Park overview
High in the Kootenay Ranges of the Rocky Mountains is one of the alpine gems of our park system. Top of the World Park is an area of great beauty.
The park is part of the Top of the World Plateau, most of which is at an elevation in excess of 2,200 m. The jagged peaks of the Hughes Range form a backdrop to the west, and the Van Nostrand Range dominated by Mount Morro at 2,912 m, marks the highest point in the park.
Camping and hiking are popular activities in this backcountry park that has many family-friendly features. An easy and well maintained trail leads to Fish Lake, where a 16 site lake-side campground is located. There is also a public cabin which can accommodate 14 to 18 people.
Although remote, Top of the World Park is beautiful in winter, and is popular with cross-country skiers and ice fishers alike.
Advisories
Dates of operation
Park status:
Open
The park gate is open year-round
- Facility type
- Cabins and huts
- Number of campsites
- Cabins: 1
- Main operating season
- 2023: Year-round
- Winter season
- Limited services
- Service note
- weather permitting
- Facility type
- Backcountry camping
- Main operating season
- 2023: Year-round
- Winter season
- Limited services
- Booking required
- 2023: Year-round
- Winter season note
- Winter camping is available depending on the accessibility to the trailhead via the Forest Service access road.
Safety info
Be Prepared
Please be aware that the park is a wilderness area, without supplies or equipment of any kind. All arrangements for supplies and transportation must be made beforehand. All park visitors should wear strong waterproofed, lug-soled boots and carry a daypack with raingear, extra warm clothing and food. For overnight trips, a sleeping bag, ground pad, waterproof tent or bivouac bag and lightweight stove are essential. Only experienced climbers practiced in crevasse rescue and properly roped should venture onto snowfields and glaciers.
Weather
Weather conditions can change suddenly in this area and lightning storms with hail and snow are common in summer. About half of the days in summer are sunny, with temperatures soaring to 30 degrees celsius. At nights, the thermometer will often drop below the freezing mark. In July and August, precipitation, mostly in the form of rain, totals about 110 mm. Fish Lake is usually free of ice by mid-June, with freeze-up occurring in late October. The access trail is passable on foot from early June to November. Snow and wet spots are present until late June. Alpine meadows and trails are not free of snow until mid-July.
Access and Trails
- Trail Report [PDF] (July 27, 2023) Trail reports are updated regularly from May through August as trails melt out.
- The White-Ram Forest Service Road (Lussier River) in the vicinity of Ram Creek is closed to all traffic east of the Ram Creek hot springs. This closure is required for protection of the environment. Top of the World Park and the upper Lussier River will continue to be accessed via the White-Swan Forest Service Road. If you have any questions regarding this road closure, please contact the Rocky Mountain Forest District (Engineering Department) at 1902 Theatre Road, Cranbrook, B.C. V1C 7G1 or at 250-426-1700.
- Hikers planning to use the first section of the horse trail (alternate trail to Fish Lake) to Sayles Meadow will have to ford the Lussier river, and do so at their own risk. Travel on this section of trail is not recommended for hikers. The second section of the horse trail will still be accessible via the main Fish Lake trail, via Sayles Meadow. This is a good option to explore Crazy Creek and Crazy River side trail on route to Fish Lake.
Special notes
- Loaded logging trucks and other industrial traffic may be encountered while accessing this park. Drive with extreme caution and for your safety always yield to industrial traffic.
- Public communications are not available at this park.
- Top of the World Park is a non-motorized park.
- The Lussier Forest Service Road is not plowed from km 25 to the Top of the World trailhead.
Camping
- Total number of campsites
- Total cabins: 1
There are numerous designated campsites at Fish Lake. They function on a first come, first served basis.
Backcountry camping fee: $5 per person per night (age 6+)
The BC Parks backcountry permit registration service allows you to purchase a backcountry camping permit before leaving home. Although this does not reserve a campsite, it provides the convenience of prepaying for your trip and not having to carry cash. We encourage all visitors to register online so we can reduce the need to collect fees in the field.
- Please use the sanitary facilities that are supplied to prevent lake pollution.
- When toilets are not available, bury human waste at least 15 cm in soil and 30 m from water.
- To ensure drinking water is safe, it must be boiled for at least five minutes.
- Register a trip itinerary with friends, check in and check out.
- When practical, use impacted campsites, otherwise practice Leave No Trace camping ethics.
- If you have a fire, build it on rocks, or remove sod, have fire, then replace sod.
- Food storage facilities are available throughout the park.
The Fish Lake cabin is located on the shore of Fish Lake. The cabin is available on a first come, first served basis and accommodates 14 to 18 people on bunks along the perimeter of the cabin walls.
A wood stove is located in the center of the cabin, but firewood is not provided from October to May. An axe is available. Use extreme caution when cutting wood. Do not split firewood inside the cabin. Trees, dead or alive, are not to be cut for any reason.
- There are also two tables located inside the cabin.
