Elk Pass to Elk Lakes 

I love this ride. I last rode it as part of a massive day trip to scramble up Mount Castelnau on the formerly named Petain Glacier in Elk Lakes Provincial Park. With sunrise at around 06:30, I woke up at 04:30 and was biking up the Elk Pass / Hydroline Trail by 06:29 under a slowly brightening sky on August 17 2025.

Clouds were hanging low in the valleys as I sweated my way up the 275 vertical meters to the summit of Hydroline and into British Columbia. I knew I’d make good time with the subsequent 275m height loss into the Elk Lakes valley and indeed, I did! It was all good fun as I pedaled through a quiet parking lot, past a sleeping hut and towards the Lower Elk Lake Campground.  After bidding some early risers a “good morning” by the lake, I locked my bike to a nearby tree and prepared for the rest of my day. 

It had taken me less than an hour to complete the 11.5kms from the parking lot to the lower lake camp so this is not a particularly lengthy ride by any stretch of the imagination.