Kananaskis Canyon -- June 29, 2008

Peter Lougheed - Kananaskis Canyon Trail. Directions: Take Highway 40 to Kananaskis Lakes Trail. Turn right into Canyon Campground. Look for Loop C and a small turnout for parking. Trailhead is across the road.

Kananaskis Canyon is one of those trails that is beautiful and sobering at the same time. This quick 1.2 km takes you through a stunning canyon carved by water flow, but the very creation of this trail is thanks to the fact the river that used to run through here has been dammed and now flows through a pipeline going directly to a power plant.

The trail begins in a slow descent through forest toward what remains of the Kananaskis River. It was a nice break to be heading *downhill* at the beginning of a trail. After only a few minutes, we were beside the river and the trail was heading toward the canyon.

Then out of nowhere, the canyon appeared, along with a pond, bridge, bench and falls. It was all so park-like:





We crossed a bridge and the trail immediately led uphill to overlook the area. Again, it seemed almost too perfect:




Ironically, just a few feet from this lookout spot, the true Kananaskis River flows by in a pipeline. Amazingly, this is just off the trail itself:



The trail comes back down on the other side of the falls. Once again, we were surrounded by a peaceful quiet setting, calm waters, the canyon walls, the silence.. it was more a stroll than a hike, but it some ways it had the same effect: