Town of Banff

Fenland Trail

Fenland Circuit — 2.1 km (1.3 mi)

This flat, easy loop trail near downtown Banff leads you through forest at the eastern edge of the Vermilion Lakes marshland. The trail runs beside the peaceful waters of Echo and Forty Mile Creeks and through a spruce forest carpeted with bunchberry and a green cloud of horsetails. With the exception of periods following heavy snowfalls, it can be hiked year round.

Follow the trail from the rear of the Forty Mile Picnic Area, cross a bridge over the creek, and continue 100 m to a trail split. You can either turn left or right at this point, since the trail makes an elongated loop through the forest and returns to this junction in just under 2 km.

The trail can also be used as access to the Vermilion Lakes Road, where you can extend your walk another 4 km along one of the best wetland environments in the Bow Valley (watch for a branch trail part way around the loop that immediately crosses a bridge to the road).

Female elk have used the Fenland area as a calving ground for a number of years, and the trail is usually closed from late May through early June when these protective new mothers can be very aggressive.

Access: Follow the Mount Norquay Road from downtown Banff, cross the railway tracks, and continue 0.3 km to the Forty Mile Picnic Area. Walking from town, access the loop via a short connector trail, which branches left into the forest as soon as you cross the tracks.

Maps: Banff Up-Close (Gem Trek).

Trail description from the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide (Brian Patton and Bart Robinson; Summerthought Publishing), the original hiking guide to Banff National Park and the contiguous parks. Originally published in 1971 and now in its 8th edition, this book details over 3,400 kilometres of hiking trails in Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay and Waterton Lakes National Parks.