Southern Alberta Flood - Trail Update June 27, 2013

Unless you've been living under a rock (or perhaps outside of Canada), you'll know that the worst flooding in the recorded history of the region occurred on June 20-22, 2013. As a result, the mountains, recreational areas, roads, and rivers are a mess. Bridges are gone, campgrounds are flooded and trails are washed out.

In the grand scheme of things, personal property and major road repairs must take first priority. Getting cities, towns and hamlets safe and habitable again is key to rebuilding. Knowing this, it could take some time before attention is turned to the rehabilitation of our recreational areas.

So where can we go while we rebuild? With so many different regions, it can be tough to keep track of what's open to the public. Here's a quick reference for this moment in time:

Banff National Park updated their trail report on June 26, 2013.

In summary, Sulphur Mountain and Tunnel Mountain are pretty much your only in town options, with Bow River/Hoodoo listed as Fair/Poor. All other trails, such as Fenland, Goat Creek, etc, are closed.

Lake Minnewanka Loop Drive is closed.

The popular Johnston Canyon and Castle Lookout trails are closed, while other trails further up the highway are open but muddy.

Lake Louise and area escaped the worst of the flooding, but are still wet. In fact many trails still list snow as your greatest obstacle. Remember that during the heat wave next week.

In Kanananskis, one of the hardest hit areas, there are even less options. Road closures, bridge washouts, and mudslides are extensive. It might be helpful to look at the closed areas first.

Canmore Nordic Centre is open for use! (as of June 27). Some trails wet and muddy with natural hazards. Highway 742 (Spray Lakes) is closed at the Grassi Lakes turnoff.

Bow Valley Provincial Park (as of 2:15, June 27) (too many to list, click link for details -- news is cautiously optimistic)

Spray Valley Provincial Park is closed due to access and flooding.

Cataract Creek is closed due to access and flooding.

Elbow Valley - The highway is closed at either the Bragg Creek turnoff or MacLean Creek depending on which web site you visit. The bridge right before Allen Bill Pond was washed out, so MacLean Creek is the furthest you can go. This impacts the Elbow Falls rec area, as well as the Beaver Flats campground. Paddy's Flats Group use and River Cove Groups use are also closed. Little Elbow is closed. MacLean Creek campground is open, with limited services, no power, water, or sewage disposal. The store will be open, but on generator.

Peter Lougheed Park is completely closed. Click the link for the affected areas.

Sheep River. Bluerock is closed, Sandy McNabb is open.

Lower Kananaskis River. Many of the day use areas shut down. The slalom course was destroyed and washed out in the flood, creating a very messy situation in the area.

I did not see a trail report for Highwood area, but the footage online shows the damage to be quite extensive in the region.

I'll do my best to update as more information becomes available. Make sure to also follow on Twitter (@hiphiker).

Sheep River Valley and Bluerock Trail -- June 14, 2008

Sandy McNabb trail - (1.8 km loop) Head west from Turner Valley on Highway 546 (look for signs pointing to Bluerock). Turn down access road into Sandy McNabb Recreation area. Take third left into parking area.

Bluerock Creek Trail - (2.2 km loop) Head west from Turner Valley on Highway 546 (look for signs pointing to Bluerock). Look for turnout/parking lot along highway just before Bluerock Creek crossing.


When I'm picking my trails, I tend to focus too much on the areas west of the city... though who can blame me? West of Calgary my options include Banff National Park, Canmore, Kananaskis, Lake Louise and Elbow Valley, just for starters.

So at times I have to remind myself of the beautiful and generally less-traveled areas south and southwest of the city, and go check out the many many trails I have never hiked.

D and I briefly examined Brown-Lowery Provincial Park in April, a nice little family area south of Calgary and just north of Turner Valley. This time we decided to venture a little further out to the Sheep River Valley area.

We didn't intend to do a major hike, instead we strung a few smaller hikes together. As we drove along Highway 546 directly west of Turner Valley, we also stopped at road turnouts along the way.

First of all, Sheep River is beautiful in spring. There were so many shades of green, and the water was running high and fast (and pretty muddy). Our first stop was the Sandy McNabb trail, a very easy 1.8 km loop through grassy forest. The first real viewpoint was a stunning look at the valley:



We also pulled over at the Bighorn Sheep Lookout, but this view greeted us from the trailhead:



The cows were *everywhere*. The parking lot. The stop sign. The trailhead, the trail, the meadow. And they were all watching us very carefully. We saw a lot of cattle.... notsomuch on the sheep. ;-)

Further on down the highway, we stopped to hike the Bluerock Creek 2.2 km loop. The trail is along a campground, and the area is stunning in its beauty. Once I start camping again, this will surely be one of my first stops:



Plenty of colour here too... the wildflowers were in full bloom. In keeping with my attempt to go beyond calling them "blue ones", let me present the Smooth Blue Beardtongue (Penstemon nitidus) of the Figwort family. Or at least I think it is (eagerly receiving corrections if I'm wrong):



Another look at Bluerock Creek:



Back out along the highway, where the Sheep River and Bluecreek Creek meet:



We turned around to head back to the city (we stopped by Junction Creek trail, but didn't find the hiking that interesting), but stopped for a look at Sheep River falls. This might have been the highlight of the day, as those unplanned stops often are.

Here's the "mini-falls" on the path to the falls viewpoint. We saw ducks playing in the rapids around here, but none stayed still long enough for a photo!



Sheep River Falls:



Not a lot of hiking in terms of distance, but it was a great day traveling somewhere a little unfamiliar.