The Lady MacDonald trailhead is one of those The first time we looked for it we missed it and ended up walking up the cougar creek river bed (boulders) past the debris fence and then doubled back to the Mountane Traverse. The trail itself is quite well defined and zig-zags up to the former site of a teahouse. Lady MacDonald Summer-like temperatures and bright sunny skies inspired me to put aside the snowshoes and oil up the old hiking boots for my first hiking trip of the season. Reaching the final summit ridge imposed no difficulty. We saw seven of them though they look like white boulders from a distance. Don’t let the name fool you- this mountain is no lady. It took us four hours of hiking round-trip, not including a leisurely lunch soaking in the sun at the heli-pad. Mount Lady MacDonald, elevation 2,606m and one of the four peaks that make up the Canmore Quad, the others being Mount Grotto, Ha Ling, and the East End of Rundle.An 8km out-and-back and really quite challenging. The Baldy Pass Trail in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country, The Jura Creek Hike Near Canmore, Alberta, Ice Walks in Alberta – Three Unforgettable Experiences, 19 Unmissable Stops on the Columbia Icefields Parkway. It’s free. The pad itself is a bit worn out so I had to be careful where I stepped. It’s a popular trail as we discovered, with most hikers turning around at the heli-pad. Enjoy…, […] The Mount Lady MacDonald Hike near Canmore […], Your email address will not be published. since the flood in 2013 many of the trailheads are tough to find. I ended up putting my poles away after awhile because they were becoming more of a hindrance than anything since it was getting so steep. From here, you walk past an area closure sign and then immediately begin gaining elevation up a dirt covered trail. Instead continue almost to the large metal gate across the river. Lady Macdonald travelled to Vancouver on the new railway with her husband in 1886. The trail itself is quite well defined, and climbs to the site of a former, now defunct tea house. Her blog: HikeBikeTravel is frequently cited as one of the top travel and outdoor adventure blogs in Canada. Dinah and I first attempted Mount Lady Macdonald but didn't get past the south summit because of rain. Learn how your comment data is processed. From the ridge to the heli-pad it took us about 15 minutes. The approach uses the popular trail to the teahouse. Let’s just say that it was probably a good thing I was alone after that. Mount Lady Macdonald is a technical scramble with a knife edge traverse required to reach the true summit. Yamnuska: 900m gain Indefatigable: 1000m gain Lady Macdonald: 1300m gain. 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Once you get on top of the ridge that leads to the helicopter pad, the views of the surrounding mountains to the northeast are phenomenal. Discover Canada: 100 Inspiring Outdoor Adventures, Test Your Mettle on the EEOR Hike near Canmore - Hike Bike Travel. Park in the parking lot that is just on the other side of the bridge. While the entire trail is just scree at this point, the trail is still obvious where it is faded so I was able to follow it closely, using my hiking poles to help keep balance. round trip hike time: 6-7 hours. I've climbed the mountain twice now, and all the hard work of getting to the summit is worth it when you see the amazing views from up there. Where: Near Canmore Distance: 9.8km Difficulty: Difficult We did not on this outing. Be the first to submit your climbing note! They continued off and on for the duration of the hike. He told me about his life and about all of the various hikes he had done. The boulders, sparse forest, and views of the Bow River Valley make for a classic mountain landscape that isn't always offered by forested walks to lakes, or hikes up scree slopes. To be fair, I don't think I had the head space to deal with the exposure at that time anyway. LEVEL Expert. Overview. This short but very steep trails climbs from the Cougar Creek trailhead in Canmore, AB to the ridge of Mount Lady MacDonald, located west of Cougar Creek. My guess as I don’t have a map in front of me, is that it’s 3 kilometres to the helipad and about 610 metres (2000 feet) of climbing. That fir… The peak of Lady MacDonald loomed large over me as I finally climbed on top of the helicopter pad. Ahead we could see hikers taking off on a trail into the woods so we checked with someone who looked like a local. We walked north up the 1 kilometre gravel covered trail before it finally veered slightly away from the creek and into the trees. How To Get There: When heading west towards Canmore on the Trans Canada highway, take the off-ramp that leads to Highway 1A. It can take anywhere from 4 hour (if you are fit) upwards to 7 hours (if y… Parked at the Cougar Canyon park lot. Indefatigable has the least time spent on rocks. When we returned two years later almost to the day, we had perfect conditions: dry rock, blue sky and calm winds. If you’re coming from Calgary get off at the main exit into Canmore by the Silver Tip Resort. This is the primary site for Canmore based pilots. One wrong move and you could end up sliding backwards which could spell trouble. Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Elevation Gain: 1300 metres. So I packed up all of my stuff and took off towards Canmore with the weather forecast looking to be a bit more favourable than in past weeks. He told me that getting to the summit was incredibly tricky. This terms and conditions is subject to change at anytime with or without notice. There was quite a bit of snow around in mid-May. She’s tough as hell. Required fields are marked *. Distance: 10 km. It stops being a hike and turns into a moderately difficult scramble. Thanks for reading! After about 1.75 hours from setting out, we gained the ridge two pictures below. This peak is located just north-east of Canmore Alberta. In short order you can see the rest of the mountain unfold above you. While this is a great early season hike, it would also be good in summer. Time: 5 hours Distance: 10.7 km (return) Elevation Gain: 1200 m How To Get There: When heading west towards Canmore on the Trans Canada highway, take the off-ramp that leads to Highway 1A. Mount Lady MacDonald is a mountain with amazing views from up top. Lady Mac took me by surprise! Mount Lady MacDonald Day Hikes Patrick Latter September 23, 2012 Alberta , Canmore , Summer 261 Comments Attempt date: September 22nd, 2012 Start time: 7:10am Completion time: 6 hours Elevation gain: 1200m (3,937 ft) Highline Trail: Exit Three Sister Blvd (southwest off Hwy 1) to “T” intersection with Hubman Landing; trailhead is across Hubman at intersection. Nearby I also recommend hiking Ha Ling Peak. So there's the physical outlay. From the Cougar Creek Trailhead by the parking lot follow the well-defined trail to the left (west) of the river. From the Cougar Creek Trailhead by the parking lot follow the well-defined trail to the left (west) of the river. There were several moments where I lost track of the trail but there were many helpful cairns and orange ribbons tied to trees that helped me along the way. Mount Lady MacDonald is an obvious objective, to say the least. Head left up it admiring the mountainscape around you. Living in Canmore, and especially this year with our dry winter, some trails are enjoyable almost year round for hiking and scrambling. All content provided on this My Hiking Journal  blog is for informational purposes only. The helicopter pad offers panoramic views of both sides of the mountain and a lot of people use this as their stopping point. Land was leased in the mid 80’s but by 2002 the project had folded. Choose one of the many short paths up through the woods on your left. Town: Canmore, AB. The ridge gets very narrow and acts almost like a balance beam for about 30m before you reach the top. terrain. We found one arrow on a tree so followed that general direction – always going up. Lady MacDonald standard scramble route. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. GETTING THERE Drive along Bow Valley Trail and turn left onto Benchlands Trail. MOUNT LADY MACDONALD. I wanted to get to the top of Lady McDonald’s highest ridge, so I continued on. After that, the trail leads right through a large pile of boulders. Then it steepens again and the trail becomes braided. It was much easier going back down the scramble as I could just slide down the scree instead of climb up against it. Total Distance: 6 km. The Mount Lady MacDonald hike out of Canmore is one of a handful of early season hikes that delivers a great workout along with spectacular views. The owner of www.myhikingjournal.com will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. . After roughly 2.5h you’ll come to a weather station and a place where a concrete tea house once stood. Perhaps best known for her magnitude, she towers over the Bow River Valley, peaking at a staggering 2,606 m (8,550 ft). Start from the Cougar Creek trailhead in Canmore and take the path to the left when you see the sign for Mount Lady MacDonald. Time: 7 hrs. That’s when I decided to start singing an off-key variation of Backstreet Boys songs. We ended up exchanging phone numbers for future hiking trips and taking pictures for each other standing on top of Lady Mac and then I bid him farewell. Travel … As I hiked, the switchbacks got shorter and shorter (and steeper and steeper) and the views of bow valley below got better and better. This is a difficult out and back trail to Mount Lady Macdonald in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park. But this still wasn’t my goal. To continue up past the helipad isn’t difficult to the first obvious bump. Mt. Finding the Mount Lady MacDonald trailhead, Further reading on early season hikes in the Rockies. In 2013 the partially built wooden structure for the teahouse as well as other bits of infrastructure were demolished in the interests of public safety. Lady Mac also has less trail than the other two. Technical difficulty changes it up. There were four other hikers that had also reached the top, one of whom had just come back from the real summit. Continue north past houses in a residential neighbourhood until the trail takes a noticeable bend to the left. And I already had a panoramic view of the world from where I sat. One down (well, almost), three to go (sort of). MOUNT LADY MACDONALD. When we tried it the second time we did find it and had a great hike up to the tree line on the … Your email address will not be published. It would be worth it just to hike to this point. Continue north past houses in a residential neighbourhood until the trail takes a noticeable bend to the left. Lady MacDonald: Bow Valley Trail exit east from Hwy 1; North on Elk Run Blvd to Cougar Creek parking lot. Climbing up this part is a bit of a slow process, as you need to be careful where you place your steps. Sitting just east of Banff, Mount Lady MacDonald is well known among Canmore residents and avid hikers in the region. There were some tricky points where there were hidden rock slabs underneath the scree but I managed to fall on my butt only once. This time I found the correct trail. August 12th happened to be one of those days. Proudly created with Wix.com. ESE Ridge of Lady MacDonald 5.5 - TR A scramble/climb of a 5.5 rock ridge route near Canmore - 1350 m (4400 foot) of elevation gain - Eight hours up 2 hours down- 10 hour RT. Author of Discover Canada: 100 Inspiring Outdoor Adventures Co-author of 125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta, The popular Baldy Pass trail is one of the closest trails to Calgary in the…, The Jura Creek hike near Canmore is a family-friendly outing with an option to add…, There are three ice walks in Alberta - and they all provide unforgettable experiences. 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