Explore the most popular Camping trails in Kananaskis Country Public Land Use Zone with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
Overcast day which limited the views but the walk along the river was very nice. Recent fresh snow that was partially packed. Saw some snowshoers, I just had good boots on and was fine.
TREE W. on Elbow Valley Trail to Riverview Trail Loop
Great hike, weather was fantastic. Just beat the snow...trail is in good shape. Hiking boots was fine, might be a different story tomorrow.
Beautiful day for a hike! Very little traffic on the trail since this week’s snowfall with the exception of wildlife - deer, bear, and rodent paw prints all over the place. There was about 4-5 inches of snow on the trail but very manageable with the spikes particularly for the descent on the Elbow Valley trail as we went in the counterclockwise direction. Nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine and getting nice views of Prairie and Moose Mountains as well as the Elbow River. Not overly stenuous but nevertheless great to be out and on a new trail. We enjoyed lunch after the hike at Station Flats where there is picnic tables, benches and fire pits - remember to bring your firewood!
I give the hike a 2.5, destination 4.5. Most of the hike is on a quad/equestrian trail with no view. The last 1-2 km you finally come out of the trees and get a nice view of the mountains. The trail becomes steep, but much more enjoyable. There are several decent camp sites to choose from. Wood is sparse, but you can find some. Managed to catch a few fish. Ranged in size from 8” to 14”. The chains are easily manageable for anyone in decent shape. Are they a little nerve racking, yes, but very stable and manageable. I recommend the destination, but the hike is not all that enjoyable.
Stayed over night at the back of the lake. Tent pads in the trees. Out of the wind. No wood. Exceptional views of you hike up above the camp ground to the west.
I did the hike into the lake then summited Mt Bryant, which is to the left side of the lake when you're approaching. it's just under 18km round trip. the creek bed is challenging but there is a trail that cuts across from side to side once you get out of the large first basin. hard to see on the way up but more obvious on the way down. the summit route it via a trail just to the left when you pop out at the lake. when the trail ends, just go up. there are some faint sections of trail but mostly irrelevant as you just need to go basically straight up. you can go down more towards the other side of the lake but there is sketchy down climbing so NOT for the faint at heart on that side. if that's not for you, just stick with the same route you used to go up. it's quite an effort to summit (no scrambling) but SO worth it! views at the summit go on forever. it felt like the view of a thousand peaks. this hike is low traffic and very underrated!
Bear on the trail. We did the Patty’s Flat side (riverview) and crossed highway 66 on the western end of that trail. Proceeded up the hill and ran into a small grey/brown bear. Seemed curious about us but didn’t do anything threatening. We turned back.
This trail is not for beginners. There are chains at the head wall that are a challenge. I just wanted to let people know as I knew about the chains but our group was surprised at how difficult they were.
this hike is great. we saw a grisly bear on a trail. on this hike you have to walk a lot, cross the creek ( and stream is pretty fast) and climb the actually mountain. very fun times
Really enjoy this trail had a bit of everything river, forest and views.lots of wild flowers and even found wild strawberry. There was a bear warning in the area as there had been a sighting but we had bear spray with us.
Great hike! My feet were aching. Very interesting terrain, the rocky climb to the waterfall gave me a sense of awe and terror. Would do this again. Don't recommend dogs but saw a few people bring theirs.
We biked 4km in and then hiked the rest. Really beautiful lake, crystal clear. The chains weren’t so bad, the cliff face on the left side helped getting up and down. At the top it was really windy for us, couple of us lost our hats.. it was fine once we got into the trees. We camped overnight and the next morning was so crystal clear, and fishing was great! Overall, amazing trip :)
