Kananaskis, Alberta

To get to the base of the climb, you must brave the (hordes of) tourists at the Cave and Basin Historical Site in Banff. This requires a park pass and calloused elbows fit for pushing your way through crowds. Or an alarm clock to get up early - the visitor centre is only open after 9 AM and this ...

Have you ever done a hike where you just don't want the day to end? Scramble the Fortress and you'll know the feeling. The thing that drew me to the Fortress was its summit elevation of 3000 masl, as well as its blocky, fortress-like profile when viewed from the north. It's so much more than that...

No better way to watch the stars with friends than huddled up in your sleeping bag on top of a 3000m summit. This describes the bivy at The Fortress. Starting at the Chester Lake Trailhead, take the unmarked trail on the right side of the parking lot. These winter cross-country ski trails take y...

The hike starts at the Chester Lake trailhead along the Smith Dorian road in Kananaskis. The first few kilometers follow the old logging roads, now used as cross country skiing trails. Find the beginning of the trail at the upper right end of the parking lot, and continue to follow parallel to t...

Chester Lake was officially one of my favorite hikes of 2016. It's a short & sweet 5 km's to the lake, with outstanding views in every direction. Fall colors were just starting to peak through and the sky looked amazing. From what I understand, this is one of the more popular hikes in the are...

Elevation gain: 300m/984ftEstimated time: 3-6hoursStarting at the trailhead parking lot off of the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Road this snowshoe is easy to follow on the clearly marked trail. There is a trail that splits off to the left for cross-country skiers make sure you are following the righ...

Head to the northwest corner of the parking lot to find the trail. For the first 5.5 km the trail is quite easy, with only modest elevation increase. At 5.5 km you will arrive at what is known as the gravel flats. Depending on the time of year the gravel flats can be either quite dry or a wide, s...

The trail begins along the berm beside Mud Lake. After a rather uninspiring 3 km (you can mountain bike this part) the trail narrows and enters trees where tangled roots twist across the path and you breathe in the smells of damp earth and moss.Ten minutes later the trail spits you across a spl...

Vermillion Lakes is one of the best spot's in Banff to catch a sunrise or sunset depending on the season. Although it's one of the most popular locations for photographers, there are so many different areas around the lakes that you'll never feel like it's too crowded. Mount Rundle can be photogr...

Also known as Moose Mountain Ice Cave, Canyon Creek Ice Cave and Ing Mine.The cave is located on the west side of Moose Ridge andhas a huge entrance, it is approximately1,600 ft. in depth. Take Highway 22 past Bragg Creek, continue on the 66 towards Moose Mountain.  Turn off at Canyon Creek Road...

The "Green Spot" is a beautiful grassy slope that opens up to sweeping views of downtown Banff and the surrounding area.  It's a great spot for photography, especially capturing the peak of Mt. Rundle.  There's also a set of chairs conveniently placed on the slope so you can kick back and enjoy t...

6 Pitches5.6-5.8 Climbing Sustained climbing for the grade. You follow up 2 right facing corners with some face climbing.I really enjoyed this route and found it worth the long approach. Approach requires a few hours of consistent elevation gain and fair bit of scrambling. If you don’t know where...

From Banff, follow the Norquay Road (the west access road to Banff) up to Mt. Norquay Ski Area. The trail begins from the day lodge at the far end of the first parking lot on the right.Walk by the front of the day lodge and follow a service roaddown through the ski area past the base of three cha...

Oh, small but mighty Norquay! You might not hear as much about this gem as you do its larger siblings in the area, but don’t underestimate its charm or gnarly terrain. While we couldn’t quite access all of the nooks and crannies at the beginning of the season, old-timers regaled us with tales com...

From Banff:Take the shuttle from the town lot to Mt. Norquay Ski Lodge, it is $10 CAD one way or $15 roundtrip, but you may want to walk back. If you decide to walk back there are two options; the road or the beautiful mountain trail. The trail head can be easily picked up in the parking lot, hik...

The trailhead is located on the north side of Ripple Creek, the first creek you come across after passing the Grizzly Creek turnoff. There is an easy pull-off on the east side of the highway. You should be able to see the trailhead from the road, which follows the southern slope of the mountain f...