Bench Pressed

All photos taken on September 17, 2025.

The rocky formation above Pyramid Lake is often called Pyramid Bench. It is largely responsible for saving this area from the July 2024 wildfire. The fire did not make it over the crest of the ridge between the Athabasca Valley and Pyramid Road. Lucky for us.

On day 2, we were ready to commit to a bit longer, more difficult hike and the Pyramid Overlook on Pyramid Bench was just the ticket. Walking from our bungalow door, the hike totaled 8.6 km (5 1/3 miles) with 317 m (1,040 feet) of elevation gain/loss. Here is the map of this day’s walk, indicated with green arrows.

The hardest part of the walk, both going and coming back was the access road to the resort. Walking on concrete or asphalt does our old feet no favours.

Crossing Pyramid Road, we walked Trail 2 towards Pyramid Lake…

…pausing for this stunning view of Pyramid Mountain over Patricia Lake.

From this angle the formation we named “the Bear” is more recognizable, at least on full Zoom.

We soon switched to 2d, following the cut line…

…until we arrived at 2f.

Slowly, the noise of traffic on Pyramid Road receded and the trail became much more intimate.

This fallen pine trunk shows how the Mountain Pine Beetle slowly kills the tree by chewing its way along under the bark.

As 2b approached 2f, the trail got steeper and the trees got taller.

Bunny tails glowed brightly in the September sunshine

When we reached the junction of 2b and 2j, we walked a ways along 2j for views of the narrow ravine.

Back on 2b, we soon came upon views of Lake Annette…

…shimmering far below.

At the junction of 2b and 2h, we chose 2b up the front side of the Bench.

The path grew ever steeper and rockier as we climbed up to our usual picnic spot.

While the views down the Athabasca Valley were a bit hazy, these views seemed more clear.

From the Overlook, we were able to get a glimpse into many areas below:

1. Jasper town 2. Pyramid Beach 3. hare bells on the precipice, 4. the dock at Patricia Lake Bungalows, 5. Patricia Lake 6. The dock in Pyramid Lake

Closeup and wide angle of canoeists on Pyramid Lake

Lunch and linger over, it was time to start back down. The heat was building and there was a touch of wildfire smoke in the air. Afternoon coffee and chocolates awaited us below.

The climb up had taken 1 hour and 45 minutes, but the hike back down only took one hour.

Retracing our steps gave us a different perspective, and…

…another stellar view of Pyramid Mountain and Patricia Lake.