Valemount & Mount Robson / Full trip pack
Snowbird Pass Route
- Round trip
- 21 km
- Elevation gain
- 785 m Published route measurement
- Walking time
- 7–9 hours
- Difficulty
- Unconfirmed Out and back
return from Berg Lake camp; excludes the approach to camp
Access and trail reports
Robson watercraft and wading equipment restriction
From May 4, 2026, BC Parks prohibits watercraft and wading equipment throughout Mount Robson Park waters to limit aquatic disease spread. This includes powered and unpowered craft, inflatables, wading clothing and boots. The hiking trails are not closed by this notice.
Reported date not supplied · checked 2026-10-17 · BC Parks
Reports describe the cited dates. An expected reopening date does not establish reopened access.
From the upper Berg Lake corridor, climb past views of the Robson Glacier through meadows and rocky terrain to Snowbird Pass. This long return side hike includes steep, exposed sections, in addition to the approach to the camps.
1. Getting there and parking
From Highway 16, turn into the signed Mount Robson park entrance near the Welcome Centre and follow Kinney Lake Road about 2.3 km to the road-end Berg Lake Trail parking. This is the vehicle access for the whole Berg Lake corridor. The waterfall and upper-basin destinations have no separate road approach. First hike the main corridor to a reserved upper campground near Berg Lake. The side-trip distances on this record begin in that upper area and exclude the much longer approach from the road.
- From Highway 16 at Mount Robson, follow Kinney Lake Road to its end and the Berg Lake trailhead.
Parking: The road-access trailhead is at the end of Kinney Lake Road near the Mount Robson Welcome Centre. Upper-corridor camps and viewpoints cannot be reached by car.
2. Walking the route
From the upper Berg Lake corridor, take the signed Snowbird Pass branch near the Rearguard/Robson Pass area. The route initially approaches the Robson Glacier, then climbs beside the glacial landscape toward an open meadow basin and finally the pass overlooking the Reef Icefield. Above the easier lower portion, expect sustained climbing, loose rock, narrow sections beside steep drops and a short chain-assisted section reported in the 2025 account. The meadow or an earlier viewpoint can be a turnaround if the pass is beyond the day’s time or conditions. Return by the same route; the pass outing is roughly 20–21 km from Berg Lake campground in published accounts, in addition to the road-to-camp approach. The trail description does not authorize travelling onto either glacier.
- From the upper Berg Lake corridor, take the signed Snowbird Pass branch near the Rearguard/Robson Pass area.
- Follow the approach beside the Robson Glacier landscape, then climb the switchbacks toward the meadow basin.
- Beyond the meadows, continue to Snowbird Pass only if conditions and time allow. The reported route includes loose footing, narrow exposed sections and a short chain-assisted passage.
The return
Return by the same route to your upper-corridor camp. Published trips are approximately 20–21 km return from Berg Lake campground, in addition to the long approach from the road. A glacier viewpoint or the meadows can be a shorter turnaround.
Mapped outing: Main trail junction above Berg Lake campground → Snowbird Pass → Main trail junction above Berg Lake campground. 19.5 km measured along the mapped line; published trip measurements may differ.
3. Route map
The highlighted line follows the documented outing.
© OpenStreetMap contributors. Route geometry is available under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. · Line source · Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Source-line database: https://hikingprincegeorge.com/data/osm-route-lines.geojson
Elevation along the outing
Full round trip
Start: Main trail junction above Berg Lake campground · Turn around: Snowbird Pass (9.7 km) · Finish: Main trail junction above Berg Lake campground (19.5 km mapped).
Approximate ground elevation from a 90 m terrain model. Distance follows the mapped itinerary and may differ from published walking distance. This is a terrain-model profile, not a surveyed measurement. Any ascent total is identified separately with its own source or estimation method.
How the route order was checked
The ordinary Snowbird day hike starts in the upper Berg Lake campground area and returns from the pass on the same trail. The old standalone Snowbird line was stored pass-to-junction and omitted the campground approach. The last62 vertices of the separately retained Moose River–Berg Lake corridor run from the exact Snowbird junction to the main-trail junction above Berg Lake campground. Reversing that existing tail and then reversing the named Snowbird line joins at exactly the same source coordinate. The selected route ends at the OSM node explicitly named Snowbird Pass. The start is on the main corridor roughly62m from the campground reference point, not an individual tent pad; no connector to the campground point is drawn. The trailhead-to-Berg Lake backpacking approach is separate.
Copernicus GLO-90 terrain elevations via Open-Meteo (CC BY4.0); linework: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0
Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo. Linework source: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/6035652. Sampled and rounded for display.
Source: https://open-meteo.com/en/licence
Licence: CC BY4.0 elevation data; Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 linework · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Profile source checked: 2026-10-18
Published locations
Numbered points match the map. Use the role beside each point. A summit or park reference point is not a parking location.
| Place and role | Coordinates | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Snowbird Pass Route named pass (2) destination | 53.149872 -119.051266 | BC Gazetteer: Snowbird Pass | Pass (2) | 53 08 59 N | 119 03 04 W | WGS84 | mapsheet 83E/3
Official named-feature location, not parking or a verified route start. This point supports regional orientation and area forecasts; road directions and distance-to-trailhead must use a separately verified access point. https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/d92224ee-03ef-4904-be53-b677d8e01ac4/resource/69738aa8-2cc0-4975-aec6-4dc2e30990bf/download/bc-gazetteer-2026-08-12.csv |
5. Camping, facilities and seasons
Camping and tenting
Use your reserved designated Berg Lake corridor campsite; this is a day extension from camp, not permission to pitch a tent at the pass. Snowbird Pass prohibits dogs. BC Parks closes the route each year from May 1 to July 1 for wildlife calving.
Water
The Berg Lake corridor has a permanent water-treatment advisory. Treat water before drinking, cooking or other use.
Season and access
BC Parks closes Snowbird Pass annually from May 1 to July 1 for wildlife calving. Snow can persist after the calendar closure ends, and the high route requires its own weather and snow assessment. The annual reopening date alone does not establish snow-free travel.
Winter route
BC Parks allows winter use, but warns of severe winter conditions. Use designated camping areas and check current advisories and avalanche conditions; the summer itinerary is not a validated winter track.
Dogs
Dogs are prohibited on Snowbird Pass, including day trips.
Mobile service
BC Parks reports no mobile-phone service on the trail. Service and Wi-Fi are available at the Welcome Centre.
Practical details checked 2026-10-17.
Reservations and current availability
Check the operator’s current rules, opening dates and booking requirements for your chosen campsite or cabin.
Additional source maps
Map 1: https://nrs.objectstore.gov.bc.ca/kuwyyf/berg_lake_trail_map_fce7c2b377.pdf
Your trip notes
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