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| Hiking among the golden larch trees at Panorama Mountain Resort |
My family participated in one of the guided larch hikes at Panorama Mountain Resort near Invermere, BC a few years ago and it was one of the most incredible opportunities we've experienced for fall hiking.
After a couple years hiatus with no tours offered, Panorama is offering their guided colourful summit ridge walks again for 2021.
This year's tours will run on Saturday, September 18th and Sunday, September 19th for 2021. And I've heard that the Saturday tours are already sold out so I'd book for a Sunday tour ASAP.
2022 DISCLAIMER - These tours have been cancelled this year. The hope is that they will return for 2023.
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| It doesn't get more colourful than this! Fall hiking at Panorama Mountain Resort |
What to Expect from a Guided Fall Summit Ridge Walk at Panorama
1. Three chairlift rides whisk you to the top of the mountain!
You'll ride the Mile 1 Express Chair, the Champagne Express Chair, and the Summit Quad on your way to the top of the Panorama Ski Resort before you begin your hike along the ridge above the Taynton Bowl.
This means you'll save yourself 1300 metres of height gain that you'd normally be climbing in order to reach the Goldie Plateau.
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| Climb 1300 metres - or take a few chairlifts! Easy decision for us! |
And I don't know about you, but my child is not going to climb 1300+ metres to hike through a larch forest. He was most excited though to watch those metres pass by from his seat on each chairlift - and he loved riding the same lifts that he's ridden in winter, looking down on his favourite ski runs (now covered in grass.)
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| We reached the Taynton Bowl at the top of Panorama Mountain Resort (with no climbing involved!) |
2. Options for three different hikes (something for all abilities)
The Goldie Plateau is the easiest destination to reach and only has 85 metres of height gain. The distance is 2.2 km one way and it's an easy walk along the ridge above the Taynton Bowl through golden larch trees.
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| Hiking along the ridge above the Taynton Bowl towards the Goldie Plateau |
"Located between Mt Goldie and Taynton Bowl, this walk is the easiest of the three with mostly flat and gently undulating terrain with some steep sections. Enjoy stunning views to the Purcells and into Taynton Bowl as you walk among the stunning colours of the alpine larch."
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| At the Goldie Plateau (and we're about to climb that mountain in the background!) |
Goldie Lake was the next option we could have chosen and we did hike back this way on return from Mount Goldie. This destination has an elevation loss of 27 metres and a distance of 2.8 km one way.
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| Goldie Lake is a stunning destination for a family day hike |
"Located beneath Mt Goldie, little Goldie Lake is surrounded by dense stands of golden alpine larch and picturesque views of Mt Goldie and the surrounding peaks. The walk involves some sustained descents and ascents as you walk down to the lake and then hike back up to the main trail. This is a great hike for families with kids who are confident hikers."
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| The larch trees around Goldie Lake are spectacular! |
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| Golden larch trees at Goldie Lake |
Mt. Goldie is the ultimate destination if you have the stamina to summit an actual peak. We chose this hike and it was amazing! The elevation gain is only 267 metres (thanks to the chairlift rides) and the distance is a short 3.3 km one way.
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| Standing on Mt. Goldie at Panorama Mountain Resort |
"Ascending Mt Goldie is a breathtaking experience! Standing 2653m above sea level, be prepared to scramble up a shale field to the ridge of Mt Goldie and you will be rewarded with stunning views of the alpine larch, the Purcell & Rocky Mountains, Lake Windermere, East Fork Valley and Goldie Lake. You need to be a strong and confident hiker."
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| Looking down on Goldie Lake from the top of Mt. Goldie |
3. Small group sizes of about 15 people each
Try finding a hike at Lake Louise with only 15 people on the trail! It's impossible any time of the year.
When we showed up in the day lodge we were divided into groups based on our chosen hike for the day, and then the groups all separated so you were never hiking with a crowd of other people. And while there could have been more than one group going to the same destination, we all split up by the time each group rode up the chairlifts and so you'd only see the other groups off in the distance.
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| Enjoy gorgeous backcountry hiking with a small group of other people (and no crowds!) |
4. The tours are family-friendly
Children 5 and under are free, and juniors/youth receive a discount. My son was the only child in our group, but that's because we chose the summit hike. There were more families on the Goldie Lake hike.
The pace of our hike was never overly fast, and my son, age 9 at the time, easily kept up. There were rest breaks, snack breaks, and we enjoyed a long break at Goldie Lake on the return after reaching the summit.
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| Climbing up the snowy shale on the slopes of Mt. Goldie |
I also appreciated that each group could customize their tour to a degree depending on the strength of that individual group. My group was fairly strong so we descended Mt. Goldie off the far side of the ridge in order to reach Goldie Lake, returning on that trail, and completing a nice backcountry loop. This wasn't the normal "Mt. Goldie" descent route, but we sure appreciated the extra ridge walk and the off-trail rambling down to Goldie Lake.
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| Extending our hike to include Goldie Lake on our way down from Mt. Goldie |
5. Lunch is included with each tour
Tickets include chairlift access, your guided walk, a gourmet packed lunch with snacks, and an après drink at one of the restaurants at the base of the resort at the end.
Note that children's tickets (for kids 5 and under) do not include the packed lunch since their admission to the tour is free. Children 6+ receive a lunch though along with the adults.
