Picklejar Lakes trail is a great intermediate hike located about 1.5 hrs from Calgary.
It is not a hard hike but there are a few tricky sections where hiking poles might be helpful.
The hike leads to 4 beautiful lakes high in the mountain where you can fish and even swim if you are brave enough.
How to get to Picklejar Lakes trailhead?
Picklejar Lakes hike is located along Highway 40 in Kananaskis as many other great hikes.
Depending on where you live it might be a shorter drive if you come from the south instead of taking Trans-Canada highway.
It worth mentioning that this area of Highway 40 is closed from December to the middle of June.
To get to Picklejar Lakes trailhead park at Lantern Creek day use area.
If you are planning to hike on a weekend, try to arrive early to avoid the crowds and get the parking spot.
The trailhead is located on the opposite side of the highway, about 100 m left from the Lantern Creek day use area.
However, there is no sign or map at the trailhead.
It is a popular hike so the trail is pretty obvious and is easy to follow.
How long is Picklejar Lakes hike?
Based on my tracker it is 12 km in length with 620 m elevation gain.
It took me 4.5 hours to finish the hike but I also went for a swim and had a picnic.
Hiking Picklejar Lakes
The best time to do this hike is on the weekdays or early in the morning if you want to avoid the crowds.
Some parts of the trail are pretty narrow and it might be tricky to pass other people.
It also can get muddy after heavy rain.
I heard that a parking lot at Lantern Creek gets full by 9:30 am on the weekends.
There are a lot of black horseflies around Pickeljar Lakes so it might be handy to have some bug spray to avoid the bites.
These flies are huge!
I never really had problems with horseflies while hiking in Kananaskis until I went on this hike.
The trail will go both through the forest and beautiful alpine meadows.
Most of the trail is not challenging until you get to the last section just before the first lake.
There is a little bit of rocky area there and that’s where the poles might be helpful.
The section between the third and fourth lake is more challenging as well so it might be worth avoiding it if you are new to hiking and don’t feel comfortable traveling on a narrow rocky trail.
In total there are 4 lakes there located close to each other.
The third lake is the prettiest and the best place for a swim.
It is crystal clear and the water has a nice blue color.
The first lake is the busiest.
Swimming and fishing at Picklejar Lakes
I am not a big fan of swimming in cold alpine lakes but when I did this hike it was a very hot day so I decided to give it a try.
Surprising the water wasn’t that bad and I actually enjoyed it.
If you are planning to swim I would recommend bringing some type of water shoes because the rocks in the lake are very slippery and getting back to the shore is a little tricky.
I also saw a few trout in the water while swimming so there is definitely fish there.
Fishing is allowed at Picklejar Lakes but it is all catch and release.
I also saw a few trout in the first lake so it might be a good idea to bring your fishing rod if you are into fishing.
Random Camping at Picklejar Lakes
I didn’t camp myself but based on Alberta Parks website random camping is allowed in Wildland Parks (like Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park) as long as you are 1 km away from any backcountry facility or roadway.
However, it might be worth checking with Kananaskis info center just in case regulations changed.
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