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Who knew that you could find traffic-free routes along canals with great mountain views in Canada? About 1.5 hours from Calgary, Alberta! This route has it all and is relatively flat, ta boot.
Contents
Overview
- Start/End: Goat Creek/Ha Ling Parking Lot (southwest of/above Canmore) *Need an Alberta Parks Conservation Pass
- Route type: loop (or out-and-back)
- Campground: Spray Lakes West Campground, Spray Valley Provincial Park, Alberta. This campground is first come first serve (no reservations). However, there is a hiker/biker overflow area with a no turn away policy! Hiker/biker regulations are here.
- Distance (one-way): ~10-11 km each way (see maps, below)
- First trip: August 2021
- Terrain: Predominantly doubletrack in very good condition. See trail description, below, for details.
- Notes specific to kids: A great family-friendly backcountry trip. We had three families on this trip with kids ranging from 1.5 to almost 10 years old. The 1.5 year old was a passenger in a Yepp Maxi. The 4.5 year olds rode a lot: one had some TowWhee help; the other hopped on their MacRide for stretches. The two almost 7 year olds rode the whole thing on their own wheels, one had a bit of help from a TowWhee occasionally. The almost 10 year old rode the whole thing, no problem, and carried a front roll (her clothes). The Candy Fairy visited frequently and spirits remained quite high the whole trip, both ways.
- Highlights: Easy access, close to Canmore. For better or worse, the campground is accessible by car, which means that if you have a newborn and aren’t keen to bikepack with them yet, for example, you can still meet your family and camp! Ditto for other friends/family that you want to include. Other highlight: no reservations required, which is great for last minute, carpe diem trips that are especially great with families when navigating moods, illness, and/or weather.
When to go
I would recommend summertime for this route, i.e. July or August. It is a higher elevation route so I doubt it’s usually great during shoulder season.
It’s fun to be able to swim in the reservoir if that’s your thing, although it will always be relatively chilly! The flora along the High Rockies was lovely, which would be peak late July/early August, most years.
Campground dates
At the time of writing, the campground was open May 19 to September 19, 2021.
Most of this trail should be good during prime riding season. It is snow-covered in the winter (and the campground is closed, plus I believe dog sled tours are run along the HRT portion). Spring and fall will definitely be wetter (and/or snowbound), plus the campground closes right at the end of summer. There are some areas of higher clay content along stretches of the High Rockies Trail portion that could become slippery under the right conditions. And you may find seasonal run-off on the trail, but it is generally well built so I expect that has been considered in design and minimized to maintain the trail’s integrity, long-term.
When we went
We first did this route early August 2021 and it was great. Dry trail conditions, warm to hot riding conditions, although I find the temperature up in the Spray Valley is generally a little cooler, which is nice. It was smoky due to forest fires when we were there, and got very smoky overnight, but thankfully cleared a bit by the time we rode back.
Where to start
Start/end at the Goat Creek/Ha Ling parking lot located southwest and above Canmore on Highway 742, the Smith-Dorrien Trail. The following picture shows the last hundred metres or so of trail (Goat Creek Trail), just prior to the parking lot. The parking lot is located at the base of the big rock slab in this picture:
Maps
Here are the Strava activities from our trip. Any extra distance is from running back to help kids, etc. Total elapsed time was 2.5-2.75 hrs each way for our large group with a wide variety of riding abilities; total riding time was about 1h20-1h35 each way.
Day 1
<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/5755162728/embed/f9bbafa1a9bb0fce95acb02e87bb208f3eecf4a9'></iframe>Day 2
<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/5755165093/embed/f31ad86d06d6edc29ee6bb7b73df135c7a656b4e'></iframe>Strava Routes
- Strava Route Map for Day 1, ~10 km, 98 m elevation gain
- Strava Route Map for Day 2, ~10.75 km, 149 m elevation gain
Lollipop-style loop
Day 1 and Day 2 have a common stretch (the lollipop stick) from Goat Pond to Spray Lakes Reservoir. Otherwise, this route is a loop: Day 1, starting at Goat Creek parking lot, go up that steep gravel road on the other side of the Smith-Dorrien, ride out on the canal service road, across the north end of Goat pond, then up the ‘lollipop stick’ to the campground; Day 2, you ride the ‘lollipop stick’ until the northwest corner of Goat Pond and then you continue on the High Rockies Trail route all the way to Goat Creek Trail and then the parking lot.
