The Rockies in summer are stunning and should be on everyone’s Canadian bucket list. Their beauty is the reason that everyone wants to visit and it pays to book your camping spot well in advance.  We were originally planning on only visiting Jasper National Park over the August long weekend, however, there were no camping spots available and the only place we could book in the area was at Mt. Robson National Park, right next door.  And I tell ya, it was the best stroke of luck.  Mt. Robson blew our minds and was hands down one of the most beautiful places we have trodden.  Canadians really know how to set up a campground, our spot was surrounded in trees and incredibly spacious – the perfect private getaway.  Our first day was spent travelling a pretty easy eight hours to get to our campground.  The roads were fabulous and we even stumbled across a Black Bear just before entering the Park.  It was casually having a munch on some grass (I think?) at the end of a forestry road and didn’t seem too bothered by us at all.

Our most adventure filled day was our ambitious decision to complete the famous 42km round-trip Berg Lake Trail in one day.  Honestly, it was the most incredible and beautiful hike that I have ever done.  The sheer spectacular scenery makes up for any fatigue and sore legs.  The first 11km takes you to Kinney Lake, which is stunning in the early morning light, and then through the valley of a thousand waterfalls, which certainly lived up to its name.

As we kept on the trail the views became more and more spectacular.  It is really difficult to begin to describe the scenes that we saw and the feelings we had when we walked through a stony landscape full of glacial fed rivers with Mt. Robson looming over us.  We had to stop so many times to merely gawk with disbelief at what our eyes were seeing.

Our final destination was Berg Lake itself, which is fed by glaciers from the slopes of Mt. Robson.  The glaciers run straight into the freezing cold lake (as we found out by attempting a dip) and create a landscape worthy of a postcard to your nearest and dearest.  We spent about an hour just lazing on the shore and taking in the vista before us.

It was then time to make our way back to the trail head, and it was amazing to see all the same sights from a different viewpoint and in a different light.  We couldn’t get enough of the scenery and were kind of sad when it was over (but our legs were not!).  The trail itself is not too hard, even the uphill bits aren’t too steep and we managed the return journey (including A LOT of stops) in about nine and a half hours.  We were pretty proud of ourselves.  I could not recommend this trail enough – do it.

The campground we stayed at is called Robson Meadows and a short walk takes you down to a river where we swam every day.  It is cold but refreshing and the setting is unbeatable.  The boys liked to scramble up river and then take the current down stream (I don’t recommend this unless you are a strong swimmer!), it provided endless entertainment.

Our time in Mt. Robson Provincial Park was incredible and I would do it all again if I could.  Cost wise, it was very cheap.  Camping is a brilliant and cost effective way to explore Canada.

Here is a breakdown of our costs for 4 days (3 people):
Accommodation – NZ$113
Food/Drink – NZ$215
Car rental – NZ$452
Petrol – NZ$190
Total spent – NZ$970 (CA$900)