a lot of loose scree.

My packing essentials for backpacking to Egypt Lake

This is everything I brought backpacking to Egypt Lake in Summer. It was a pretty cold couple of days but I think being far out in the mountains, the Egypt Lake campground is often quite a bit colder than closer to town.

What was in my backpack

You might also enjoy:

• Beautiful Lakes to Paddle Board in Canmore and Banff
• How to Spend 1 Day in Banff in Summer
• How to Hike and Camp at Floe Lake
• Where to Find the Wildflowers on the Healy Pass Trail
• Amazing Lake Louise Tours
• 3 Days in Jasper National Park: The Ultimate Itinerary
• Beautiful Icefields Parkway Stops You Shouldn’t Miss!
• Is the Banff Gondola Worth it?

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