Copper Lake and Smith Lake - A Jaunty Roadside Sub-Alpine Lake Trek
Nestled just beside the busy TransCanada Highway just west of the even busier Banff is a pair of small, subalpine lakes. Copper Lake and Smith Lake together are a short, relatively easy 4.8km trek to two pretty little lakes. The trail to Smith Lake has about 150m of elevation gain; it's a little steep but manageable.
Smith Lake is named after a trapper and prospector that came to the Banff area during a mining boom. Joe Smith was one of the first prospectors to come to Silver City, an ultimately unsuccessful mine at the base of Castle Mountain. When the mine and the city were abandoned, Smith continued to live in the area for 54 years. Despite laws against trapped enacted after Smith's arrival, Parks Canada seems to have allowed him to keep trapping. There's an excellent, in-depth history of Banff by Sheila Robinson for Parks Canada if you're interested in more information.
We met some locals in the boggy swamp - wood frogs! Croak!
Copper Lake is just 0.6km from the parking lot. It's an easy, flat walk to the lake.
Neither lake have facilities like picnic tables, cook houses or anywhere to sit really. But that didn't stop us from sitting on a log above some bog and munching our lunches.
I found the first little wild strawberries of the season in the parking lot! They're very tiny, low-lying plants that make teeny tiny berries just packed with flavour. Nom nom nom!
There is a parking lot with trail map (but no outhouse). The parking lot itself is a little tricky to find. You turn south on Highway 93 toward Revelstoke, then immediately take the left turn just across the bridge and cross over the northbound lane to reach the access road. Do not follow Google Maps. Copper Lake is so near the road that Google Maps thinks you should just stop on the highway.
All in all, it's a pretty path to stretch your legs after a day of driving. I definitely wouldn't consider it a day hike or a destination hike though.
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