- You must bring in all other camping gear and amenities including sleeping pads and cooking and eating utensils.
- Please pack everything out of the park that you brought in and, when leaving ensure that the cabin is left in a tidy condition and that nothing is left inside the cabin, especially garbage and food.
- No pets or smoking inside the cabin.
Cabin use fee: $15 per person per night or $30 per family per night
Winter camping is available depending on the accessibility to the trailhead via the Forest Service access road.
Facilities
Activities
There are several great hiking trails in this park. For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.
- Trail Report [PDF] (July 27, 2023) updated regularly from May to August as trails melt out.
Visitors can swim at Fish Lake.
Fishing is a major attraction at this park, particularly at Fish Lake which is surrounded by a trail. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
Traditionally, most people who come to Top of the World Park angle for the cutthroat and Dolly Varden trout that thrive in Fish Lake. Cutthroat average 20 cm and Dolly Varden come in at 30 cm.
There are special regulations covering fishing in this park which must be followed so that all visitors will be able to enjoy the park as much as possible:
- There is a bait ban in effect at present.
- Angling with flies and lures is permitted.
- From the beginning of June until July 15, cutthroat trout are spawning. Gently release, unharmed, all dark-coloured trout during this period.
Pets and domestic animals must be on a leash at all times and are not allowed in park buildings. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement.
Cycling is permitted at this park. Mountain bike enthusiasts may only ride the 6 km hiking and horse trail between Nicol Creek trailhead parking lot and Fish Lake. These busy trails are used by young families, therefore cyclists must use extreme caution. Bicycles must keep to pathways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
For details on e-biking within Top of the World Park, see the e-biking section.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Top of the World Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines.
Horseback riding is permitted on the Fish Lake horse trail, Coyote Creek trail and Galbraith Creek trails only. Overnight grazing is prohibited, except in the vicinity of Coyote Creek campsite and Sayles Meadows. Use of pellets and other feed concentrates is encouraged. Grazing should be limited to one night per party in each location. At Fish Lake, horses must be kept 100 metres away from the lake.
Hunting is permitted only during an open season as described in the Wildlife Act and BC Hunting and Trapping Regulations. All guided hunts are by permit only.
Depending on road accessibility to the trailhead, Top of the World provides excellent cross-country skiing and snowshoeing opportunities from the trailhead to Fish Lake and surrounding area.
Top of the World Park is located 48km north-east of the village of Kimberley. Access is via White Swan and Lussier Forest Service Roads, and extreme caution must be exercised at all times while travelling these roads. The access route is normally passable from late May until late October.
Via Whiteswan Lake: Turn east off of Highway 93/95, 4.5 km south of Canal Flats. At kilometre 21.3 take the fork to the right (Lussier River Junction). At kilometre 29.6, turn right and cross Coyote Creek. Continue straight at kilometre 30.7, staying on the main road till reaching kilometre 52. The trail begins at this point.
National Topographic Series map 82G/14W (Queen Creek) at a scale of 1:50,000 covers the park area. These maps are available from most map retailers in British Columbia.
Park and activity maps
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: April 9, 1973
- Size: 8,790 hectares
Nature and culture
History
The area encompassed by Top of the World Park is within the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation. During pre-colonial times, visitors came from as far away as the interior of British Columbia, Montana and Alberta to obtain chert, a grey, translucent, obsidian-like rock that was mined at Top of the World Park and traded as well as worked into tools and weapons. Removal of archeological artifacts within the park is prohibited.
Conservation
At mid elevations, the forests in Top of the World Park consist primarily of old growth balsam and Douglas fir and Engelmann spruce. Some lodgepole pine can be found below 1,700 metres in the Lussier Creek drainage. Sitka alder is common in the lower reaches of the Summer Creek drainage and is found along the Lussier River and around Fish Lake. Near the timber line, alpine larch and white bark pine are interspersed with fir and spruce.
Alpine flowers carpet much of the plateau in July and early August, with glacier lilies, mountain forget-me-nots and western anemone being the most abundant. At lower elevations, there are globe-flowers, Indian paintbrush, broad leafed arnica, bunchberries and yellow columbines adding their vivid splashes of colour.
Wildlife
The park is home to several species of large mammals. Occasional sightings are made of moose, elk, white-tailed deer, wolverine, bear and porcupine in the Lussier River and Coyote Creek watersheds. Mule deer frequent the alpine meadows and marmots are found at higher elevations. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep may be seen in the vicinity of Mount Doolan and near Mount Morro, and mountain goats are seen on the ridges that form the western boundary of the park.
Bird life is abundant around Fish Lake. Clark’s nutcrackers, Steller’s jays, grey jays, varied thrushes and pine grosbeaks inhabit the lake area throughout the summer. Scaups, buffleheads and other waterfowl, including loons, often rest upon the lake. Bald eagles and ospreys are seen in the spring when the fish are spawning. Fish Lake, the largest body of water in the park, is noted for its cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden fishery.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.