Rockwall Highline Trail

The Rockwall is an extraordinary formation, an endless series of huge limestone cliffs approaching 1,000m high and some 50km long.

The Rockwall (also called Highline) Trail runs below the rock wall between the Paint Pots and Floe Lake trailheads.

You will meet a wonderful selection of landscapes as you cross from valley to valley, from vivid lakes below sheer peaks and teetering glaciers, to flowery, larch-scattered meadows, to ancient forests. Highlights include Floe Lake, a beautiful high lake at the foot of a glacier, with icebergs calving into it; the tremendous Helmet Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Canada; and the bright and varied colours of the Paint Pots and Ochre Beds.

You can hike the trail in 3 days, although 4 to 6 days allows time to enjoy the delights this area offers. 2 days at Tumbling Creek campground will allow you to check out the Wolverine Plateau and climb up to the base of Tumbling Glacier.

A typical expedition could look as follows:

Day 1: Paint Pots to Helmet Falls: you start from the red ochre Paint Pots just off the Radium Highway. Following Ochre then Helmet Creeks, the trail climbs gradually through forests of spruce and fir, which open up as you reach camp at the base of a tremendous cirque with one of the highest waterfalls in the Rockies, 352m Helmet Falls, at its heart. 14.6km.

(Side trip: Goodsir Pass: climb the short distance to Goodsir Pass, with its magnificent views and shrubby meadows. You can head on higher through larch forest to explore the mountain ridges above. 6 – 10km.)

Day 2: Helmet Falls to Tumbling Creek: head to the base of Limestone Peak and the northern end of the Rockwall, with a vast expanse of meadows below. Nearby is Wolverine Pass, a giant cleft in the Rockwall, from which you can see the towers of the Bugaboos some 70 km away. Drop a short distance to camp in upper Tumbling Creek. 12.4km.

Day 3: Tumbling Pass to Floe Lake: begin with a beautiful climb to narrow Tumbling Pass below the Tumbling Glacier, with meadows sprinkled with elegant larches. A long descent gets you down to Numa Creek.

Hike on to the gorgeous Floe Lake via Numa Pass, the highest point on the trail at 2,355m, which is surrounded by dramatic peaks above gorgeous meadows and forests. Floe Lake appears below, its blue waters littered with ice … er … floes which have dropped from the glacier which empties into the lake. Camp by the lake. 18km. This is a long and demanding day, with elevation gain/loss of over 1,000m. It can be divided into two with a night at Numa Creek.

Day 4: Floe Lake to Radium Highway
An 11km, 700m descent through interesting, flowery forest which was, sadly, burnt in 2003 and is beautiful in a ghostly, melancholy way but is now busy rejuvenating.

Camping is the only option on trail, so you need to come well prepared, with food and kit for the entire walk.

A short season: July to mid-September.

You can create day walks here if time is short. Eg a 13 mile day walk to Floe Lake. 700m elevation gain/loss.

The Rockwall is reasonably hard work, with 4 passes to cross – but not excessively demanding. You will, though, be in high, remote mountains, where you will have to be self-sufficient. Come prepared.

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