Coronet Creek
The Coronet Creek Trail should be a very popular hike, but not many people know it because its a challenge to get to the trailhead. It starts at the far end of Maligne Lake, 21 km from your vehicle. The lake is restricted to canoes, kayaks, and small boats with electric motors only. We paddled down to the far end of the lake and camped there for 2 nights. We hiked up Coronet Creek on our second day.
The trail starts at the campground near where Coronet Creek enters the lake. It follows the stream up through the forest on a moderate grade into the upper reaches of the valley.
We encountered bear tracks by the side of the creek and we ran into fresh scats higher up, so we turned around before we entered grizzly country at the foot of the moraines. We still had fine scenery at this spot, with Coronet Glacier ahead.
The upper end of the hike is in sub-alpine terrain with glacier-covered peaks on 3 sides.
We want to return to this hike on a day when we can more safely explore the moraines, tarns, ridges, and hanging glaciers.
The hike is 16 km (return), on a single track on an enjoyable grade (a total climb of only 280m) into remote and rugged scenery. We saw no one on the trail and, since there are only 6 tent sites at the campground, it would be unlikely to have more than one party on the trail on any given day. The hike has much to offer, but just camping at Coronet Creek is also reward enough.