Tunnel Mountain - June 26, 2010 (from the archives)

Banff National Park tweeted earlier this week that a number of Banff area trails are now snow free, including Lake Louise Shoreline, Glacier Lake Trail, Johnston Canyon, Bow River Loop, and Castle Lookout. This got me thinking about Tunnel Mountain Trail, a good trail for getting the hiking blood flowing and getting your first good views of the post-winter Banff landscape.

It's a great short hike, especially if you haven't warmed up those hiking legs yet. Even if you're not in peak form, it takes about 45-60 minutes to reach the top without pushing you beyond your limits, and gives you a little bit of rocky terrain near the top to whet your appetite. There's lots to room to stretch out in the sun at the top and enjoy the views.

I can never get enough of the views of Mount Rundle... right next door.

Tunnel Mountain -- Dec 30, 2007

For our final hike of 2007, N and I decided on a quick power walk up Tunnel Mountain. It's a short hike, but it never lets up. And you can't beat the views.

It doesn't take long before you have an amazing view of the historic Banff Springs Hotel:



It looks a lot colder than it really was. A nice winter view of Banff:



From the other side of Tunnel Mountain, looking out over the valley between Banff and Canmore. This is the Bow River along the Banff Springs Golf Course (I believe that's the clubhouse in the top centre of the photo). The path of the almost frozen river through the snow was fascinating:

Tunnel Mountain -- October 19, 2007

Snuck out of the city on a Friday to hike around Banff. I even got to call it work-related. Beautiful day on the trail.

(Click here for trail information)

Tunnel Mountain - Banff - September 9, 2007

The weather around here has taken a turn for the winter. It's not snowing in the city yet, but all my weather reports have been talking about 35 cm of snow for the Kananaskis/Canmore areas. I think my next hike will likely include packing my Yak-Traks in case we run into snow (I'm aiming for a hike up Sulphur Mountain sometime this weekend, but Stoney Squaw or the Cascade Amphitheatre work for me too, if we're feeling adventurous. I just like Sulphur because it finishes near the Hot Springs and that gives me a chance to try to talk D into going again -- hint hint).

The cooler weather isn't surprising considering the time of year, and we've had signs the fall weather is coming for about a month now, especially during the second Tunnel Mountain hike.

I'd raved about it so much to N, we wound up heading out one September morning. This might have been the morning of some of the most unusual weather I've ever seen. The drive from Calgary to Cochrane was normal. I could see pockets of clouds in the valley, but I figured they'd burn off as the sun got stronger.

As we hit the edge of the mountain by the turn off to Hwy 40, the clouds took on a whole new look. They were hanging low to the ground, but there was only a thin layer. Above the clouds there was still clear blue sky:



Even this wasn't terribly weird, but as we entered the rockies and passed the first corner, the most bizarre sight greeted us. The clouds were falling over the edge of the peak like a waterfall. It's the only possible description -- the clouds were moving like water spilling over the peak of the mountain down to the base:



After the highway wound around the other side of this mountain visibility dropped to zero. Nevermind the blue sky, we couldn't even tell we were driving through mountains.

When we arrived at the trailhead, there wasn't much to see, but we figured we'd hike it anyway. It didn't take long before we were lost in the mist:



I felt bad for N since she missed out on the amazing views from Tunnel Mountain, but like our hike to Grassi Lakes , the weather made this hike as memorable as any view could. Despite the fact we saw some ice at the top, we didn't even get cold. Another great day.

Tunnel Mountain - Banff - August 25, 2007

Banff - Tunnel Mountain. Trail particulars: Once in Banff, take St. Julien Road heading toward the Banff Centre. The trailhead parking is to the left of the road, just before the Banff Centre.


Amazingly enough, this is another "classic" hike D and I had never attempted before. For years I had the tendency to avoid Banff and area. The cost of entry to the Park kept going up, and often the townsite was just too crazy to deal with. This spring I finally realized how foolish it was to completely avoid the Park. We bought a pass and I've hardly been able to stay away since (ok, I still avoid the town on weekends).

This trail might be one of the most popular inside the Banff town limits, so expect to see lots of people. We started mid-day, so there were already quite a few hikers out. The hike is short (2.5 km, give or take), but steep. The payoff is amazing.

And since you're hiking up a mountain, the fun starts almost immediately:



The good news, since the path steers upwards so quickly, it isn't long before you start to see downtown Banff way down below:



This is just a little bit higher. I'd had no idea how flat the area west of Banff was -- or just how much of a valley Banff was in:



Most of the hike is spent hiking a trail on the south or southwest side of Tunnel Mountain. At one point there's a rocky plateau that makes you think you're near the top, but it's not so. The trail simply crosses over the mountain and works its way up from the north or northwest side of the mountain, looking out on the valley towards the highway. But the views here are absolutely spectacular:





This always reminds me how lucky I am to live in this area.

At one point, at the eastern most part of the mountain, the view is of Mt. Rundle, the mountain right beside Tunnel Mountain and probably the most well-known mountain in the area. This is the mountain that looms over Canmore and stands between Canmore and Banff. It always seems to look different depending where one is viewing it from -- Canmore, the highway outside Banff, the hot springs within Banff. It's my favorite mountain in the park, and from Tunnel Mountain we got a completely different view of it yet again:



Very cool and up close from the trail itself.

From here, it's a short walk to the actual summit and the chance to look down upon Banff and marvel at how far you've come in such a short time. There's plenty of room to stretch out and relax in the sun for a while, and many people on the trail did exactly that:



We didn't stay long as rain was threatening and we wanted to get back into town, but definitely a hike worth doing whenever you're kicking around town.