diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index b5dbc268..ae91bdd6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ ARG LINUX_VER=notset
 ARG PYTHON_VER=notset
 ARG DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 ENV PATH=/opt/conda/bin:$PATH
+# ensure conda's files and configuration can be found at runtime even if environment activation was bypassed
+ENV CONDA_PREFIX=/opt/conda
 ENV PYTHON_VERSION=${PYTHON_VER}
 
 SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-euo", "pipefail", "-c"]
diff --git a/context/entrypoint.sh b/context/entrypoint.sh
index 991cbead..78ee50bf 100755
--- a/context/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/context/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Copyright (c) 2023-2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#!/usr/bin/env -S bash -l
+# Copyright (c) 2023-2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
 
 set -eo pipefail
 
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ https://developer.download.nvidia.com/licenses/NVIDIA_Deep_Learning_Container_Li
 
 EOF
 
+# Activate conda (login shell sources from /etc/profile.d/conda.sh)
+conda activate
+
 if [ -e "/home/rapids/environment.yml" ]; then
     echo "environment.yml found. Installing packages."
     timeout ${CONDA_TIMEOUT:-600} mamba env update -n base -y -f /home/rapids/environment.yml || exit $?
diff --git a/tests/container-canary/base.yml b/tests/container-canary/base.yml
index 644f0d07..1f79cfc1 100644
--- a/tests/container-canary/base.yml
+++ b/tests/container-canary/base.yml
@@ -124,3 +124,11 @@ checks:
           - /bin/bash
           - -c
           - "[[ $(conda env list --quiet | grep --count -E '^[A-Za-z]+') == 1 ]];"
+  - name: conda-prefix
+    description: Conda prefix set to /opt/conda
+    probe:
+      exec:
+        command:
+          - /bin/bash
+          - -c
+          - '[[ "${CONDA_PREFIX}" == "/opt/conda" ]];'