What’s up guys? It’s Zac and Ine
from World Wild Hearts here and
today we’re going to show you
the top hikes in Kananaskis Country.
Yeah we lived in Canmore, um, for a
whole summer and did a lot of these
hikes basically every other day.
So yeah, we really enjoyed it and
hopefully you enjoy this video.
Here are the best hikes in Kananaskis Country
from our perspective. We will count down
the top 10 in order of our favorite.
For each hike, we’ve included the difficulty level,
distance, and time it took to complete.
First up, we have Grassi Lakes.
This was the 10th best hike in Kananaskis Country
and is perfect for hikers of all abilities.
Located only 10 minutes from the Canmore’s
town center, it’s a great option if you’re looking
for a short hike to do in the area but still be
amazed by beautiful lake colors. It only takes
about 20-30 minutes to get to the lakes themselves
from the trailhead. Make sure to go during
mid-day to catch the light on the beautiful
green lakes before the sun goes down behind the mountains.
Coming in at number nine, we have the
East End of Rundle trail. Located in the Spray Valley,
this hike takes you to some great viewpoints
over the town of Canmore as well as the jagged
Ha Ling Peak just across the road.
You will see the glorious Whitman’s Pond from above,
which lies just above Grassi Lakes.
The hike is really steep from the start.
We felt like we were climbing straight up right
when we got on the trail. But the views at the top
are worth the effort to get there.
The eighth best hike in Kananaskis Country is
Barrier Lake Trail. This hidden gem is one of the
most pleasant hikes in Kananaskis.
That’s because the elevation gain is relatively slow
and steady throughout, which is different from
the more standard steep inclines of many
hikes in the region. You will fall in love with the
views at the top above Barrier Lake.
West Wind Pass is the seventh best hike in Kananaskis
in our opinion. The hike winds through a beautiful
forest for three quarters of the time before
opening up to some stunning scenery.
As the name suggests, it was extremely windy at the top.
However, you do have great ridge views with
Deadman’s Flats in view from one side and
Spray Lake Reservoir on the other. You can even continue up
the trail to Windtower, but you need much more
time to do that as a full day hike.
Coming in at number six, we have the Centennial Ridge hike.
This trail offered spectacular views of the valley
below and mountain peaks around us.
We saw unique rock formations that have evolved over
centuries into wild formations on the ridge.
We recommend this for anyone looking to get away
from the crowds for a full day hike in Kananaskis
Country and still have expansive mountain views
throughout the entire hike. But be aware, it took us
about 8 hours to do this hike because
the elevation gain is significant.
The fifth best hike in Kananaskis Country is
Mount Smutwood. This hike is twenty kilometers
out-and-back and you will climb almost 1000 meters.
It’s not easy by any means as there is some
scrambling involved as well as sheer drop-offs,
but the views are outstanding. Another perk of this
hike is that there are several grizzly bears that live
in this area and sightings are very common.
We saw one grizzly bear on our way out, and other
people we met also saw a grizzly near the saddle.
As such, that means that you should always hike in groups.
We recommend doing this hike with at least four people for safety.
King Creek Ridge is the fourth best hike in Kananaskis
simply for it’s long, beautiful ridge walk throughout.
The hike up is incredibly steep to get to the ridge,
so make sure you bring hiking poles. Once you get to the ridge,
you will have some of the most amazing valley
views you will find in the Canadian Rockies.
The ridge itself has a very gentle slope up to the end
and you will have about thirty to forty minutes of pure
ridge walk bliss before the final viewpoint.
With steep cliffs on both sides, this hike is not for the faint of heart.
The third best hike in Kananaskis is Tent Ridge.
This hike is one of the most unique shapes of all
the trails you will find in the Canadian Rockies.
It looks like a horseshoe when seen from above,
taking you to the edges of beautiful ridges throughout.
You will be greeted at the top with one of the
most jaw-dropping lake views you will find in
the entire world with the expansive Spray Valley
Reservoir below you. If you are worried about the
cliffs and dropoffs along the standard ridge hike,
keep in mind that you can do this trail in reverse
by going counter-clockwise from the trailhead.
This will allow you to skip the scary ridges and
just see the main Spray Valley Reservoir view
without much risk at all in terms of height exposure.
The runner up is South Pocaterra Ridge.
This is because it has the best risk vs. reward ratio.
The whole hike took us just over 4 hours and
the views from the top over the ridge were stunning.
The trail winds for the most part through a colorful
valley filled with wildflowers, a shallow river,
and wildlife like bighorn sheep and bears.
It’s very peaceful and enjoyable, making for the
perfect family or group hike. The final part of
the ridge is demanding and very steep, but the
360 views from the top are well worth the effort.
Sarrail ridge is the best hike in Kananaskis in
our opinion. This trail has a special place in our hearts.
Rawson Lake is beautiful in its own right,
but the climb up from Rawson Lake to Sarrail Ridge
is where it gets really interesting. This section crosses
prime grizzly habitat and is very steep. Once you get
past the steep section, you will arrive at the ridge
and have amazing views of Rawson Lake at one
side and Upper Kananaskis Lake on the other.
Thank you guys for watching. We hope you enjoyed
this video about the best hikes in Kananaskis Country
and we hope that you can take this list with
you to the Canadian Rockies and do them yourselves.
And yeah, make sure you subscribe to our
channel if you haven’t already yet. There’s a lot
of other videos about these Kananaskis hikes,
the individual ones, and make sure as well in
the description below, you download our
free giveaway, which is a Canadian Rockies
packing list. So yeah, that’s it for this video.
We’ll catch you on the next adventure.