Hike to Windtower Summit, Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, Canmore, Alberta
Mike and I were in the middle of a van trip to Canada and were looking to go on a few hikes. The first hike we decided to do was to the summit of Windtower in the Bow Valley Wildland Provincial park, just south of Canmore, Alberta. In order to do this hike, we needed to purchase a Kananaskis Conservation Pass (say that 5x fast), which we were happy to do.
The forecast for the day of the hike was set to be pretty warm so we decided to get a fairly early start. We were the first car at the trailhead that morning so we knew we’d have the trail all to ourselves on the way up. Shortly after starting, we turned left on the High Rockies Trail for just a minute and then turned right to continue on the trail to Windtower’s summit.
The hike up was very straightforward as the trail was well established. Once we approached treeline, the views really started to open up of the whole valley, and we could see the entire Spray Lakes Reservoir (which is a very large reservoir!). As we started hiking above treeline, the trail tended to braid and there were several trails we could have taken to the top. We tried to stay on the most established one in order to minimize our impact on the tundra. The entire way up, the trail was pretty steep, gaining over 3,000 ft of elevation gain in just 3 miles. That said, the views from the top were well worth the effort in my opinion. The north side of Windtower from the peak is a big cliff and gave me vertigo just looking down at it. I also enjoyed the views towards Lougheed and the Spray Lakes Reservoir.
After spending 30 minutes at the top enjoying the views, we decided to head back down. On the way down we passed quite a few other hikers on their way up. We were glad we got the early start and were also glad we decided to do this hike on a weekday. On the way back down, we took a quick detour to the saddle between Windtower and The Rimwall. It was neat to see the north face of Windtower from below. Once we hit treeline, the temperature seemed to rise materially so we increased our pace to get back to the van to escape the heat.
Overall, I really enjoyed this hike. It’s quite steep, but it’s also fairly short from a mileage perspective and provides great views for a good portion of the hike. I’d like to hike some other peaks in the area in the future.
Stats: 6.3 miles, 3200 ft of elevation gain
