Category: Hikes And Summits

Here’s a pleasant city hike. Inspiration for it comes from the book Calgary’s Best Walks (Lori Beattie, 2015) and for the most part follows route ten as laid out in its pages. The trek takes in a nice mix of green spaces (well, white in the depths of winter) and...

This is about the easiest hike ever. Following a series of multi-use trails in the West Bragg Creek area of Kananaskis, it makes a nice loop through an area of low rolling hills. It’s a very nice stroll through the woods (like that’s ever bad), with little in the way...

Muley Ridge is one of the “Entrance Ridges”, so called given they’re right at the Kananaskis border. Located in the Sheep River area west of Turner Valley, there’s a nice little trail that takes in this long low lightly-forested north trending hill. The views from the summit and along the...

The Mustang Hills are named after feral horses that live in the area. Three bumps of very modest stature, they can be summited with little work. Two of the three tops are open and provide mighty good views of big peaks to the west and rolling ridges to the north...

Another spectacular hike in the Smith Dorrien/Spray Lakes area of Kananaskis. This outing is a fairly easy going one on a well defined rail, with gentle grades and modest elevation gain. The goal is Rummel Lake, with wonderful Turquoise waters in a basin below a towering peak. But wait, there’s...

This hiking trail is located in the Sheep River area of Kananaskis, just west of Turner Valley. It takes one south up a remote densely forested valley, paralleling scenic Junction Creek the whole time. While it’s in the trees most of the way, there’s enough views of surrounding mountains to...

Wanna’ a new hike in the Crownest Pass of Alberta? Some “fresh meat”? Try Adanac Ridge, a long north/south trending hill. It’s a fine objective, yet strangely visited by few even though it’s not terribly difficult to do and is easy to get to. There is no trail to speak...

Welcome to Hell, Hell’s Ridge that is, South Kananaskis Alberta, a hike you may think twice about given that dark and sinister name. In reality however, it’s something actually quite wonderful. And fun. Heavenly…oh quit! It’s a short steep climb to the modest-height summit, where some pretty decent views await....

If you crave splendid full-on remote middle-of-nowhere not a soul around isolation, in a beautiful mountain setting, this is the hike for you. We picked it for just that reason. After an incredibly busy couple weeks documenting all manner of historic and industrial sites across Alberta. Saskatchewan and British Columbia,...

The Indian Oils Trail in Kananaskis is most often done as an out and back. Nice enough, but why not mix it up a bit? Try a far more interesting alternative making a modest length loop using the official route for the ascent leg then a connecting ridge for the...

Let us be your guides to the summit of Moose Mountain. Located in the extreme front ranges of Kananaskis, just west of Calgary, it’s a popular destination and understandably so. It’s nice and close to town, the trail is easy going and the views from the top are simply amazing....

A series of summits interconnected by ridges in the Highwood area of Kananaskis, the Bull Creek Hills are a great hiking objective at any time of the year. There are many ways up including this lesser used approach, tackling an easterly rib straight on. Trails on this route are sometimes...

It’s a modest-sized lump of limestone in the foothills of Kananaskis. That’s Gunnery Mountain and hiking it is nothing short of pure and unadulterated fun. Sure, it’s a bit rugged looking as seen from the highway, what with all those steep cliff bands, rock outcroppings and scree slopes. But…using a...

This hike takes in two long and low bumps, side-by-side Carry Ridge and Muley Ridge, right at the entrance to Kananaskis in the Sheep River area west of Turner Valley. They’re not terribly high and often times you’ll be in the trees, but still there are some surprisingly far reaching...

Normally done as two short and separate trips, parallel ridges Foran Grade and Windy Point Ridge, in the Sheep River region of Kananaskis, can be combined into a single and longer outing by following our special approach. Neither is that high, they are humble foothills summits after all, but the...

Another adventure, this one an urban hike, which we did in the depths of winter but you can do anytime. A short “stroll” (for us), follow the Bow River making a loop of sorts where one travels down one side and up the other. Along the way we’re witness to...

This in-city hike parallels the Bow River from a point just west of downtown Calgary, heading away from the core towards the green oasis that is Edworthy Park. From there, of course after crossing over the water, the route reverses direction to eventually bring one back to where it all...

This hike takes one around Cochrane Alberta, making a nice moderate length loop using a series of paved and shale pathways and some city sidewalks. About half the time you’ll be paralleling the scenic Bow River while other sections take the urban-trekker through parks, green spaces and wooded areas, beside...

Calgary has an extensive pathway system, covering all corners of the city. It’s one heck of a great resource which we use a lot, especially so in winter, when we can’t always make it to the mountains. These paved lanes head here, there and everywhere, most of them passing through...

A modest height bump in the Sibbald region of Kananaskis, Cox Hill is most often summited via the north approach. The trail is official, so it’s well maintained, is wide and has a fairly gentle grade the whole way. It’s quite doable even if snow is on the ground (like...

A small bump among a sea of high peaks, McConnell Point offers up some pretty credible views from its rocky summit, despite its modest stature. Seen by many, the busy Trans-Canada Highway passes right below, it doesn’t seem to be a terribly popular objective. That’s changing however. The route we...

An article by Chris & Connie. Our route uses a number of easy to hike cross country ski trails connected to the Nakiska Ski Resort, and takes one up to an old dilapidated fire lookout now surrounded completely by trees. Most of the way up is sans any sort of...

The day’s objective is Mount Mann, a rather modest height, mostly treed ridge, overlooking the Highwood River in the foothills of south Kananaskis. It’s an easy task summiting this big chunk of rock and while the views at the top are limited in some directions, it’s still very much worth the effort. Along the way, explore a series of rocky canyons home to a noisy creek.

This hike is nothing but fun the whole way and the further in you go the better it gets. There are lakes, many of them, one a gorgeous jade colour, stunning peaks all around, giant boulders and if the timing is right (and it was for us) golden larches in the fall. At the end is a barren rocky basin surrounded by mountains that is incredibly photogenic. This is the Three Lakes Valley trail in Kananaskis and the scenery is simply amazing.

This adventure we’ll be visiting the South Mist Hills and will summit the most westerly of the trio and the one that’s middle in height. Located in the Highwood River area of Kananaskis these modest-sized mostly grassy topped bumps are not visited as often as Mist Ridge just to the north. They’re very easy to get to however and offer up some very wonderful and inspiring views of their own.

Well into the trip a bear gets in the way forcing us to make a change of plans mid-stride. Opposite our original objective is a long arrow straight mass of rock topped by grass and many stunted trees with the wonderful name “Ridge 710871”. We’ll hike it instead. Getting to it is via the same access route, making this choice a no-brainier.