We were able to choose what we wanted in our lunch (there were several options for sandwiches) and then we each carried our own lunch in our backpack.
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| There were lots of opportunities for rest and snack breaks on the tour |
Our Personal Colourful Summit Ridge Walk Experience
When we did the tour, our son was 9 years old at the time. A strong hiker, we knew he'd have no problem with the Mt. Goldie Summit hike (and he didn't.)
We rode up the three chairlifts, hiked across the top of the Taynton Bowl to the Goldie Plateau, and then started working our way up the steep scree and shale slopes of Mt. Goldie.
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| This kid was pretty excited to be hiking above the Monster extreme slopes at Panorama |
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| There was a lot of snow already on our climb up Mt. Goldie |
On top of the first peak along the summit ridge we took a long break and decided if we wanted to return the way we came, or if we wanted to extend our hike along the ridge to a second peak, descending down to Goldie Lake. We'd met up with a second group by this point, and so there would have been an option for some people to continue, and for others to turn back. Everybody decided to carry on though.
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| Family summit shot on Mt. Goldie |
From the first summit of Mt. Goldie, we enjoyed a beautiful ridge walk to the shale slopes we'd run down to the larch forest below, making our way down to Goldie Lake.
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| We had a lot of fun running down the shale from Mt. Goldie |
It was absolutely spectacular hiking around Goldie Lake, and for larch trees, this was the most beautiful part of our day.
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| Looking down at Goldie Lake from the slopes of Mt. Goldie above |
We had a nice rest break at Goldie Lake, and then from the lake we had to climb back up to the plateau where we started following the "Get me down" ski traverse to the top of the Champagne Chair. We only took the Summit Quad up at the beginning of the day, riding down two of the three chairlifts at the end of the day.
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| Larch trees as far as you can see around Goldie Lake |
I wish I could tell you exactly how many kilometres we hiked in total, but I'd estimate it to be around 9 km by the time we'd hiked down to the top of the Champagne Chair. From start to finish our tour took at least 5 hours with many rest stops (so you want to make sure your whole day is free and that you don't have plans late afternoon.)
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| Hiking down to the top of the Champagne Chair at the end of our hike |
We also spent the weekend at Panorama Mountain Resort so we could enjoy the hot pools after our hike, and so we wouldn't have to drive a long distance in the morning, risking being late. It was nice to be able to go out for dinner on the hill as well at the end of the day.
In general, it was a perfect weekend and I can't think of a better way to celebrate the autumn season.
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| High above the clouds at Panorama Mountain Resort |
Planning Tips (what to expect from your ridge walk at Panorama)
- Expect snow. As you can see from my photos, it was bordering on late fall weather when we were at Panorama for our tour. My son actually wore his winter boots with snow pants and we brought microspikes with us, expecting the rock to be slippery up top.
- Be prepared with layers of clothing!! At the summit of Mt. Goldie I was wearing a toque and a winter jacket. Lower down, we were stripping to long sleeve shirts and carrying our jackets in our packs. Pack gloves, hats, waterproof pants or even snow pants for the kids, and be prepared for temperature changes through the day. The morning will also start off chilly (and the chairlift rides were cold.)
- Expect a wide range of ages in all groups. There are no "family specific" groups so you could be hiking with other families, couples, or groups of fit seniors. This should work for most youth, but if your children need other kids along, make sure you bring friends with you.
- Pack your own favourite snacks and supplemental lunch items for the kids and bring your own water. While the hike is catered, you don't want to show up to find out that your child doesn't like the snacks they've been given, the bread the sandwich has been made with, etc.
- Personally, I recommend choosing either the Goldie Lake Hike or the Mt. Goldie Summit Hike. The Plateau was pretty, but not quite worth three chairlift rides to reach. If you're going to pay the money for a guided tour, you also want to choose a destination that needs a guide. The Goldie Plateau was just reached by walking along the ridge above the Taynton Bowl. Most families should have no problems reaching the lake.
- Want to hike around the Goldie Plateau or to the summit of Mt. Goldie on your own without the guided hike? Well, you can't. (unless you want to climb 1500+ metres from the bottom of the resort.) The chairlifts have closed for the season and the Champagne Express Quad along with the Summit Quad are actually only open during the summer season for this special guided hiking weekend.
If you were to visit the resort in the summer and you wanted to hike to Goldie Lake, you'd be looking at 900+ metres of height gain from the top of the Mile 1 Express Quad. (and that's only to the lake, not to the actual summit of Mt. Goldie.)
So, this is your BEST chance to summit Mt. Goldie (or to hike to Goldie Lake) without 900-1000 metres of height gain and a looooong day hiking with the kids. Panorama gives you this special opportunity for one weekend only when they run all three chairlifts for this special weekend of guided hikes. - Have lots of energy and stamina? Make sure you ask your guide if you can do both Mt. Goldie and Goldie Lake. There is an optional ridge walk extension after summiting Mt. Goldie which will take you off-trail and down to the lake on an unofficial route. Our guide suggested this ending to our hike and we were thrilled!!
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| Reach the top of Mt. Goldie in less than 300 metres of height gain ( for one weekend only!) |
For More Information
For more information on the tour, to purchase tickets, or to make reservations to stay at the resort during your visit, please visit the Panorama Mountain Resort website.
Disclaimer: Our participation on this tour along with our weekend stay was hosted by Panorama Mountain Resort. As always, all opinions are my own.
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