Kananaskis Country

Gillean Daffern

Popular Day Hikes

3 

About Kananaskis CountryKananaskis Country (commonly called K Country) is located on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies, west and south of the Olympic city of Calgary, Alberta. 

In the west near the Great Divide the scenery is much the same as in the adjoin-ing Banff National Park: High limestone peaks (up to 3449 m), glaciers, waterfalls, blue-green  lakes,  boisterous  streams, forested valley bottoms of spruce and fir with larches at treeline. Winter snowfall can  be  heavy,  so  some  trails,  such  as Burstall  Pass  trail,  may  not  be  clear  of snow until mid July.

To the east the friendly foothills are a mosaic  of  sandstone  bluffs,  pine/aspen forests  and  meadows.  They  dry  quickly of  snow,  making  hiking  possible  from March to November, and sometimes right through the winter. 

In  between  are  the  Front  Ranges,  a complex  jumble  of  arid  valleys,  rocky peaks and interconnecting ridges built of both limestones and sandstones. It’s here you’ll find easy peaks to climb and ridges to wander over,  the Centennial    trail up Mt. Allan being a prime example.

Alpine  meadows  are  sandwiched between  forest  and  rock  and  coat  many good  hiking  ridges.  For  too  brief  a  time from  late  June  to  mid  August,  they  are crammed  with  flowers.  In  particular, overseas visitors will be intoxicated by the gaudy colours of North America’s Indian Paintbrush. I advise all flower buffs to buy a field guide to put in the pack. 

Getting thereSee the map on page 6. Other than Grey-hound  buses  that  run  along  the  Trans-Canada  Highway  between  Calgary  and Canmore,  there  is  no  public  transporta-tion. You need to rent a car. Consider also a mountain bike for some trails. Know that all  the  trails  in  this  book  are  accessible from Calgary as a day trip. 

Introduction Seasonal road closuresHwy. 40 is closed December 1 to June 14 between  Kananaskis  Lakes  Trail  (road) and Highwood Junction.

Hwy. 66 is closed December 1 to May 14 west of Elbow Falls parking lot. Also closed  December  1  to  May  14  is  Hwy. 546  west  of  Sandy  McNabb  Recreation Area, Powderface Trail between Dawson trailhead and Hwy. 66 and all of the Gorge Creek Trail.

FacilitiesCalgary,  Cochrane,  Canmore,  Bragg Creek, Turner Valley, Black Diamond and Longview have all the amenities. 

Hwy. 1A Exshaw: Heart Mountain Store (cafe, groceries, gas). 

Hwy. 1X  Bow  Valley  Provincial  Park: Small  store  at  Bow  Valley  campground. Off-season closure. 

Hwy. 1 Dead Man’s Flat: Motel, B&B, gas station/small grocery store, a few eateries. 

Hwy. 40  Kananaskis  Village  and  Rib-bon Creek: two hotels, one hostel, small grocery store with snacks, outdoor rental store,  numerous  eateries  and  watering holes, nordic spa. Fortress Junction: Gas, good grocery selection and snack bar. 

The  following  are  closed  off-season. Highwood Junction: Gas, some groceries and  snacks.  Sundance  Lodges:  camping in teepees, small store. Boundary Ranch: trail rides, restaurant. Kananaskis Coun-try Golf Course: restaurant. 

Kananaskis Lakes Trail  Boulton  Creek restaurant  /grocery  store. Boulton Creek Rental for bikes, canoes and Kayaks. Off-season closure. 

Hwy. 742 Mount Engadine Lodge: accom-modation  (all  meals  provided),  evening meals at 24 hours notice. 

Hwy. 66—on nearby McLean Creek Trail (road)—McLean  Creek  Camper  Centre: groceries and snacks. 

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WeatherSnow can fall in any month of the year in the Canadian Rockies. Having said  that, hiking usually starts in April in eastern K Country. In May there is usually a period of warm sunny weather. Rains fall mainly in  June–the  peak  run-off  time.  During July and August temperatures can reach the mid 30s and any rain is often associ-ated  with  late  afternoon  thunderstorms. Smoke haze from far off forest fires may bother  some  people.  The  weather  starts cooling off in mid September. Indian sum-mers can occur in late September through October and are glorious, bringing sunny stable weather. By  late October and No-vember  temperatures  are  dipping  to  the minus 20s and snow that falls stays over the winter. But all is not lost. During this period chinook winds can roar in and raise the temperatures by 20 degrees in an hour. This occurs mainly in eastern K Country where is it sometimes possible to hike all the year round. 

Generally, low cloud is not the problem it is in other wetter ranges of the world and navigating by compass in K Country is an unusual event. 

Drinking WaterMost locals drink from the creeks. How-ever, there is a chance the water, especially the  water  in  the  eastern  foothills,  may be  contaminated  by  Giardia lamblia,  a parasite  that  can  cause  severe  gastroin-testinal distress. It is best to at least start off carrying water from your home, hotel or campground.

Wildlife ConcernsAt all times be aware of bears, both Grizzly and Black bears, particularly in spring or in the early fall when the berries ripen. It’s a good idea to check K Country’s website to see if there have been any sightings in the area you are going to. K Country will often close a trail until a bear has moved out of the area. 

Elk and moose should also be given a wide berth, especially in fall during the mating season when males get very ornery. Lately, cougars have become a year round worry. However,  they  are  rarely  seen,  as  are wolves. And don’t get too close to picas, ground  squirrels  and  chipmunks.  They bite and could carry disease.

Ticks are lurking about between about March and mid June in areas where there is a lot of sheep, such as Teahouse Ridge on Lady MacDonald. Wear light-coloured clothing—all the better to see them—and do  a  thorough  check  of  your  body  and clothes BEFORE you get into your car! In this part of the Rockies, none of the ticks carry Lyme’s Disease.

A few rules to know about• No  registration  is  necessary.  However, 

for  your  safety,  registration  books  are available at information centres.

• Respect trail closures, open fire bans.• Dogs must be on a leash.

Safety Tips• It is safer to travel with company. If you 

travel alone,  let  someone know where you are going and when you expect to return. 

• Unless  you  are  a  seasoned  hiker  who knows the area well, going off trail can be fraught with dangers. Rock is usually friable and rockfall common. 

• Start early, especially during  the sum-mer  thunderstorm  season.  Carry  a flashlight  or  headlamp  when  the  days become shorter.

• Carry bear repellent and read up on what to do if you encounter a bear/cougar. K Country information centres carry leaf-lets on the subject. 

• Hunting is allowed everywhere except in provincial parks and provincial rec-reation  areas. September  to November is  the  time  to dress  in  red. Know  that hunting is not allowed on Sundays.

• Carry a cellphone or satellite phone. 

Introduction

5 

How the trails were chosenFor  their popularity, first of all. You are not  likely  to  be  alone.  They  are  easily accessible from a road, start from parking lots  for  the  most  part  that  usually  have toilets  and picnic  tables, have no major river  crossings  and  are  well-marked.  To give variety trails in each area range from short to long and from easy to strenuous. Because of the constraints, this selection does not mean they are my favourite trails, or even that they are the best trails. 

Trails in the second editionSome  trails  from  the  first  edition  have been omitted because of 2013 flood dam-age, and others trails, that have since come to the forefront of popularity have been in-serted. Well-marked trails have signposts of the “You are here” variety at junctions, and coloured markers or arrows on trees and  posts  in  between  junctions.  Above treeline watch for cairns, paint splodges or metal tags on rocks. Other trails, while not marked in any way apart from cairns or flagging are well used and obvious. Some trails  are  shared  with  mountain  bikers and equestrians, most often those in the east Elbow. 

OptionsType in blue indicates Going Farther, Side trips,  Bypasses,  Detours  and  Optional Returns.  A  few  of  the  Optional  Returns require a second vehicle or a bicycle.

Numbers in TextFor  clarity  the  text  is  written  in  short numbered  paragraphs.  Numbers  in  the photo captions refer back to the paragraph numbers. Numbers in photo captions with an 0 in front of them, refer to the option. 

DifficultyDescribes  conditions  underfoot  and  the steepness of the grades. Scramble steps are noted. A few of the Going farthers involve scrambling or going off official trails. 

Except after rain or during run-off, minor creek crossings can usually be jumped or crossed on rocks. 

DistancesDistances are usually round trip.

Sketch MapsRed lines indicate main trails. Red-dashed lines  are  options:  Going  Farther,  Side Trips,  Detours  and  Optional  Returns. Black-dashed lines are other trails and are generally only shown where they intersect the red trails. 

Do I need other Maps?While  it’s possible  to hike  the  trails us-ing the maps in this book, why not take along a 1:50000 recreation map by Gem Trek? They are available at most outdoor stores, bookstores and gas stations in the region.  The  four  that  cover  the  trails  in this book are:

Canmore and Kananaskis Village Kananaskis Lakes Highwood and Cataract Creek Bragg Creek and Elbow Falls

What to wear for the trailsBe prepared for fast weather changes and pack raingear. For walks and scrambles above  treeline,  particularly  in  the  off season, take a wind jacket, long pants and extra warm clothing like hat and gloves. During the heat of summer a sun hat, sun cream and mosquito repellent are must-takes. Light hiking boots suffice for all the trails in this book.

Doing MoreIf you have enjoyed the trails in this book why not hike more  trails  in Kananaskis Country? Kananaskis Country Trail Guide volumes 1 through 5 cover all of K Country plus  the Bow Valley, The Ghost  and Elk Lakes Provincial Park. They are compre-hensive, and describe all designated and undesignated  trails,  long-distance  trails, backpacks, easy scrambles and ridgewalks. 

Using this book

 6

Kana

nask

is V

a lle

y

COCHRANE

DEAD MAN’S FLAT

KANANASKIS VILLAGE

JUMPINGPOUND

PETER LOUGHEED PROVINCIAL PARK

ELK LAKES PROVINCIAL

PARK

Highwood Pass

River

Wilkinson Summit

Cataract

Willow Creek The Hump

Flat Creek

Pekisko C r eek

to High River

BLACK DIAMOND

Sheep R iver

to Okotoks

Threepoint Creek

Elbow Rive

r

POWDERFACE TRAIL

Elbow River

RICHMOND ROAD

Fortress Junction

CALGARY

Jumpingpound Creek

Highwood Junction

to Nanton

to Coleman

to HWY 3

Spray Lakes Reservoir

EXSHAW

CANMORE

SIBBALD C R EEK TRAIL

PRIDDIS

BRAGG CREEK

MILLARVILLE

to Hwy 2

LONGVIEW

TURNER VALLEY

JOHNS ON CRE

EK TRAIL

SMITH-DORRIEN/SPRAY TRAIL

Fortress Ski Area

to Sundre

Kananaskis Lakes

Whiteman's Gap

WEST BRAGG CREEK ROAD

MCLEAN CREEK

Canyon Creek

to Banff

TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY

Cre

ek

532

MOUNTSHARKROAD

ELBOW

SHEEP

HIGHWOOD Highwood

TRAIL

Nakiska Ski Area

HIG

HW

OOD TRAIL

Information CentresWinter GatesPermanent GatesRafter Six Trail Riding SpecialistsSundance LodgesKananaskis VillageBoundary RanchFortress JunctionBoulton CreekMount Engadine LodgeHighwood Junction

KEY

GORGE CREEK TRAIL

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Hwy. 1 Canmore, Bow Valley

1GrassiLakes–8 2HaLingPeak–13 3LadyMacDonald–17 4GrottoCanyon–21 5Raven’sEnd–24 6BowValleyProvincialParkLoop–28 7HeartCreek–32 8WindRidge–36

Hwy. 40 Kananaskis Valley

9BarrierLakeLookout–4010TrollFallsLoop—4511CentennialRidgeofMountAllan–4712RibbonFalls–5113GalateaLakes–54

Hwy. 40 Peter Lougheed Prov. Park

14UpperKananaskisLake–5815RawsonLake–6216ElbowLake–6417PtarmiganCirque–66

Hwy. 742 The Smith-Dorrien

18BullerPass–6919BurstallPass–7320ChesterLake–7721RummelLake–80

Hwys. 40, 541 The Highwood

22MistRidge–8323PicklejarLakes–8824MountBurke–9225GrassPass,–96

Hwy. 66 The Elbow

29FullertonLoop—11030ElbowValley / RiverviewLoop–11231MooseMountain–11632PrairieMountain–12033PowderfaceRidge–12434NihahiRidge–128

Hwys. 546, 549 The Sheep

26ForanGradeLoop–10027VolcanoRidgeLoop—10328MesaButte—107

Hwy. 68, Powderface Road

36JumpingpoundLoop—13537JumpingpoundMountain–13838CoxHill–141

The Trails

Twp. Rd. 232 West Bragg

35TelephoneRidgeLoop–132

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2  Ha Ling PeakA muscle-aching grind up the west

slope of Ha Ling Peak, the prominent mountain overlooking Canmore and a fabulous viewpoint. From the col between the mountain and Miners Peak, both peaks are accessible.

