Top of the World in Winter
Top of the World trail is a must see hike due to the beautiful views. Too bad it was foggy outside and we were unable to see beautiful Falcon Lake! The foggy view was still impressive and hiking as a family and creating shared memories together is always worth it.
Top of the World trail, in the Whiteshell, near Falcon Ridge Resort, is a great hike for families, even in winter! It’s relatively short (3.5km loop trail) and has many features to enjoy along the way. Features include: lots of rocks to climb up, little wooden bridges and wood structures for bikes (the kids scaled some of these and had lots of fun) and of course the main feature is the beautiful view of Falcon Lake.
This is the red roof outhouse (with map) by Falcon Trails Resort which is close to the trailhead.
Parking: Park at the Falcon Ridge Ski Slopes. There is a nice parking lot there. DO NOT park where the trailhead starts which is near the Falcon Trails Resort. The parking there is for the customers, not for hikers like us. Instead, park at the ski slopes, walk back until you see a small building that has a red roof with the above map on the front. Across the road from the building, will be the trailhead.
Trailhead sign - follow!
Trailhead: the trailhead name starts off as High Lake Trail. I know it’s confusing but it’s correct. Follow High Lake Trail until you see signs for Top of the World which will be a loop that goes back to High Lake Trail and then go back down to finish the hike.
The Trail: Once you are on High Lake Trail, you start to hike uphill right away. This is the ridge and it’s the “hardest” part. It’s a gentle uphill and the kids enjoyed going up and up.
Hiking up the ridge
At the time we went, there was not a lot of snow but there was some ice. There were lots of parts that were very icy and it was hard to get up the ridge.
Lots of icy sections hiking up the ridge
Once you are at the top of the ridge, the High Lake Trail path continues and soon after there is a wooden structure that says “Top of the World.” There are two options here:
Option 1: you can go right down this path and get to the lookout sooner, then have a big loop to complete that returns to High Lake Trail.
Option 1
Option 2: keep going on the High Lake Trail and there will be another sign for Top of the World Trail. Then you walk the loop, get to the lookout and continue the loop till you get to the wooden structure.
Option 2
We took option 2 so that we would hike more before we saw the lookout, take our break at the lookout and then have less kms to get back to High Lake Trail.
Top of the World view was a little foggy. Beautiful view even though we couldn’t see the lake below.
The loop had some snow on the trail but also bare along some sections. We walked on tree roots and leaves. It did not feel like a winter hike at all. There were also lots of icy parts and we stopped a lot so that we could have fun and crack the ice.
After completing the loop we ended up at the wooden structure and then we were back on High Lake Trail. We then went back down the ridge to the trailhead.
If you are wanting a longer hike, you can always do the High Lake Trails loop. This will add another 3.5 km to your hike. Check out AllTrails for additional information.
Distance and Times Hiking with Kids:
We left the trailhead at 2:30pm and we were at the lookout at 3:30 pm. This was more than the half way point. We sat on the bench that has the beautiful lookout and had a snack and drank water. We left the lookout at 3:50m pm and got back to the trailhead at 4:15pm. Total Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes. Total Distance: 3.5 km
Hiking with Kids: Find a walking stick and off you go!
General Info for Hiking with Kids in Winter:
Keep kids moving, fed and watered when hiking with kids in winter.
Reminder: limited sunlight hours! We were done our hike at 4:15 pm which meant that we had about 15 minutes left of sunlight. When you are hiking in winter, please remember to bring flashlights/headlamps just in case.
The 10 Essentials for Hiking (and a few more for winter): Check out our Instagram Reel!
Hiking can be a wonderful way to connect with nature and family. If you have any specific questions about the trail or if you'd like more information about hiking with kids in general, feel free to ask!