Tryst Lake

BOU AVENUE
Tryst Lake

With both of us taking advantage of a day off from work on 29 September 2025, Zosia Zgolak and I accompanied Teresa Kosmala for a hike to Tryst Lake in Alberta's Spray Valley Provincial Park. Although Zosia and I had both skied to the lake in the spring of 2019, this would be my second time hiking there during larch season. It is astonishing to consider that back in the fall of 2004, my party did not see another soul throughout our entire hike. Nowadays, Tryst Lake has become one of the most popular larch-viewing destinations largely because it is so easy to access especially for mothers with babies! Sure enough, the parking lot was full when we arrived at the trailhead (50.83880, -115.35103), and cars were parked well past the turnoff from Mount Shark Road. All we could do was shrug and count our blessings that we were able to find a reasonable spot to park that was not too far from the trailhead.

Except for a lone hiker heading back to the trailhead, Teresa, Zosia and I surprisingly did not see anybody else on the 1.8-kilometre approach to the Tryst Lake turnoff which is marked by a cairn. Even the trail going up to the lake was relatively quiet as we passed two women with two very young infants and an older group of five. Only when we got close to the lake did we see more people but not as many as we were expecting given the numerous cars at the trailhead. The water level was significantly lower than in 2004, and I wonder if the lake will eventually dry up in subsequent years if precipitation remains low. After stopping for some requisite photographs, we circled around the northern shore and then followed a beaten path up to a basin beyond the west end of the lake. Probably because there is no body of water here, few hikers bother to continue to the basin, but that suited us just fine as we stopped to enjoy some solitude and close-up views of The Fist.

When we had our fill of snacks and larches, Teresa, Zosia and I retraced our steps back to the lake and out the same trail without incident. Again, we encountered a couple other parties on the way out, but overall, the hike was not the crowded ordeal we had been dreading.

	Cars are parked along the road because the trailhead parking lot is already full.
	Zosia and Teresa arrive at the turnoff to Tryst Lake.
	A few larches begin to appear as Teresa and Zosia climb up the drainage leading to Tryst Lake.
	Mount Engadine is visible to the northeast from the upper parts of the drainage.
	Tryst Lake has far less water on this day compared to the last time Sonny hiked here in the fall of 2004.

Maybe next year, we'll come back and hike the ridge above the lake.

Teresa and Zosia walk around the north side of Tryst Lake.

	Here is a closer look at the north face of The Fist.
	This is looking back at Tryst Lake from its west end.
	Zosia ascends a corridor through the trees leading to a basin below the north face of The Fist.
	Zosia and Teresa follow a beaten path into the basin.
	Sonny, Zosia and Teresa stop at a larch-covered knoll (2160 metres) in the basin.
	This is looking back at a part of Tryst Lake from the basin. The pointy peak at far left is Mount Galatea.

I'm not sure if I want to re-visit Tent Ridge when there is a conga line of hikers up there!

Larches abound on the slopes of Tent Ridge above the knoll.

	Sonny finds an abundance of wild strawberries in the basin.
	Total Distance: 8.6 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 4 hours 10 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 319 metres GPX Data