Summer & trails · Island Lake
Goldilocks Trail · Part One
A 9.5 km return hike from the lodge via Spineback, with an alpine loop around Baby Bear.
From the lodge, follow Spineback to the second bench, then complete the Goldilocks Loop around Baby Bear. Return to the lodge along the same Spineback approach. The eastern loop descends between Baby Bear and Mama Bear to rejoin Spineback.
- Route type: Out-and-back with a loop
- Distance: 9.5 km lodge-to-lodge
- Estimated time: 4.5–5.5 hours for the full trip
- Elevation gain: 740 m for the full trip
The printed guide gives the combined distance and elevation gain. The time estimate adds the published 3–4 hours for Spineback and 1.5 hours for the upper loop. Allow extra time for breaks and conditions.
Plan your trail day
The published trail guide is a planning reference. Allow for your group’s pace, changing weather and seasonal access. Difficult alpine routes require navigation skills and preparation.
View the summer trail map · Download the full trail guide · Summer questions
Trail guide
See the Goldilocks Loop route in 3D.
Goldilocks starts at the lodge and follows the Spineback Trail to the second bench, then circles the alpine loop around Baby Bear before retracing the approach. All in it is about nine and a half kilometres lodge to lodge with 740 metres of climbing, taking most parties four and a half to five and a half hours. The loop itself is the reward: high meadows, big views, and a real sense of the alpine. Follow the blue spray-painted dots on the upper loop. If you find yourself scrambling, you have wandered off the trail.
Elevation profile
- Mapped distance
- 5.3 km
- Climbing
- 866 m
- High point
- 2,106 m
Profile sampled from open elevation data along the mapped route; treat distances and climbing as approximate. Distances and times in the trail guide above are the published figures.
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