Grotto Canyon

To get to the trailhead, take Highway 1 and take the Seebe exit (Highway 1X). Continue north on Highway 1X and take a left at Highway 1A. A few kilometres after the town of Exshaw, turn into the parking lot marked by the Grotto Pond sign.

The trailhead is well marked and follow the trail until the clearing at Grotto Creek. From there, just follow the creek/canyon until you come to the ice/waterfalls. At that junction, take a left to walk out of the canyon and up the braided river valley - if you take this path you'll see some hoodoos with a large cave, as well as some pretty magnificent views of Heart and Pigeon mountains to the southeast. There isn't an "end" to the trail in the river valley, just turn around once the terrain is too difficult to navigate.

Highlights:

I always get a kick out of seeing pictographs. These ancient paintings are located on a flat, vertical slab about 500 m from the icefall junction. As soon as the icefalls come into view, take a few steps back around the corner and search the wall on the left for them.

If I'm not summiting something, I really like seeing something different and getting some big views in. I've never seen hoodoos in the mountains before, and it was really cool getting a closer look into the cave that formed there - not recommended during bear season! I also really enjoyed how the surrounding mountains were boxed in by the canyon and the views opened up in the river valley.

On the way down, I tried to shave some time off by penguin sliding down the river. I probably had a bit too much fun doing that.