Crimson Lake Amerada Trail

An easy forest hike leads to a picturesque lake and it’s all yours for the taking. While ten clicks long it’s no more than pleasant stroll-in-the-woods, easy as pie and with no hills to speak of. This meandering loop is a great a place to unwind and take in nature. We’re talking about the Amerada Trail at Crimson Lake Provincial Park and it’s just a stone’s throw from Rocky Mountain House Alberta.

Heading west to Nordegg to hook up with a friend and document historic ruins, this is how we take a break from the road.

Head to the day-use section of the park (star on the map) and look for the marked trailhead and you can similarly access the loop from the camping area if you’re RVing it. We picked the direction of travel, so counter clockwise, with a roll of the dice (or was it rock-paper-scissors?) and it worked well. You’ll do fine either way.

If heading the same direction as us, you’ll see many junctions early on, so be sure to keep on the correct heading or forever wander the woods lost. They’ll find your skeletons years later and wonder why you didn’t heed this warning. There’s maps along the way, so it’s not hard to keep things straight. These other trails all form smaller loops and many pass close to the camping area.

The trail is wide with a gravel base and outside the occasional dip or rise, is almost totally flat. The location here is the transition zone where prairie and forest meet and you have to go a more west to hit the foothills. Travel through mixed forest, all ablaze with colour on our fall visit (in 2020 – and yes, we’re way behind in posting). There’s wild roses all about and their little red fruit, rosehips, are a source of food for many forest creatures. Bunchberries grow in abundance in places – scroll to the photos to see an example – and while they’re edible, they’re not terribly appealing.

There’s a couple bathrooms along the way and at strategic spots small shelters with seating.

The woods are a peaceful place and here there’s no shortage of calm and quiet. Outside the occasional plane passing overhead all we heard was the sounds of the forest and our own footfalls.

Cross a road leading to a youth camp and soon after the lake soon comes into view on your left. At first there’s a marshy area between you and it, but later on you can get right to the shore…and it’s gorgeous. Around here is where we saw the only other hikers we’d pass this day and whereas we’re told it’s a busy trail at the height of camping season, here it was mostly ours.

Next comes the most interesting section and now keeping close to the lake, there’s a series of short side trails leading to various viewpoints over the water. That clump of trees seemingly floating in the lake marks Raspberry Island.

In places the lake level almost matches the height of the trail, so in times of high water this section might be impassable or minimally a muddy mess. There’s more bogs, more forest, more lake and more solitude. Benches along this section of Amerada invite you to pause and let me tell you there’s nothing better than sitting down and looking out over a lake. Any lake will do, but Crimson is a particularly nice one and with that all the troubles in the world get washed away.

A little plaque tells us about Bett and Gary who celebrated forty years together in 1991. How touching and sweet. A search shows they got another decade or two together before they both later went to the great beyond. C&C are on year twenty five, incidentally, and are the best of friends – or so one half leads the other to believe. Why are you chanting loudly and sharpening that cleaver, Connie? Anyway, Bett and Gary had a cabin here on the lake and we suspect were regular visitors to this particular bench.

We saw lots of warnings about bears frequenting the area, but didn’t even see any signs (like footy-prints in the dirt). When it comes to wildlife, all we got was ducks. Plain old ducks and nothing more.

Nearby it’s a memorial to Wally Fenc who was a driving force behind the trail being built in around 1990. Reading further, comes a clue how the Amerada Trail got its name and it seems he worked at gas plant nearby (there a million wells in the area) which was at the time owned by the firm Amerada-Hess. Maybe they funded it too or provided backing in some way?

Trending away from the lake and then turning left, the trail runs behind cabins that occupy the west shore of Crimson Lake. These were put in during the 1940s-1970s period before further construction was halted.

Continuing on, a side trail leads a nice view of a beaver pond and here’s a great place to pause and take a deep breath. Look out over the water and lily-pads and forget the mortgage…forget the ex…forget it all.

Amerada soon bends left again. It’s not the most scenic or wow trek we’ve done, but you know, it’s not a bad thing and knowing it’ll soon end, we doddle more than usual. Along this stretch it’s some strange curiosities – a bus pass and Macy’s store receipt from Seattle Washington and dated some six years prior. Discards from a time traveller?

Bending left one final time, the path now parallels the access road to the day use area where you parked. And soon after, where it all started, now it ends.

Looking at the clock reminds us we have a date with some mining ruins, so it’s off we go. We’re still compiling that project and when done (and you know things move slowly here) we’ll fill you in here at this website.

Crimson Lake, it’s said, received its name from the striking colours of the setting sun reflecting on its waters. It’s a shallow one and no more than a few metres deep most places. The provincial park was established in the 1950s and is a popular camping and recreation area, mostly in the summer. There’s other trails in the park and we think one day we’ll scope some out.

Know more (new tab): Crimson Lake Provincial Park.

They’re saying…

”Chris and Connie are the real deal – their adventures are truly interesting and fun!” Justine Cooke.

Flatter hikes like this…
Glenmore Reservoir Loop: The Last Time (NOT!).
Upper Kananaskis Lake Loop.
Canmore Loop.

If you wish more information about this route or if you love to chat don’t hesitate to contact us!

Date of adventure: September, 2020.
Location: Near Rocky Mountain House, AB
Distance: 10km loop.
Height gain maximum: Negligible.
Height gain cumulative: Negligible.
NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports.
Technical stuff: Extreme exposure, rockfall and marauding vikings…oh wait, that’s a different hike.

There’s maps to help you along.

One click down, nine to go.

It’s easy-going like this all the way around.

The little cabin in the woods.

Fruit of the Wild Rose.

Travelling through mixed forest.

Woods are a peaceful place.

The first view of Crimson Lake.

The only people we saw this day.

The view from the north shore.

Crimson Lake’s a picturesque one.

Passing a boggy area.

Clump of trees marks an island.

It’s tradition to raise a toast.

The only wildlife we saw this day.

Forty years together (1991).

Taking our time.

Here, all the day’s troubles vanish.

Seven clicks so far.

A memorial for Wally.

Paw Patrol…

At the Beaver Pond.

Take a deep breathe…

There was lots of Bunchberry on the forest floor.

We’re the best of friends.

Found on the trail, from long ago & far away.

Don’t ____ believing.

The adventure’s at an end.

An pleasant 10k stroll in the woods.