Where to Find the Wildflowers on the Healy Pass Trail
If you are dreaming of colourful wildflowers in Banff this Summer, the Healy Pass Trail should be at the very top of your list!
Healy Pass is famous for being the best wildflower hike in Banff! Its endless alpine meadows explode with vibrant flowers from mid-July to mid August. This brings a totally different experience from the golden larches that draw crowds to Healy Pass in the Fall.
Dave and I first hiked Healy Pass in Autumn for its larch trees (and I already have a full guide for that), but about a week ago (16th July), I discovered that the trail is just as jaw-dropping in Summer, so I wanted to share a dedicated wildflower guide with you too.
In this post, I’ll cover exactly when to go for peak blooms, how to plan your hike for the best photo spots, what flowers you might see along the way and my honest tips from the trail so that you are well prepared and don’t miss a thing.
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Quick Links for Finding the Wildflowers on Healy Pass
Trailhead location: Next to the Sunshine Village Gondola
Best time of the year for wildflowers: Mid July – mid August
Hike Stats:
Distance: 20.3km/ 12.61 miles
Time: 5-7 hours
Elevation: 868m / 2,847 ft
Toilets: At the parking lot and halfway through the trail at the campground
Park permits / fees: Parks Canada Discovery Pass
What to bring with you: Mozzie repellent!!! and a camera of course 😉
Where to start the trail from
Healy Pass starts from the bottom of the Banff Sunshine Village Gondola. Parking is free and there is plenty of it. From Banff Town, it is about a 20 minute drive to the parking lot.
If you are in Banff without a car, you can catch the Sunshine Shuttle from Banff.
Once you have parked, you can go to the bathroom in the Sunshine Village Building or head straight to the trailhead by walking to the right of the building and coming to a bridge which you will need to cross to begin the trail.
How hard is Healy Pass
I have done Healy Pass twice now and it’s definitely a long hike. The trail is 20.3km/ 12.61 miles return with an elevation gain of 868m / 2,847 ft. Towards the end, it feels like the trail just goes on and on and on but I promise you, the flowers are so worth it! The good thing about Healy Pass is that the incline is pretty gentle because the elevation is spread out pretty evenly across the entire trail.
I think the hardest thing about this trail is that once you are heading back to the parking lot through the forest, it’s just such a boring trail that it makes it feel like it’s taking FOREVER to finish.
Which is better: Healy Pass in Summer or Fall
This is SUCH a hard question because both of these seasons are absolutely beautiful. I think if I had to choose only one, personally I would choose to hike Healy Pass in Fall because I am just obsessed with larches.
Going back in Summer for my backpacking trip to Egypt Lake, I actually couldn’t believe how different the trail looked! The forest was exactly the same for the majority of the trail until I reached the meadows which were absolutely covered with red, yellow and purple wildflowers! It was a dream seeing the wildflowers on this trail, which is why I recommend adding it to your Banff Summer itinerary if you haven’t already.
When to hike Healy Pass for wildflowers
The wildflowers usually peak on Healy Pass from mid July to mid August. This can vary from year to year depending on snow melt, rain and temperatures. To make things even harder to predict, different flowers also peak at different times.
I went on July 16th and the flowers were gorgeous!
Trail Overview + Where are the wildflowers on the Healy Pass Trail
This trail can be split into two sections. The first is a rather boring section of the trail and then the second is exciting, vibrant and full of photo opportunities.
The first 3/4 of the trail
The Healy Pass Trail starts out on a fire service road where you will be hiking uphill straight away. After about 1km, you will come to a smaller trail taking you off to the right next to a sign pointing to Healy Pass. This is where the official trail starts.
The entire first 3/4 of the trail is through the forest and runs along the river for some of it. If you are filtering water, there is a stop around 3kms in by the river with some good rocks for sitting. This is where we first filtered our water.
This section of the trail is pretty gentle. You are constantly going up but at a very gentle incline so I found that I could go quite fast.
Reaching the wildflower meadows
After what feels like way too long, you will start seeing some scattered wildflowers along the side of the trail. I remember this trail being similar in Fall, where we started to see a couple of larches at first and then BAM, we were surrounded.
The first place where the flowers are actually worth stopping for is once you cross a little creek. You’ll see a big rock after the water on your right which I definitely have rested on a few times. This is another good spot to filter water if you need to.
Best photo spots for wildflowers on the Healy Pass Trail
It’s only at the 6-7km mark where the wildflowers start getting REALLY good and they don’t go away until you reach Healy Pass. The amount of flowers in each spot along the trail will depend on the time of the year. I was with some friends who said the flowers looked completely different this year to last year when they were here.
Don’t miss this spot
When you first reach the wildflowers keep hiking past my big rest boulder and you’ll see a trail that takes you straight up to Healy Pass and then another to your left which starts taking you back the way you came via a little loop.
We didn’t have a chance to go down this trial for photos but we bumped into a group of girls who said the flowers were BLOOMING down there. It’s also a great spot to go if you find yourself stuck with crowds.
There are also a few spots on the way up through the trees that are great for photos. Once you reach Healy Pass at the top of the incline, if you continue on and start heading down towards Egypt Lake, there are some really stunning spots for photos not too far down the trail with the wildflowers AND a view of the mountains in the background. See my photo below.
Tips for photos
I loved using a bit of zoom and getting down low to really capture the colourful wildflowers in the foreground. I mainly used my Tamron 28-75 f2.8 in the flower fields. Make sure you don’t stand on any flowers when you are trying to get your shots. There are little rocks in the fields that you can stand on instead, otherwise stay on the path.
What is the Healy Pass Trail like in Summer – my honest opinion
During the Fall, Dave and I hiked Healy Pass as a day hike, however this year for Summer, I backpacked through Healy Pass to Egypt Lake with some friends. Sadly Dave missed out because he broke his collarbone mountain biking about 2 weeks before.
Is the trail crowded during wildflower season?
👉 I actually remember specifically making a comment while we were hiking about how quiet the trail was. I did find it got a little busier once we reached the wildflowers but it was no where near as busy as during larch season.
What are the mosquitos like at Healy Pass
👉 Oh my goodness the mozzies were AWFUL on this trail. This was the only not fun thing about taking photos with the wildflowers. As soon as I stopped moving to try to take a photo of my friends, they tried to eat me alive.
Luckily we brought my mozzie repellent with us which saved us. This is the one we have and I live by it! I’ll never get anything different.
Can I camp overnight near Healy Pass?
👉 There are a few options for backcountry camping. You can camp along the trail at a little campground called E5 (I know great name) about 5km / 3.2 miles into the hike. There is also Egypt Lake which is past Healy Pass and also where we camped on our recent backpacking trip.
Both of these campgrounds will need to be booked via Parks Canada.
Leave no trace
Whenever you are enjoying the beautiful nature that Banff National Park 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. This includes not picking the beautiful wildflowers.
frequently asked questions
Spending time in Banff in Summer? Read these next:
- Beautiful Lakes to Paddle Board in Canmore and Banff
- Amazing Lake Louise Tours
- Beautiful Icefields Parkway Stops You Shouldn’t Miss!
- Everything You Need to Know About Johnston Canyon
- How to Spend a Weekend in Banff: The Ultimate Itinerary
- Little Beehive, Big Beehive and Lake Agnes Teahouse Hike
- 3 Days in Jasper National Park: The Ultimate Itinerary
- Is the Banff Gondola Worth it?
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