1. Cross  the highway, walk up a  road or shortcut trail to the canal and cross it via the bridge.

2. Turn right and reach a large boulder with plaque “dedicated to the mining commu-nity that worked beneath this mountain.” 

3. Go  straight across a gully and make a long curving arc through forest into the first left-hand zig. At its end viewpoint climb a rocky ridge to a second viewpoint. Zig right below a long slab, then back left to the third and best viewpoint  for Whitemans Pond and Mt. Rundle. At the far end of the view-ing trail is a bench with a view of Canmore. 

4. After the next two zigs, the trail travers-es  through  Whitebark  pines  at  treeline. Steeper slopes at the end of this stretch is where stone steps and cable ladders make their first appearance. The last steepest zig climbs through scree with help from stone steps and ends on the col between Ha Ling and Miners Peak. Here ends the good trail.

5. Turn left and pick your way up the rocky southwest ridge to the summit. There’s no one route, just innumerable trails etched in scree winding about the slabs.

Distance 5.6 km returnHeight gain 732 mHigh point 2408 mStrenuousLate spring, summer, fall

Start: Hwy. 742 (Smith-Dorrien—Spray Trail) at Whiteman’s Gap. Park in the Goat Creek parking lot just south of Whiteman’s Pond.

Difficulty: In 2018/19 the Matt Had-ley trail to the col superseded the old Trailminders trail that had become badly eroded. The new trail has easy switch-backs and rock steps and cable ladders up the steeper parts. The final ascent requires some route finding on scree.

Ha Ling Peak from Whitemans Pond.

Plaque at the beginning of the trail at 2.

At 2. The first plaque erected by Trailminders was stolen and never recovered. Photo Doug Campbell.

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Hwy. 1 Canmore, Bow Valley

Leon ’sTraverse

gul ly

gu l l y

co l

Whitemans Pond

GOAT CREEK

Ha Ling Peak

MinersPeak

Mt. Lawrence Grassi

to C

anm

ore

4.0

Left: Steps chipped into bedrock between the first and second viewpoints at 3. Photo Alberta Parks/Kananaskis Region.

The new trail was designed by Matt Hadley of McElhanney Consulting Services in consultation with Alberta Parks/Kananaskis Region.

Below: The best viewpoint at the end of 3 overlooks Whitemans Pond and Mt. Rundle. A stone bench out of sight to the right open ups a view of Canmore. This is the logical turnaround place for walkers who don’t want to climb any higher, Photo Matt Hadley.

15 

Hwy. 1 Canmore, Bow Valley

6.  In  1896,  Ha  Ling,  a  Chinese  cook working in Canmore, was bet 50 dollars he  couldn’t  climb  up  and  down  within 10 hours. He made it  in a 5 hour round trip—a  remarkable  time  that  can  hardly be  bettered  today.  Not  surprisingly  no one believed him, so the next day he led a group of doubters to the top where his flag was seen “proudly flapping in the breeze.” 

“As  the  peak  has  no  name  let  it  hence forth be called Ha Ling Peak in honour of his daring intrepidity” it was proclaimed. For  many  generations,  though,  it  was called  “Chinaman’s  Peak.”  Then  during the Great Canmore Influx of the 1990s the name officially changed to Ha Ling. To this day there are pockets of resistance to the new name by long-time locals.

Top left: Treeline Whitebark pines at 4. The tree is an endangered species, so please don’t carve your names into the bark. Photo Matt Hadley.

Top right: At the end of 4, a series of rock steps lead to the col. Photo Matt Hadley.

Right: At 5, the last stretch to the summit is a lot rougher with trails winding between slabs

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Option Miners PeakHeight gain 50 m from col

An easier option to Ha Ling that can also be climbed on the same trip.

1. At the col head up right along the slowly rising ridgeline. When it flattens turn left and walk out on a slightly exposed prom-ontory (cliffs on both sides) to the summit of Miners Peak. 

Hwy. 1 Canmore, Bow Valley

Above: Ha Ling’ summit cairn is perched on the edge of the north face, a popular rock climbing venue. From here enjoy a more extensive view of Canmore and the Bow Valley.

Below: View from the col at the end of 4 showing the trail leading to Miners Peak, which is the promontory at left. Though it appears scarcely a peak from this direction, it looks spectacular from Canmore and has a surprisingly narrow ridge leading to its high point at far left.