Researched route, Banff
Banff, Sunshine Village road
A long forest trail under avalanche paths, then open meadows to a wide pass west of Sunshine Village, with gentle skiing up top.
Healy Pass is the broad, open saddle between Healy Pass Peak and the north end of Monarch Ramparts, at the head of Healy Creek in Banff National Park, west of the Sunshine Village ski area near Banff. It's about 9.1 km and 750 m of climbing to the pass, on the summer trail the whole way. First comes a long forest valley below avalanche paths, then open meadows and larches. The trail is the common, well documented way to the gentle meadow skiing around the pass and Healy Meadows. Where you go and what you ski there is your call. We built this route from research and haven't skied it ourselves.
We built this route from our own extensive research. All resources are cited on the dashboard. We haven't skied it ourselves, the routes illustrated may not be the best line choice, use your own judgement when planning. Remember you are still responsible for your own tour.
Last checked October 20, 2026.
| Distance | about 18.1 km round trip, 9.1 km to the pass |
| Elevation gain | about 750 m, counting the ups and downs on the trail |
| Slope angles | mostly 5 to 17 degrees on the line; steep slopes on either side of the valley for the first 5.5 km; around the pass mostly 9 to 18 degrees, with steeper ground on Monarch Ramparts and Healy Pass Peak; terrain data reads low |
| Trailhead | 1,664 m |
| High point | 2,330 m, the published height of the pass; OpenStreetMap's pass and Avalanche Canada reports posted at the pass agree on where the trail crosses it; terrain data reads 2,360 m |
| Nearest town | Banff |
| Pass required | Parks Canada |
| Skied by us | Not yet |
Take the Trans-Canada west past Banff and turn off onto Sunshine Road. It ends at the Sunshine Village base and its big parking lot, and the trail starts behind the gondola base and the day lodge. Two guides describe a back lot past the gondola building that people heading into the backcountry use, and one says to tell the lot attendants you're going to Healy Pass. We couldn't find that rule on Sunshine Village's own pages, so it may change. The lot is busy on ski days, so it pays to get there early.
From November to May, Sunshine Road runs between two of Parks Canada's intermittent avalanche closure zones: Mount Bourgeau to the north and Eagle Mountain to the south. When Avalanche Canada's forecast headline announces avalanche control, those areas are legally closed. Parks Canada brings down slides above the road with explosives from a helicopter (Avalanche Canada MIN reports, 2022-12-28 and 2023-04-14), so read the forecast headline before you drive up. On Parks Canada's map, the Mount Bourgeau zone reaches the west end of the lot and runs along the north side of Healy Creek, close to where the trail starts. When the lot fills, cars have parked along the access road. Parks Canada once banned that, citing avalanche risk and people walking along the road, and a federal court set the ban aside in 2017. That roadside stretch is inside the closure zones.
The first part of the climb is the bottom of the Ski Out, the resort's run back to its base. Sunshine Village allows uphill travel through the resort only on its marked uphill routes, and the Ski Out is one of them. It asks uphill skiers to follow its posted rules and signs, watch for its machines and downhill skiers, and carry lights or reflectors in poor light.
Stopping in Banff National Park takes a Parks Canada pass. When we checked Parks Canada's bulletins, we found no winter closure for the Healy Pass trail. Read Parks Canada's Banff, Yoho and Kootenay avalanche forecast on Avalanche Canada before you go. We'd leave our plan with someone who isn't coming.
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