The trail
Overall, this route is in good shape for the backcountry. Read on for a detailed trail description.
We rode along the west side of the canal, which is essentially a gravel service road (at least wide enough for a truck to get through). Wider tires are more comfortable on this section, for sure, but we had city bikes do it, pulling a Chariot and they did fine (they were just not as comfortable as the mountain bike, balloon, plus, or fat tires that were also in our group). There is a steep hill to get up to the canal from the parking lot with a gate (or two?!); adults can ride, most kids will likely walk, but then this route is flat all the way to Goat Pond except for one bridge that needs to be by-passed — the detour is obvious, you turn right before the bridge, then it switchbacks left, crosses a small drainage, and you go back up to the service road. There are kilometre markings along the entire service road (eg. 3+200) which are fun to count down with the kids!
[Another option may be the east side of the canal. I haven’t ridden the this side yet, but I was scoping it out as we rode along the west side. The east side looks quite nice, in my humble opinion — I could see a well worn singletrack for most/all of the route, it almost looked smoother than what we rode. There are tracks on Strava heat maps and I know of people who have ridden it. However, there was one section where the east side seemed pinched against a rock band with some boulders that had fallen along the path here and I am not confident recommending it if you have a wide (eg. trailer) or heavy load to navigate. Let me know if you’ve done it! I look forward to trying it another time and reporting back.]
Kids may not find the intersection of the canal road and the Smith-Dorrien very obvious, so beware of that if you’re letting them ride ahead, especially since they may not be thinking of cars at this point, having been riding traffic-free for a few kilometres by now! Always good to have a stop-and-wait-at-any-junction rule, anyway!
The small section (about a few hundred metres long) from when you cross the Smith-Dorrien until you pass the gate at Goat Pond is open to cars, just so you know. The section across the north end of Goat Pond is just a dyke/gravel road. Once you get to the west side it obviously intersects with the High Rockies Trail, and there are even trail markers. Turn left to go to the campground!
The High Rockies Trail is predominantly doubletrack (gravel and dirt, depending) between Spray Lakes Reservoir and Goat Creek.
There are a 2-3 washed out (flood-damaged) bits in this next section as you ride to the campground. They are short and rideable for most experienced riders. Some of the kids walked; some did a mixture of riding/walking. There are boardwalks and bridges in this next section, too! (I love boardwalks… and bridges for that matter!) Super fun. The boardwalks and bridges are wide enough to accommodate a double Chariot trailer, FYI.
In this section, there is also one overgrown bit. It’s not super long and there is one fairly well worn singletrack through it all. Plus, the overgrown bits aren’t woody shrubs that I recall, mostly herbaceous matter, like horsetails, so fairly soft and easy to ride by or through. The double Chariot trailer made it through this section, no problem, they just took it a bit slower. There is a small drainage ditch on the uphill side that is good to be mindful of if you’re pulling a trailer, too, FYI.
At one point you cross another bridge (next picture) and the trail opens up and you see a climb — this is the (biggest and) last climb. No problem for most people but tired kids might drag it out! After this climb you are almost at the campground. There is a short descent and then a bit through the trees. Once you past the gate, you are in the campground and cars may be on the road. The hiker-biker sites are immediately on your right and the camp hosts are straight ahead.
