Peyto Lake: The Wolf-Head Lake at the Top of the Parkway

A wolf-head-shaped lake, glacier-blue, from the highest point on the Icefields Parkway.

Peyto Lake is one of the most recognizable lakes in the whole Rockies, and you’ve almost certainly seen a photo of its turquoise already. It sits by Bow Summit — the highest point on the Icefields Parkway (about 2,070 m), roughly 40 km north of Lake Louise. We stopped here on day two of our Winnipeg-to-Banff road trip, and even in the rain it was stunning.

There’s a person behind the name: the lake honours Bill Peyto (Ebenezer William “Bill” Peyto, 1869–1943), a legendary mountain guide and one of Banff National Park’s early wardens. The colour is down to geology: in summer, meltwater carries fine “rock flour” off the glacier, and those suspended particles scatter the light — hence the impossible turquoise. From above, the lake is shaped like a wolf’s head, which is sometimes what people call it.

Now the practical side — and the main tip. From the Bow Summit parking lot, a short (~400 m) paved, wheelchair-accessible path leads to the main viewpoint, which already gives you the classic postcard scene. But if you have the energy, go further, up to the upper lookout: it’s a steeper trail (about 3 km one way), and that’s where the lake truly opens up. That’s what we did, taking turns, since bringing the dog up wet rock in the rain would have been unwise. And worth knowing: Google Maps labels the area “Improvement District No. 9” — that’s simply an administrative district, not the name of a peak. The parking lot fills by 9–10 a.m. in summer, so come early; wear something with grippy soles and pack a rain jacket — it’s colder up top and the rock is slick after rain.

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Read next: nearby Bow Lake, the Icefields Parkway itself and the whole Winnipeg-to-Banff road trip.