Brazeau Loop - Day 1

The Brazeau Loop is located in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is approximately 82km with about 2300 metres of elevation gain. The route traverses alongside a river, beautiful vistas crossing several passes, panoramic valleys, and a stunning lake. The route is not particularly busy. Most campsites had remaining sites available and I hiked the trail mostly alone. I suspect it may be less busy due to the washed out bridge that requires fording a river.

According to the Parks Canada website, "The Brazeau Loop is a demanding high-elevation trail that crosses three mountain passes. River fords will be necessary. Sudden weather changes are common. Efforts on this longer-distance wilderness hike come with many rewards. Strong hikers can complete the loop in five days. The passes may be snow covered until July; travel is not recommended earlier in the season."

The Hike

On day 1, I drove to the Nigel Creek trail head along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. The trail head is a few kilometres before the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre nearby Mount Athabasca.

At the start of the trail head, there is an information sign marking the start of the trail.

The trail starts following a well worn road.

After following the road for a few kilometres, the trail turns into the forest.

The trail passes by a ranger cabin.

After passing the cabin, the trail transitions into single track.

After hiking through the forest, the trail emerges then crosses a creek.

After crossing the creek and ascending, the trail emerges into willows.

Along the way, there are a few small creeks to cross. They're easy to rock hop.

As I ascended toward Nigel Pass, the views start appear in the distance.

The view continues to unfold.

Hiking toward Nigel Pass

Sign marking Nigel Pass.

After cresting the top of the pass, I descended down the trail in the photo to cross the river. It was possible to rock hop across. I took this photo looking back after hopping across.

After crossing the river, I ascended again through a boulder field.

After hiking through the boulder field, there is a clear view of the pass. I am looking back toward Nigel Pass.

The trail begins to descend into the river valley. Then, it follows alongside the river. Boulder Creek Campsite is located in the forest in the distance.

After descending, I hiked the trail as it follows along the river.

Eventually I arrived at Boulder Creek campsite. The site has several tent pads, bear locker, green toilet and a picnic table. I found it quite comfortable.

Final Thoughts

The hike from the Nigel Creek trail head to Boulder Creek is approximately 11km with 455 metres elevation gain according to my Coros Pace 3. I found it was a fairly easy hike traversing through a diverse landscape. If you're coming from a distant location, this is a great place to start the hike.