Kananaskis Country is a large park system located west of Calgary in foothills of the Rocky Mountains with many picturesque lakes, mountains, and hikes suitable for all types of hikers from the very beginners to experts.
If you want to explore Kananaskis, you will likely start your trip in Calgary, Alberta.
Calgary has international airport and can be reached from anywhere in the world.
How Big is Kananaskis Country?
Kananaskis Country is made up of eleven different parks:
- Bluerock Wildland Provincial Park
- Bow Valley Provincial Park
- Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park
- Bragg Creek Provincial Park
- Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park
- Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park
- Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park
- Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
- Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve
- Sheep River Provincial Park
- Spray Valley Provincial Park
How to Get to Kananaskis Country?
Bluerock Wildland and Sheep River Provincial Parks
This area can be accessed from Turner Valley.
If traveling from Calgary, take 22X west, then take exit towards Millarville and continue south towards Turner Valley.
When you get to Turner Valley, take highways 546 (Sheep River Road) and drive West.
After you pass Bluerock Provincial Park, you will enter Sheep River Provincial Park.
Even though Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is located next to Sheep River Park, there is no direct road connecting both parks.
One of the easily accessible attractions in the Sheep River area is Sheep River Falls. For some reason, these falls remind me of Elbow Falls located in Little Elbow Area.
Bragg Creek Area and Little Elbow
Brag Greek area is located just 30 minutes from southwest Calgary and it is a great spot if you don’t have much time and you want to go for a quick hike or picnic.
There are a few popular areas there – McLean lake, Allen Bill, Elbow Falls and Forgetmenot Pond day-use area.
Bragg Greek area can be accessed by taking highway 22X from Calgary and going west towards the mountains.
Just before a turn towards Brag Creek town, you will need to continue straight. This is where highway 22X connects with Highway 66 (Elbow Falls Trail) that you will use.
McLean Lake area is popular for fishing, biking and ATV use.
Allen Bill Pond picnic area used to have a pond before but after the flood of 2013 pond disappeared but the picnic area was restored.
Same happened to Elbow Falls – after the flood, the day-use area completely changed but trails were restored. Elbow Falls area is one of the most popular spots in Kananaskis Country.
The road between Elbow Falls and Forgetmenot Pond is closed for the winter season from December to May.
Forgetmenot Pond day-use area is another popular picnic spot located by the blue alpine lake. Alcohol consumption is allowed at Forgetmenot so as you would imagine the place gets pretty busy on weekends.
There are several hikes accessible from the Forgetmenot Pond area such as Little Elbow trail and Nihahi Ridge. There is also a campground there.
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
To get to Kananaskis Country area around Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail) and Peter Lougheed Park you will need to take Trans-Canada highway from Calgary and head out west.
When you see Stoney Nakoda Casino on the left side, take the exit onto Highway 40.
From there the first thing you will see is a gorgeous Barrier Lake on the right which has a few trails with scenic views from the top.
Next, you will see Nakiska Ski Resort Area which is smaller than Sunshine or Lake Louise but more affordable and located closer to Calgary if you are into skiing or snowboarding.
Near Nakiska area there is Centennial ridge hiking trail which is one of the most challenging and rewarding trails in the area.
If you drive further along Highway 40, you will see a lot of other hiking trails.
There are even small hot springs on the top of Mist Mountain which are usually not that busy because hiking is required to get to the springs.
Upper and Lower Kananaskis lakes area is also extremely popular in the summer among hikers and campers.
Both lakes are absolutely gorgeous and if you want even better aerial views of the lakes hike up the Sarrail Ridge. This is not a difficult hike that has a spectacular view of Upper Kananaskis Lake.
The best time to hike Sarrail Ridge is from June to August when the snow melts. Along the way, you will come across Rawson Lake where you can usually see the perfect reflection of the mountains above.
If you are not a fan of the uphill hiking, there is a relatively flat hike around the Upper Kananaskis Lake. It is not short (17 km) but a great way to explore the area.
There are several campgrounds in the area both front country and backcountry. Most of the campground spots fill up pretty fast during summer months.
At some campgrounds, you can do advanced reservations while others are first come first serve.
One thing that I don’t like about advanced reservations is that there is an $11 fee which is quite high in my opinion if you are just booking a one night stay.
Smith Dorrien Spray Trail connects Peter Lougheed with Canmore however this unpaved road is not in the best shape and has a lot of bumps.
Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park
Bow Valley can be accessed from Trans-Canada Highway and Canmore.
There are a lot of easily accessible popular hikes in Bow Valley area such as Mount Yamnuska, Ha Ling, Grotto Creek Canyon, Barrier Lake Lookout and Grassi Lakes.
Spray Valley Provincial Park
Spray Valley can be accessed both from Canmore (Hwy 742 – Three Sisters Parkway/Smith Dorrien Trail) and via highway 40 (Same one that you need to take to get to Peter Lougheed).
There is a lot of wildlife in the Kananaskis Country so don’t forget to bring your bear spray and pay extra attention to your surroundings when hiking or camping.
Also please be aware that sometimes certain areas of Kananaskis get closed because of the bear activity.
Where to Stay in Kananaskis Country?
Most people who visit Kansaskis country are either staying in Calgary because the drive is relatively short or camp.
There are also a few hotels in Kananaskis Village and Canmore if you want to stay closer.
If you end up staying in Kananaskis Village, check out Nordic Spa which is popular for its hot and cold pools and spa.
Kananaskis Country is located close to Banff and it is definitely worth spending at least a day there as well if you are not from Calgary.
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