Prepare To Be Awe-Stricken: Devil’s Thumb Hike

June 27, 2023

Devil’s Thumb is one of the distinguishable peaks seen from the Lake Agnes Teahouse. It stands above Big Beehive and below Mounts Niblock and Whyte. The peak features a view of both Lake Louise and Lake Agnes as well as the majestic alpine views of Mounts Aberdeen, Lefroy and Victoria.

Distance: 12.7 km
Elevation gain: 939 m
Average time: 5-7 hours

Venturing Out

On August 5, 2023, Arianne, Novelyn, Pauline and Timi ventured out to Lake Louise to hike Devil’s Thumb.

Considering parking issues at Lake Louise, we had intended to leave at 5:00 AM, but Roxanne forgot her boots so she and Pauline had to turn around to grab them. After a quick breakfast/coffee stop, we were on our way out of Calgary at around 5:20 AM.

We arrived at the Lake Louise parking lot about 7:15 AM. The entrance to the bottom parking was already barricaded, but we followed the cars in front of us who snuck in through the other way. There were about 4 cars ahead of us, and we all secured a spot. By the time we walked away, both entrance and exit ways were barricaded.

We quickly found out that Lake Louise restrooms open at 7:30 AM. We then started the straightforward hike towards the Lake Agnes Tea House. We took a 15 minute break at the teahouse, enjoying the smell of toast under the early morning sun. We kept an eye on our objective and our path forward. Arianne shared that this hike would be a good objective for a solo adventure.

We then walked around Lake Agnes following the trail to the Big Beehive. The path gets steeper from here but still well defined and not intimidating. We reached the three-point intersection, where turning left leads to the Big Beehive, straight to the Plane of Six Glacier loop, and right to Devil’s Thumb. From here, majority of the crowd settles at the Big Beehive.

The way to Devil’s Thumb is suddenly super quiet. The path is mostly defined with a possibility of taking steeper routes than necessary. AllTrails map was helpful. Scan the area for a more-defined path.

Astounding Views

We then take on the steepest part of the hike. It was easy to make this a difficult trudge through a very steep section that can be mistaken as a path. We kept left and found the path closer to the trees.

Once this was done, the rest of the way to the top was straightforward.

The Payoff

We reached the beautiful boulders on Devil’s Thumb, and we savored the top for ourselves for about 20 minutes. Three more groups shared the summit with us after that.

By the time we reached back down to Lake Louise early in the afternoon, the area was crowded and traffic was slow. The early morning rise paid off.

Our Adventure Log

Trailhead: Lake Louise, Alberta

Start Time: 7:45 AM
End Time: 2:40 PM

Group Size: 5 participants

Preparing for the Hike

Transportation: Visiting Lake Louise and Moraine Lake – Banff National Park
Trail Conditions and Map: Devil’s Thumb via Lake Agnes Trail, Alberta, Canada – 1,828 Reviews, Map | AllTrails