[5] It is recommended to hike the trail south to north from Maligne Lake, as the fire road descending to Signal Mountain on the northern end is an 800 m elevation loss.

The campgrounds provide tent pads, picnic tables, bear poles with metal cables, connectors, and toilets.

The second option, adding 4 km and 500 m of elevation gain, is to climb the Bald Hills by using a well-established shortcut for a view of Maligne Lake before heading down the fire road and joining the trail to the Evelyn Creek bridge.

Snowbowl contains a small cabin called Shangrila, built by Donald "Curly" Phillips in 1936 for skiing enthusiasts.

[citation needed] From Snowbowl Campground, the trail rises through flower-filled meadows to Little Shovel Pass at 17 km.

[citation needed] Beyond the Wabasso junction, Skyline passes Curator Lake then makes a sudden, steep ascent to the Notch at 22 km, the highest point on Skyline, at 2511 m. The next 4 km of the trail are along the crest of the Maligne Range, which is exposed to both mountain views and weather.

These include the timber wolf, black bear, coyote, grizzly bear, moose, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, marten, pika, mountain goat, lynx, marmot, mule deer, porcupine, beaver, elk, wolverine, and cougar.