Opabin Lake is a body of water located at an elevation of in the mountains of

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered ...

, near

Field, British Columbia Field is an unincorporated community of approximately 169 people located in the Kicking Horse River valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, within the confines of Yoho National Park. At an elevation of , it is west of Lake Louise along ...

, Canada. Opabin Lake can be accessed by two climbing trails, the East Opabin trail and the West Opabin trail, which form a 6 km circuit beginning and ending at

Lake O'Hara Lake O'Hara is a lake at an elevation of in the alpine area of Yoho National Park, in the province of British Columbia, on the western side of the Great Divide with the province of Alberta and Banff National Park to the east. The lake and the va ...

. Both trails ascend approximately . East Opabin consists of switchbacks through the woods above Lake O'Hara followed by an uphill hike alongside a stream fed by runoff from the snowy peaks. West Opabin involves a somewhat more rugged ascent, where the mossy woods yield to

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ha ...

, stone steps, and open rocky paths cut into the slopes that offer vistas of Lake O'Hara, Mary Lake, and the surrounding mountains. A third, alpine trail connects the East Opabin trail to nearby

Lake Oesa Lake Oesa is a body of water located at an elevation of in the mountains of Yoho National Park, near Field, British Columbia, Canada, while a trail at the far end of the lake leads to Abbot Hut. The lake gets its name from a Stoney language (Nat ...

Opabin Plateau

Opabin Lake is the major feature on the Opabin Plateau, a

hanging valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

located above and southeast of Lake O'Hara. The plateau is crossed with trails and streams and dotted with small lakes and ponds. The area is inhabited by whistling

hoary marmot The hoary marmot (''Marmota caligata'') is a species of marmot that inhabits the mountains of northwest North America. Hoary marmots live near the tree line on slopes with grasses and forbs to eat and rocky areas for cover. It is the largest Nor ...

pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...

ground squirrel Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents (Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...

s, and reclusive

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

s.Lake O'Hara to Lake Opabin via Lake Oesa and Yukness Ledges (trailpeak.com)
/ref>

References

Yoho National Park Opabin Canadian Rockies Kootenay Land District {{BritishColumbiaInterior-geo-stub