LOCATION
The Rockgarden Trail is found in Canada’s Glacier National Park. The trailhead is located along Trans Canada Highway 1 in British Columbia between Mount Revelstoke and Yoho National Parks. Look for a sign marking the trailhead about 55 kilometers east of Revelstoke or 13 kilometers west of the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre. Keep an eye out — coming from Revelstoke, we didn’t see any signs until the turnoff for the trailhead.
LENGTH
0.4 mile lollipop loop
DIFFICULTY
Moderate — The Rockgarden Trail is quite short, but part of the route crosses a field of boulders where there is no real trail to speak of. Be prepared to climb over and around rocks both large and small.
WE HIKED IT
August, 2023, about half an hour
CURRENT INFO
A map and reviews for the Rockgarden Trail are available on the AllTrails website. Check out the Glacier National Park website with Parks Canada for more information about the park.
GOOD TO KNOW
- All visitors must pay the national park entrance fee or have a valid annual Parks Canada Discovery Pass to park at the Rockgarden Trailhead in Glacier National Park. Passes can be purchased at visitor centres, including the ones at Snowforest Campground in Mount Revelstoke National Park and the Rogers Discovery Centre in Glacier National Park. Check the Glacier National Park website for current information.
- The Rockgarden Trail is open from roughly June through October.
- A vault toilets is available at the Rockgarden trailhead.
- Look for interpretive brochures at the trailhead. Symbols in the brochure match those along the trail and provide insight into the Rockgarden.
- Wear shoes or boots with good traction. Although the trail is very short, it lives up to its name, and requires climbing across a field of boulders.
- Always follow Leave No Trace principles.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Rockgarden Trail is a great place to stop and stretch your legs on the drive through British Columbia’s Glacier National Park. Climbing through the boulders makes it more engaging than a simple, easy half-mile hike, and the views of Rogers Pass are gorgeous.
THE KIDS’ TAKE
My kids loved the Rockgarden Trail. In fact, it may have been their favorite hike of our trip. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but this trail hit two major criteria for them: it was short enough to keep them continuously engaged, and they could climb rocks for almost the entire hike. In my experience, the kids care more about the tactile experience of the hike than the views, and Rockgarden was all about the experience. In short, we highly recommend the Rockgarden Trail for active kids.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE
Glacier National Park in Canada offers an incredible array of hikes. If you, like us, are short on time but want to explore a little more, try the Hemlock Grove Boardwalk, located just two kilometers west of the Rockgarden Trail along Trans Canada Highway 1. Thirteen kilometers to the east, the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre offers a great look at the local flora and fauna, as well as the surprisingly fascinating world of avalanche control.
Campers can overnight at Illecillewaet Campground, located within Glacier National Park, for the chance to explore more hiking opportunities. Glacier National Park is also within an hour’s drive of Revelstoke, another great home base. We stayed in the lovely Snowforest Campground in Mount Revelstoke National Park before driving through Glacier on our way to Yoho National Park.
Our Experience
We almost missed the turnoff. In fact, we did miss it, and had to turn around about half a mile (aka about a kilometer) down the road, which is not always an easy thing to do on the Trans Canada Highway. Fortunately, it’s easy to turn into the Rockgarden trailhead parking lot when heading from the east. Despite the small size of the lot and the fact that we were towing our teardrop trailer, we quickly found a parking spot.
From the parking lot, the trail starts off as an easy boardwalk. But don’t let that fool you; things are about to get interesting…
The boardwalk led to a fork in the trail. We decided to head right and follow the loop in a counterclockwise direction. Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by moss-covered boulders. The sounds of the highway disappeared and the air temperature dropped. On a warm day, it was almost like walking into an air-conditioned building. Except, of course, buildings don’t look quite like this…
After passing through the boulders (and climbing over the boulders), a trail of irregular stepping stones led up and through the forest. When we emerged, we were greeted by a fantastic view of Rogers Pass and the Selkirk Mountains.
By this time, we had also noticed some mysterious symbols carved into several of the great boulders. We were intrigued, but had no clue as to the meaning behind them. I later discovered that they match the symbols found in a brochure available at the trailhead that provides interpretive information for the Rockgarden Trail. Perhaps they were out of brochures during our visit, as we never saw them, but take a look if you go to see if you have better luck.
At this point in our short hike, the Rockgarden Trail was really living up to its name. A massive jumble of jagged boulders lay before us, and I could barely make out the outline of a trail amidst the rocks. In some places, a simple stone trail led the way, while in other places we had to pick and choose our own path amongst the boulders. The kids, naturally, thought this was the best trail ever.
After crossing the rock field, it was time to head back down. This is perhaps the trickiest section of the Rockgarden Trail. For the most part, you’ll rely on your own sense of balance, but railings have been installed in a few key spots.
Envigorated from the hike, we made it back to our car with only one minor tumble. The Rockgarden Trail may be small, but what an experience! It certainly left us wanting to discover more of Glacier National Park. Someday, I hope we will.