On the return trip, stay on the High Rockies the whole way. I recall one rougher washed out descent, rideable or walkable, as you like. There are some short climbs, but overall the route is gently undulating and you are losing elevation, overall. The forest is very pretty through this section, with lots of Labrador Tea and other plants you only see in the Rockies on certain sites. Once you cross Goat Creek, turn left after the bridge and there is a nice wide singletrack through here. A double Chariot can fit although you may need to walk/push in a section or two. Keep following the signs for the High Rockies. You will go up through the forest on a wide singletrack: any kids or heavily loaded bikes in your group will likely walk this section, but it’s not long. Next, you hook up with the wider Goat Creek Trail, turn right. This leads you to the parking lot (<1 km).
Difficulty
Overall, I would rate this trail as easy. Practically flat, all things considered for the mountains! Not as easy as say, riding in to Mount Rundle Backcountry (Sp6) along the well-used Spray West Trail from Banff, but relatively easy compared to, say, the long climb up the Cascade Valley to Cr6. On par with riding into Big Elbow (although less climbing) and Mount Romulus (but shorter and much less climbing than the route into Mount Romulus).
Our set-ups
One adult in our group was on a regular city bike, it works for him and he’s a skilled rider. His partner was using a city bike, too, with e-assist, and she carried their 1.5 year old in a Yepp Maxi and pulled a double Chariot trailer full of gear. Their 4.5 year old rode a little 14″ Spawn and had some help from a TowWhee. The city bikes didn’t excel on the rougher canal sections, but use what you got, right?! If you have wider tires, I recommend them. This family uses the Chariot to tow most of their gear, plus dad has a pack full of light things and a small basket on the front of his bike with some extras.
Another family had a more backcountry-friendly set-up: he rides a Surly Krampus with a MacRide and she rides a basic KHS fat bike. I say, backcountry-friendly because the wider tires just give you a cushier ride on a rigid set-up, plus more traction. Their kids were on Woom bikes. They’re almost 7 year old had some TowWhee help in a few spots; the 4.5 year old opted for a MacRide seat for maybe half of the trip, if that. When she was on the MacRide, they strapped her Woom across the top of the rear rack of the Krampus. This family uses panniers to carry their gear (front and rear).
Our set-up is similar to this family: my husband rides a Surly Krampus, too, and I have my Surly Troll (he’s on balloon tires, Surly Xtraterrestrials, and I’m on 3″ plus tires, WTB Rangers). Our almost 10 year old is on a 24″ Cleary Scout and carries a dry bag of her clothes strapped on to her handlebars. Our almost 7 year old rode her 20″ Prevelo Alpha Three. We had the TowWhee just in case, but didn’t use it. We also have extra straps to strap the 20″ bike down if we absolutely need to (eg. in case of injury) and our rear racks are weighted to 100 lbs so can carry a small passenger (if absolutely necessary). We carry our gear in 4 panniers, plus the tent in a dry bag on my husband’s front rack, and I have a front basket bag full of useful-to-access things (eg. candy, first aid, TP, InReach, etc.). My husband also uses a frame bag with extra tubes and some tools. Our whole family uses water bladder backpacks (and I carry my bear spray on mine, plus tools inside). [See above pictures in the trail description section for the rest of my family’s set-up.]
The campground
The High Rockies Trail dumps you at the entrance to the campground. Immediately on your right are the hiker-biker sites (no turn away and one night stay policies). Straight ahead on the other side of the road is where the camp hosts live (you’ll see their RV as well as other little buildings). The rest of the campground is strewn down the road, most (perhaps all, I can’t quite recall and we didn’t venture past our site) of the camp sites are located between the road and the reservoir.
We opted to camp in one of the car campground sites because, well, they’re just situated better and not quite as exposed as the hiker-biker sites. The kids had a fabulous time playing along the foreshore (and would have had to cross the road in order to do that from the hiker-biker sites). The first group of sites after the camp host area has 4 bear lockers plus outhouses available. The sites all have fire rings and picnic tables (check for fire bans) — firewood was $10/bundle. There are no proper levelled tent pads, so you may have to hunt around to find a decent spot or just take what’s available. We managed to find a spot that was gently sloping downhill but otherwise pretty even.
