Top of the World Park

Access and Trails

• Trail Report [PDF] (August 29, 2022) 
  Trail reports updated regularly May-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 Provincial 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.

Be Prepared

• Persons visiting Top of the World Provincial Park are reminded 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. Weather conditions can change suddenly in this area and lightning storms with hail and snow are common in summer. For overnight trips, a sleeping bag, groundpad, 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 are typical of the southern Rocky Mountains. 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. 
   

General 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.

History: The area encompassed by Top of the World Provincial 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 with some lodgepole pine 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.

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.