Hike up Galatea Creek to Lillian Lake

Located on Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail) and marked by the "Galatea" sign, there's not much more to this hike other than putting one foot in front of the other, but the amount of traffic it sees is a testament to the quality of this hike.

Even on the backend of winter the numerous shades of green offered great contrast to the looming grey mountains and the bluebird sky. Walking down the path felt like a dream with chickadees fluttering about, and squirrels zig-zagging across the trail, as well as the sections of the hike that offered total silence that would be broken by the rustling of the wind or the creaking of the surrounding spruce. And oh my goodness is this creek beautiful! Small waterfalls everywhere you look, multiple bridge crossings, and it blends easily into the mountains to the east as you gain elevation.

You can follow the trail along Galatea Creek until you reach Lillian Lake - the first creek encountered on this hike. Lillian Lake rests at the base of Mount Galatea. Mountain lakes are always so neat to see the vast expanse of smooth water or snow with a huge hunk of limestone hovering in the distance. For those craving more adventure, Lower and Upper Galatea Lakes await you further down the trail - about 2 km (1.25 miles) and 180 m (600 feet) gain.

The one hitch about this hike is that it requires a bit of attention to keep track of trail markers (pink, red, or blue flagging). Since quite a bit of the trail was destroyed during floods in 2013, these keep all adventurers on track!