Whether you are an advanced hiker looking for frozen waterfalls in Winter or a family looking for an easy hike for all — these 4 hikes are easy to complete providing you with all the views! Each of these hikes is family-friendly and dog friendly (dogs must be kept on a leash). In this blog post, you can read about 4 breathtaking easy Canyon hikes you can do within Kananaskis Provincial Park and Banff National Park.
The trails listed in this blog post are located within Banff National Park, Peter Lougheed Park and Bow Valley Provincial Park. In Banff National Park you require a Parks Canada pass per vehicle entering and for each day you stay in the national park. Peter Lougheed Park and Bow Valley Park are both provincial parks that fall within the Kananaskis area and therefore require you to have a conservation pass per vehicle entering and for each day you are within the provincial park boundary. You can learn more about pass requirements and how/where you can purchase these to avoid getting a fine, by clicking on the links below.
Grotto Canyon
Location: Bow Valley Provincial Park
Distance: 7.1 km (4.4 miles)
Elevation Gain: 395 m (1,296 ft)
Trail Type: Out & Back
Grotto Canyon is located within the Bow Valley Provincial Park and is a short 1-hour drive from Calgary. It is a very easy hike and relatively flat the entire way. At the start of the hike, about 1.5 km, you will be hiking nearby the industrial area and through some electricity cables and posts which can be noisy and a bit of an eyesore. But, once you make it past that area and through a short distance of a slightly forested area the remainder of the way will be hiking between the canyon.
You will find a lot of families with little ones and dogs all along the trail. Even in the wintertime, this trail was pretty busy even at 10:00 am. By noon on my way out of the trail as well as driving out of the parking lot, it was really busy with no parking spaces left. Make sure to keep this in mind as you aren’t able to park on the shoulder of the highway, so try and arrive as early as you can in the morning.
Pretty well the entire trail you will be able to see beautiful mountains within your surrounding. With the exception of the portions where the height of the canyon will take over the views of mountains in the distance. I quite enjoyed this hike as it was very easy-going, quick (it took me 2 hours with stops to complete this hike as I went alone), and had plenty of views along the way.
Getting There
It is pretty straightforward to locate the parking lot for the trail, with only a couple of turns after exiting the highway. From the Trans Canada Highway, you will take exit 114 towards Exshaw on the AB-1X (highway). Continue straight until you reach the T-intersection, where you will want to take a left onto the Bow Valley Trail AB-1A. You will take the Bow Valley Trail for 10.8 km before reaching your destination on your right. The parking lot is right off of the highway with a big sign that states not to park on the shoulder.
There are a few different trailheads that start from the parking lot, so make sure you find the sign that reads Grotto Canyon trail. Within the parking lot, the trailhead for Grotto Canyon will be on your left about halfway up the parking lot.
Sundance Canyon
Location: Banff National Park
Distance: 9.0 km (5.6 miles)
Elevation Gain: 351 m (1,152 ft)
Trail Type: Out & Back with Loop
Sundance Canyon is the longest hike on this list, but the trail is mostly flat with short sections with stairs in the canyon. You will walk quite far before hitting the start of the canyon where you’ll hike in a loop before returning back the same way you came into the trail. This canyon was gorgeous, especially with the sun shining on a warm winter day. My favourite part though had to be trying to climb up what was stairs beneath packed down snow and a thick sheet of ice. The stairs became an ice slide which made for an interesting time climbing up, especially with a little french bulldog who I carried in one hand up 😂. There was definitely some coordination with me in the middle to pass up Gordie to safety so we could all make it up the ice slide.
Getting There
This trail is right by downtown Banff and super easy to find. From the main street (Banff Street), drive straight until you hit a T-intersection — the Banff National Administration Building will be straight ahead of you. At the intersection of Banff Street, turn right onto Cave Ave — if you turned left onto Spray Ave you would arrive at the Fairmont. Follow Cave Ave all the way until you are in the parking lot for the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. From the parking lot just keep heading straight and past the historic site building and you will enter the trail that leads into the Canyon trail.
Johnston Canyon
Location: Banff National Park
Distance: 5.1 km (3.2 miles)
Elevation Gain: 262 m (860 ft)
Trail Type: Out & Back
This specific trail of Johnston Canyon will take you to the upper falls before you turn around and return back to your vehicle. If you are looking for a longer hike, you can continue past the upper falls to the Ink Pots which are quite lovely and worth the extra distance. In the colder months, the entire way up to the upper falls is really icy from the water spraying off the falls. We witnessed SO many people doing a full “slip and slide” because they weren’t wearing crampons or proper footwear with any kind of traction. Personally, I felt a little underwhelmed at the falls when visiting in September which is why going to the Ink Pots is a must in my opinion. In the cold months though, with lots of icicles surrounding you, it is quite beautiful.
Getting There
A portion of Highway 1A is closed every year between March 1 to June 25. If you will be hiking Johnston Canyon during this time, you will need to enter highway 1 from exit 50. Driving from Banff will mean on the Trans Canada Highway you will need to take the second (instead of the first) exit for highway 1A. I found the first time trying to find the parking lot a little confusing with not enough signage as there are two different paths that lead to different parking lots. The one parking lot is strictly for the cabin guests, so make sure you enter the parking lot that exits directly into the lot via the roundabout.
King Creek Canyon
Location: Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Distance: 2.9 km (1.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 171 m (561 ft)
Trail Type: Out & Back
King Creek Canyon is a very short and sweet hike making it perfect if you have some little ones that get tired quickly or if you are tight for time. If you have the opportunity to hike this trail in the winter season, I highly recommend it. We went on a sunnier day in the winter and watched people ice climb up the various sections of frozen water. After seeing the ice climbers I definitely had some FOMO, ice climbing is still on my bucketlist of activities to try. There were several groups of people along the trail, but given the area, it seemed to be Albertans only hiking the space likely because it’s not in Banff National Park.
Getting There
If you are driving from Calgary, thankfully this route completely avoids any gravel roads (I find them in the area extremely bumpy). You will want to take exit 114 from the Trans Canada Highway and then turn left onto AB-40. You will then continue to drive straight until you reach your destination on your left about 50 km. During the winter, the parking lot is closed with a gate, but you can park on the side of the road (this is quite common in Kananaskis).
Winter hiking information
If you go to any of these spots during the winter season — typically between November and April of each year; make sure to keep the following tips in mind. Crampons and hiking poles will be your friend on these routes! While Grotto Canyon wasn’t icy by the time I visited because of the warmer weather, it’s better to be prepared and have them than not have them at all. With all of these trails being within a canyon, there is water falling down rock creating lots of icy conditions throughout the winter. I also have a blog post on tips for winter hiking which I recommend checking out for more winter hiking tips.
Summer hiking information
While there is a possibility of bears being out of hibernation in the winter, they will definitely be out of hibernation in the warmer months. With that being said, always carry bear spray with you. I didn’t want to spend the money on it when I first moved to Calgary. But Kananaskis especially has a lot of wildlife activity, with no exceptions to the grizzlies. If you are only visiting the area and will only be here for a short time, you can also rent bear spray for the day at various shops.
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