Burgess Shale Bc Canada

The Burgess Shale, Yoho National Park, British Columbia

In 1909, American paleontologist Charles Walcott was riding a horse near the Field area in the Canadian Rockies when his horse slipped on a section of exposed shale. The rock split, revealing fossils of extraordinary detail: soft-bodied marine animals from 508 million years ago, preserved in a completeness that should have been impossible. Walcott came back the following summer with a team and began excavating what became the Walcott Quarry, eventually sending roughly 65,000 specimens to the Smithsonian. What he found in those black mudstone slabs changed the understanding of animal evolution: here was the Cambrian explosion preserved in detail no previous discovery had approached.

The Burgess Shale site in Yoho National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You cannot visit it independently. All access is through guided hikes with Parks Canada, and the 2026 bookings opened on January 20 at 8am MT. If you want to go in July or August, you are competing with a limited number of spots and need to book months ahead through parks.canada.ca or by phone at 1-877-737-3783.

The Hikes

Walcott Quarry is the flagship experience: an 11-hour guided hike (7am to 6pm) operating July through September, covering about 20 kilometres return with significant elevation gain to the original discovery site. Adult price is $131 CAD; youth $89; senior $110. Children under 8 are not permitted. You will see actual Cambrian fossils in the rock face under the guide’s instruction. This is not a museum reproduction. It is among the most scientifically significant geology you can stand inside.

Mount Stephen is a 7.5-hour guided hike from the Yoho National Park Visitor Centre in Field, B.C., less strenuous than Walcott Quarry but equally rich in fossils. This was Walcott’s initial survey site before he found the main quarry.

Stanley Glacier in adjacent Kootenay National Park offers a 10-kilometre return hike of 365 metres elevation gain, with Burgess Shale fossil sites in a different geological formation. A shorter commitment.

All hike participants need a valid National Parks pass obtained at least one day before the tour; there is nowhere to buy one in person before the 7am start times. From June 19 to September 7 2026, Parks Canada national parks are free for admission, which changes the economics.

Staying in Field

The town of Field, B.C., immediately adjacent to Yoho National Park, has a population of about 200 people and a handful of accommodation options. The Emerald Lake Lodge, 9 kilometres from Field on the road to Emerald Lake, is the premium choice: log lodge construction, lake views, rooms from around CAD 400-600 per night. Simple guesthouses in Field itself start around CAD 100-150.

Truffle Pigs Bistro in Field is the best restaurant in the area, doing comfort-focused Canadian cooking with local ingredients. Dinner reservations useful in peak season.

The Rest of Yoho

The national park around the Burgess Shale has other draws that most visitors combine with the fossil hike.

Takakkaw Falls is one of Canada’s highest waterfalls at 373 metres, accessible by a short paved walk from the parking area. Dramatic in spring and early summer.

Emerald Lake has a colour that looks photoshopped and isn’t, produced by light refraction in the glacial flour suspended in the water. A 5-kilometre loop trail circles the lake.

Natural Bridge, a rock arch formed by the Kicking Horse River eroding through limestone, is a quick roadside stop.

The Spiral Tunnels viewpoint near Field shows two interlocked railway tunnels that solved the impossibly steep grade on the original CPR mainline through Kicking Horse Pass; you can watch a freight train disappear into the mountain on one side and emerge further down the other.

Practical Notes

Field sits at about 1,245 metres elevation. Summer temperatures are mild but alpine weather can shift quickly. Bring layers regardless of the forecast.

Yoho is accessible from Calgary (about 3 hours west on the Trans-Canada Highway) or from Vancouver (about 8 hours east). Banff is 30 minutes east and most visitors combine these parks in a Canadian Rockies itinerary. The parks are spectacular and the Trans-Canada corridor can be busy in July and August; the Burgess Shale hikes get you off the main corridor entirely.