Galatea Lakes Hike is a 10.5 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Kananaskis Improvement, Alberta, Canada that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Please note: This trail has been closed due to annual Seasonal Closure: May 1 - late June to allow area to dry and prevent damage. For further information, please check the Kananaskis Valley Trail Report page.
First time doing Galatea lake. So first off conditions. The trail was hard pack snow covered almost entirely. With some sections at the bottom that were fairly icy. I started my hike at 11 am on the 16th of April. so by the time I came back down some parts of the trail were much softer, It had turned to slush. If you're looking for a fairly easy beginner hike then this is a good choice, trail is super simple to follow. Never once was I concerned I was going to get turned around. It's a gradual climb pretty much all the way, with the last 1.5 kms getting a bit steeper. Trail is closed in most of the hike, with some openings here and there, where you can see up the valley. Once you hit the top it opens up into the beautiful lake and valley.
Pretty slushy and soupy. I would recommend spikes. Then next week this trail will be super messy so start early! We could not go past Lilian Lake due to avalanche conditions.
Bit narrow in places. Steady uphill. No snowshoes needed. Avalanche conditions had us stopping at Lillian Lake.
Beautiful blue bird day. Started in later afternoon was slushy and a little slippery in some parts. No one on the trail, had it to ourselves. Its gradually to steady up and down. The last bit before the lake is steeper. Worth it to get up to Galatea lakes for the views in all directions. Didn't venture past lower Galatea Lake to the Upper Galatea Lake. Was slippery on the way down. Took our time and in total 5 hours.
Did this on a windy day with just spikes. We didn’t finish the hike because the wind blew snow over some treks that felt avalanchy. Views were nice but was cloudy/windy. Hoping to try it again on a clear day to make it further. Parking lot pretty empty at 9:30 when we arrived. More busy when we got back around 12 despite the weather. Lots of folks wearing snow shoes which would probably have helped.
We hiked it on February, 13 and it was a very cold day (-33). My body needed the first 5k hike to warm up. The hike was up and down both ways, but only at 400m elevation. A good winter hike, regardless! I didn't use my snowshoes on my way back, but it’s a good option to carry one.
Trekked both of the Galatea lakes on July 1, 2020. It was pouring rain the day I hiked. The trail is 80% shaded which gave ample protection from rain and hail. Both of the lakes were partially frozen on July 1 so I would recommend going either in late July or early August. Overall, a beautiful and enjoyable hike. Instagram - Follow / DM me @realasifzeb. We can do a collab on a hike/scramble in the near future.
A fairly nice hike. The path to the first lake was fairly packed down but past the campground it quickly got deeper than my knee. As I didn't bring the appropriate gear for that I turned back. Wasn't overly busy until I was heading leaving around Noon.
Excellent hike. Past Lillian Lake we broke trail and there was a lot of snow (waist to chest deep). We stopped just short of Gatalea due to the depth of the snow (even with snow shoes we were sinking to our hips). We used snow shoes once you clear the tree line. Crampons and poles a must for the Lillian Lake portion of the climb. Strongly recommend snow shoes up to Galatea.
Nice snowy weather, icy climbing wall, in the end of trail was too much snow so I just couldn’t walk to 2 last lakes
Beautiful winter hike! Didn’t quite make it all around Galatea lakes as the trail wasn’t broken in but up until Lillian conditions were great. Lots of bridges over a creek and some really nice peak views. Excited to come back and complete in the summer.
Did the hike this past Sunday, December 6 and it was spectacular! You do need spikes as it can be icy but the trail was well packed but still good to have. Once you past Lillian Lake it does get quite windy in the valley before getting to lower Galatea. Incredibly breathtaking and we even had lunch there as I wanted to stay longer. Will return in the spring so I can get to upper Galatea as well