Kananaskis Country

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The beauty of the Rockies without the crowds

Introduction

Although I have travelled to many countries in the world, I have never explored Western Canada and decided that 2023 would be the year I would change that. Given the beauty of our own Canadian Rockies, I settled on a trip to visit Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country, the latter less well known than Banff, but definitely just as beautiful.

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Kananaskis Country

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Before Jasper, Banff and even Canmore is Kananaskis Country, situated a little more than one hour out of Calgary, and home to some spectacular scenery. Alberta’s goal in creating Kananaskis was to avoid over-development and to preserve the natural beauty of the territory. Restaurants, hotels, gas stations and grocery stores are few and far between, so be prepared with a full tank of gas, and any food you will need. More information about the park can be found here.

You will need a park pass to travel through Kananaskis, which you can purchase on-line, or at the discovery center when entering the park on Highway 40.

For those adventurous souls amongst us there are countless camping spots to choose from within the park, but we prefer the comforts of a warm room, comfortable bed, and ummm, lets say odorless bathroom and so we stayed at the remarkable Pomeroy Mountain Lodge, and what a great experience. Originally built to help host the skiing events for the 1988 Calgary Olympics at the nearby ski hill, the Pomeroy which is now part of the Marriott chain of hotels, was completely renovated in 2018. While pricey the hotel rooms were clean and well maintained, the staff were remarkable, the views of the surrounding mountains were incredible and the food was outstanding.

If you are looking to relax and indulge your senses in the mountain environment, you can book some time at the brand new Kananaskis Nordic Spa. We were booked there for an afternoon, but sadly decided to cancel since the forecast predicted an afternoon of rain and freezing conditions. Spa staff were very understanding and cancelled our reservation no questions asked.

I highly recommend the Village Walk, a 2km path that offers great views of the surrounding mountains over the river valley below. Many of pictures in this post were taken from the walk.

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Mount Lorette Ponds

On our drive from the Calgary International airport to our hotel in the Kananaskis Village, we stopped to explore the Mount Lorette Ponds. This is a very easy area to hike around, not more than 3km of easy walking. The water was so clear you could see straight to the bottom through the Emerald green water.

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Wedge Pond

One popular photographic location in Kananaskis is Wedge pond. This unassuming body of water lies nestled in a valley between Mount Kidd, and ‘The Wedge’, another mountain range (go figure). Despite the weather forecast of grey skies, wind and cold temperatures (to say nothing about what the view out the window of the hotel looked like), I was determined to venture out before sunrise. Pictured below is the view of Mount Kidd from one side of Wedge Pond. I was hoping for some sunrise to peak through the gaps in the clouds, but no such luck. The weather conditions were horrible with bitter winds from the North, snow and made all the worse since it was the end of June and I have nothing but layers of summer hiking clothes to wear. I was so chilled when I got back to the hotel that I declared “we are not going out again”.

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Elbow Lake

Of course I relented once I warmed up after some hot tea and we ventured out into the nasty conditions, if only for a drive. I had my sights set on exploring the Highwood Pass, and if possible a hike in the area. Back at the hotel we heard the BackRoads tour group mention they would be doing the Elbow Lake hike, so that became our destination. We have done a couple of tours with BackRoads and knew that they select very interesting itineraries and as luck would have, we ended up at the parking lot at the same time. We asked them if we could tag along and they were more than happy to help, such a great group.

The hike itself is only 4km, with about 200 meters of elevation gain, most of which is at the beginning and thus the first kilometer is all uphill. The rest of the hike is relatively flat with various ups and downs along the way. There were stunning views of the mountains as you approached the lake, but it is only after you crest the last short climb that you are presented with this view of the surrounding mountains.

The hike around the lake is really spectacular, and as you can see in these images the clouds were ever changing – every time I looked around the lighting was different. The water was again that gorgeous Emerald color – I just cannot get enough of it.

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Troll Falls

We continued to explore the area and after a quick pizza lunch (thanks to leftovers from dinner the night before) we headed back to the hotel for some quick R&R (really a nap). Once recovered and awake, the conditions outside had improved vastly and so we decided on another hike, this time Troll Falls an short five minute drive from the hotel. This is another rather easy hike of 3.5kms and about 175 meters of elevation gain. The trail is very well marked with the reward of a lovely waterfall at the top.

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