Best lake hikes in Kananaskis Country
The 15 best lake hikes in Kananaskis Country, out of 77 that we map, ranked by trail score.
How we rank trails Ranked by trail score, highest first.
- All hikes
- Easy 199
- Moderate 210
- Hard 417
- Under 5 km 404
- Kid friendly 189
- Waterfalls 16
- Summits 277
- Views 482
- Glaciers 22
- Canyons 15
- Loops 62
- Backpacking 32
- Wheelchair friendly 7
The list
Sorted by rank- 1Rawson Lake TrailNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkModerate · 8.7 km · 390 m gain · 3 h 15 minLake · Waterfall · Views · River or creek · Passes Upper Kananaskis Lake and View of the Lake in front of Mount Sarrail85score
- 2Three Isle Lake TrailNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkHard · 22.5 km · 867 m gain · 8 hLake · Views · River or creek · Camping · Passes Upper Kananaskis Lake83score
- 3Elbow Pass/Lake TrailNear Fortress Junction · Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial ParkModerate · 10.5 km · 264 m gain · 3 h 15 minLake · Waterfall · Views · River or creek · Passes Elbow Pass and Elbow Lake82score
- 4Grotto CanyonNear Exshaw · Bow Valley Provincial ParkHard · 11.6 km · 741 m gain · 5 h 30 minLake · Waterfall · Canyon · Cave · Passes Grotto Mountain Pond81score
- 5Chester LakeNear Fortress Mountain Resort · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkModerate · 8.9 km · 356 m gain · 3 h 15 minLake · Views · River or creek · Alpine · Passes Chester Lake80score
- 6Upper Kananaskis Lake TrailNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkModerate · 10.4 km · 249 m gain · 3 h 15 minLake · Waterfall · Camping · Passes Upper Kananaskis Lake80score
- 7Sarrail Ridge TrailNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkHard · 4.4 km · 490 m gain · 3 h 15 minLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge79score
- 8The Wedge RouteNear Mount Kidd RV Park · Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial ParkHard · 7.6 km · 1,114 m gain · 7 hLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Wedge Pond and The Wedge79score
- 9Pocaterra CirqueNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkModerate · 7.0 km · 265 m gain · 2 h 30 minLake · Views · Alpine · Passes Pocaterra Tarn79score
- 10Rummel Lake TrailNear Fortress Mountain Resort · Spray Valley Provincial ParkModerate · 10.1 km · 417 m gain · 3 h 45 minLake · Views · River or creek · Alpine77score
- 11Galatea Lakes TrailNear Fortress Mountain Resort · Spray Valley Provincial ParkModerate · 4.2 km · 283 m gain · 2 hLake · Views · Camping · Alpine · Passes Lillian Lake and Galatea Lakes77score
- 12Rae Glacier RouteNear Fortress Junction · Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial ParkModerate · 5.0 km · 263 m gain · 2 hLake · Views · Glacier · Alpine · Passes Elbow Lake77score
- 13Sarrail Ridge RouteNear Fortress Junction · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkHard · 2.7 km · 420 m gain · 2 h 30 minLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes View of the Lake in front of Mount Sarrail and Rawson Lake77score
- 14Anklebiter Ridge RouteNear Exshaw · Bow Valley Provincial ParkHard · 5.5 km · 891 m gain · 5 h 30 minLake · Summit · Views · Alpine · Passes Grotto Mountain Pond and Anklebiter Ridge76score
- 15Chester Lake Snowshoe TrailNear Fortress Mountain Resort · Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkModerate · 6.2 km · 292 m gain · 2 h 15 minLake · Views · River or creek · Alpine75score