Sites cost $31/site (regular or hiker-biker) at the time of writing.
Conditions
The hiker-biker set-up is new as of 2021. It is located adjacent to the High Rockies Trail, at the north end of the campground. There are bear lockers, bike racks, picnic tables, and portapotties. It has the essentials. There are no tenting pads. (I also didn’t notice fire rings, but could be mistaken.) Its no turn-away policy is awesome (although, apparently, this campground has been that way for awhile, which is also great)! One night only policy in effect (don’t know if it’s enforced, especially if not busy).
The remainder of the frontcountry campground is also basic. No tent pads. But has some bear lockers (at least in the first cluster of sites), picnic tables, fire rings, and outhouses.
You can get water to filter/treat from either the reservoir or the creek that runs from Old Goat Glacier and crosses the road that runs through the campground.
The gravel road that runs the length of the campground is dusty and people were either awesome at driving slowly to keep down the dust (and keep kids/people safer) or bums. So, I recommend camping as far away from the road as possible.
The camp hosts were lovely and helpful.
Tips
Know before you go:
- Trail conditions
- Local weather forecast (but it is the mountains and mountain weather can change quickly)
There is some mobile service along the route (but don’t rely on it). Day 1 of this route parallels the relatively busy Smith-Dorrien Trail (Highway 742), a gravel road although you don’t really notice it, more just a good to know in case of emergency. Once you pass Goat Pond on Day 2, that section of the High Rockies is more remote (i.e. it’s much further from the Smith-Dorrien), but you are really only ~3-4 km from the Smith-Dorrien at any one point, if you need it for whatever reason.
Want to make this part of a multi-day trip?
You could do the route, below, in whatever direction you like, but as a family I would recommend a clockwise loop as described below, or some variation of it, including shuttling or getting a taxi from the Nordic Centre on your way back. Personally, I have a goal of never riding the dusty washboard stretch of the Smith-Dorrien from the Nordic Centre up to the Goat Creek parking lot, but maybe that’s just me. (I definitely wouldn’t do it with young kids.)
Day 1: Park at Goat Creek parking lot, ride to Spray Lakes West Campground (via canal and High Rockies). Camp.
Day 2: (optional) Do an out-and-back day trip: ride out to the damn on the car-free Spray Lakes Trail service road that runs along the western edge of the Spray Lakes Reservoir, pack a lunch. Or, hike up the Old Goat Glacier trail, even just to the waterfall. Or, do both! Camp again at Spray Lakes West Campground. (This may only work if you get a regular campsite as the hiker-biker sites are technically one night only. However, the caretakers were super kind and friendly and there were lots of hiker-biker sites when we were there so I imagine you could make this work, regardless, if you want.)
Day 3: Ride the High Rockies Trail to Goat Creek, turn left/west and head down Goat Creek to Mount Rundle Backcountry (Sp6) in Banff National Park. (This is a longer day with a few solid climbs on Goat Creek, even though it is overall downhill, so I wouldn’t recommend it for super young kids.)
Day 4: Ride out to Banff, hook up with the Legacy Trail and ride east/southeast back to Canmore. Ride up to the Nordic Centre however you like (eg. the Legacy Trail, although the switchbacks are steep when loaded, it is doable if if you walk). Send an adult via shuttle with a friend’s car or grab a taxi up to the Goat Creek parking lot to get your car.
Reference this post about the Goat Creek/Legacy Trail Loop. And this one may be helpful, too, if you opt to do the out-and-back trip suggested for Day 2.
Other trip ideas
- Goat Creek-Mount Rundle-Banff-Canmore Loop
- Jewell Bay
- Little Elbow to Big Elbow (clockwise on the Elbow Loop)
- Little Elbow to Romulus (counterclockwise on the Elbow loop)
- Cascade River
- Spray Lake West
- Other family-friendly ideas
