Top 6 Day Hikes with Stunning Views in Kananaskis!
These day hikes below will surely give you your bang for your buck!
Kananaskis Country is known for its amazing hiking trails, wildlife, provincial parks, and some of the most beautiful views in all of Canada. In this blog, we have crafted our top 5 hikes with stunning views in Kananaskis, in no particular order, that we think you’ll love!
See below for a trailhead map of hikes featured in this blog!
Kananaskis Conservation Pass
A note to our readers: All the hikes featured on this blog is in the Kananaskis & Bow Valley region. Visitors are now required to have a Kananaskis Conservation Pass to have access to the area.
Their goal: Each pass purchased will go to the conservation of habitats, reducing wildlife conflicts, and go towards search and rescue, and services and facilities for the visitors.
1. Troll Falls
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 154 m
Duration: 1 hour
Distance: 3.4 kilometres
The Troll Falls Trail is located in the Municipal District of Bighorn and is awesome for families and hikers of all skill levels. This 3.4 kilometre trail features beautiful waterfalls, and little troll characters scattered throughout the trees and vegetation (inspired by its name). There’s a bit of an incline to get to the upper/bigger falls, but totally worth it once you get a pic with these incredible features! You can also do this hike all year round, with equally great views in all the seasons.
Note (September 19, 2021): The road around this hike is currently under construction.
2. Ptarmigan Cirque
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 258 m
Duration: 2 hours
Distance: 3.5 kilometres
Ptarmigan Cirque is a 3.5 kilometre loop featuring incredible views of waterfalls, rocky terrain, and wildflowers. This trail includes switchbacks for about a kilometre then opens to valleys and stunning rocky landscapes. For a short distance, this hike has great views and is recommended for hikers of all levels. You will also likely see lots of wildlife throughout the area such as squirrels, and the odd bighorn sheep!
Via Ian Griffin Photography (https://iangriffinphotography.com/)
3. Black Prince Cirque & Blackshale Bridge
Difficulty: Moderate & Easy
Elevation: 172 m & 52 m
Duration: 1 hours & 30 min
Distance: 3.5 kilometres & 2 kilometres
Black Prince Cirque is a 4.3 kilometres loop filled with a dense, green forest that features running creeks and lake Warspite. The mountains surrounding the area are grand and picturesque, and this trail is also dog-friendly!
Just across the road from the trailhead of Black Prince Cirque is the Blackshale suspension bridge! While a GPS is recommended to find the trailhead, you will likely see many cars around that area as it’s quite the attraction. The trail to the suspension bridge is a bit steep, but totally worth it once you see the amazing views! To get to the bridge it’s about 30 minutes with 52 meters in elevation. This simple hike is recommended to get those spectacular views for little effort!
4. Mist Mountain Springs Trail
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation: 555 m
Duration: 3-4 hours
Distance: 6.4 kilometres
This absolutely stunning hike starts with a challenge as it doesn’t have a trail head marker, so a GPS is extremely helpful on this adventure. You will then have to grind your way up through the forest and a beautiful meadow as this trail is 6.4- 8 kilometres. As you approach your luxurious destination, you will find yourself in a bowl with loose rock that can be very dangerous, so poles are very helpful on this hike. After your hard work, you will reach the only natural, undeveloped hot springs in the Banff / Kananaskis area. This is the perfect lunch spot to enjoy your Backcountry Wok meal. Don’t forget to grab your Instagram-worthy pic!
Note: Since this hike is quite unique and stunning you might need to wait your turn to get into the springs.
Tip: To beat the crowd you probably want to get a pretty early start on a weekday or hike later in the day at around sunset. You could also camp overnight in the area.
5. Wasootch Ridge
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation: 931 m
Duration: 3-7 hours
Distance: 13.4 kilometres
Wasootch Ridge is an all year round beautiful hike featuring superb views of the surrounding mountains. You start this hike with gradual elevation through luscious trees and plants until you get to rocky terrain and some scrambles. Not for the faint hearted, there are about 5-7 peaks with scrambles leading up to each. The hike is about 13.4 kilometres long, however, many people turn around before then because of the sketchy scrambles leading to the last peaks. Stay safe out there on the trail and have some fun! Hikes like these make me proud to call Alberta home!
Those were our top 5 hikes in Kananaskis with stunning views! If any hikes weren’t on our list that you think we should include comment below and let us know!
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