Holiday Area: Alberta

Stay in Town

Travel no further than Medicine Hat itself to find the Gas City Campground, located on 7th Street Southwest just off the Trans-Canada Highway. The grounds offer 97 gravel campsites for both tent and RV camping for use from late spring until early autumn. Sites range in services, including full service with 30-amp electric hookups, sewer and water; power and water; power only; and non-service sites. Guests can enjoy an assortment of other amenities including horseshoe pits, firewood and fire pits, a playground, convenience store, showers, laundromat and Wi-Fi.

Head to a Park

Approximately 45 minutes southeast of Medicine Hat is the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, offering tent camping and cabins on its 133 square miles of rolling hills and prairies, along with a vast array of animal and plant species. A total of 13 campgrounds, seven of which lie along the shores of Elkwater Lake, provide more than 400 tenting sites. Camping is open all year, allowing visitors to enjoy lake activities and hiking along the 31 miles of trails in the summer, and skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing during the winter.

Find a River Retreat

Just 15 minutes northwest of Medicine Hat in Redcliff, Alberta, on the banks of the Saskatchewan River, is the Redcliff Municipal Campground. Open from May until September, the grounds have 14 tent camping sites with electric hookup options; rates are lower for campers who forgo this option. Visitors can stay active in the on-site pool and playground as well as nearby bike trails and baseball diamond. The campground also offers tables and grills at each site, as well as free showers and flush toilets.

RV Options

The Wild Rose Trailer Park and Campground is right in Medicine Hat, off Highway 1, offering 92 full-service RV sites. Guests can enjoy the comforts of home with on-site laundry, restrooms and showers, a playground, Internet and a pet-friendly environment. The Ross Creek RV Park is on the southern edge of town, nestled among rolling hills. The park has 42 full-service sites, offers Wi-Fi, and is adjacent to a nearby golf course and walking trails. On the western edge of Medicine Hat is the Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course and RV Park, a small 21-site park offering both tent and RV camping with 30-amp hookups, toilets, showers and water.

Winding through the strikingly scenic terrain of Alberta's Banff National Park, the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail leads hikers to a remote mountain tea house alongside the rugged slopes of Mount Victoria and Mount Lefroy. As its name suggests, the trail also gives you a chance to view no fewer than six individual glaciers, all the while escaping most of the crowds that gather around nearby Lake Louise during the busy summer months.

Finding the Trailhead

The hike begins near Lake Louise Village, just west of the Trans-Canada Highway. From the village, drive uphill for about 2.5 miles -- bear in mind that the road signs are marked in kilometers -- to the Lake Louise public parking lot. You'll have to continue on foot from here, crossing Louise Creek on the foot-bridge and making your way to the lakeside Chateau Hotel. From the hotel, the Lakeshore Trail leads around to the back side of Lake Louise, where the clearly-marked Plain of Six Glaciers trail begins. The Plain of Six Glaciers Trail itself is a roughly 4-mile, one-way hike, but many visitors continue along the Highline and Lake Agnes trails to form a complete 9-mile loop that will bring them back to the starting point without ever having to retrace steps.

Trail Features

The entire 9-mile hike typically takes about five hours to complete, and the terrain is generally moderate, beginning on fairly level ground and eventually utilizing a series of switchbacks to gain a little over 1,200 feet in elevation. You may cross paths with returning hikers along the way, but most of the crowds will be behind you once you reach the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail. The route is largely shaded by towering pines, occasionally breaking out into the open as you cross avalanche fields and glacial moraines.

The Tea House is 3.4 miles from the starting point and provides a resting place with benches and an outhouse. Less than a mile past the Tea House, the trail reaches Victoria Glacier, and it is from this vantage point that you can gaze across the chiseled landscape to the six glaciers from which the trail gets its name. You can turn back here, or bear left on the Highline Which leads to The Lake Agnes Trail, a longer return route that takes you through Abbot Pass and offers spectacular views of Lakes Agnes and Louise.

The Tea House

The Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, unlike the better-known and more easily accessible Lake Agnes Tea House, can only be reached by following the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail. Originally built by Swiss guides in 1924, the tea house is open during July, August and, weather permitting, the beginning of September. The tea house serves refreshments including soups, sandwiches, lemonade and tea, and since there is no electricity or running water, all the food is prepared on-site using propane stoves. Supplies are taken to the tea house at the beginning of the season by helicopter, and later on throughout the summer by horses and park employees who use the same trail that visitors do.

Considerations

The Plain of Six Glaciers Trail is not among the most difficult hikes in Banff National Forest, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the terrain. Durable shoes are essential, and layered clothing is a necessity due to the weather, which can change rapidly at any time of year. Several quality maps and guidebooks are available online, and you should take one with you, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area or if you plan to take any route more complicated than a simple out-and-back trip. More information on the Plain of Six Glaciers and other hiking trails in the area is available through the Canada National Parks website.

Holiday Area

Campgrounds Near Medicine Hat, Alberta