CANMORE - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 170

backcountry of the Canadian Rockies, and publishing the annual Canadian Alpine
Journal -the country's only record of mountaineering accomplishments.
For further information and membership details, contact the Alpine Club of
Canada (403/678-3200, www.alpineclubofcanada.ca ).
Mount Lady Macdonald
• Length: 3.5 kilometers/2.1 miles (90 minutes) one-way
• Elevation gain: 850 meters/2,790 feet
• Rating: moderate/difficult
• Trailhead: corner of Benchlands Trail and Elk Run Boulevard, east side of TransCanada
Highway
Named for the wife of Canada's first prime minister, this peak lies immediately north of
Canmore. Follow Cougar Creek to where the canyon begins and look for a faint trail wind-
ing up a grassy bank to the left. Once on the trail, take the steepest option at every fork,
then a sharp right 300 meters (0.2 mile) after the trail bursts out into a cleared area. This
section is steep, climbing through a rock band to the mountain's southern ridge, which
you'll follow the rest of the way. The distance and elevation listed are to an unused helipad
below the main summit. It's a steep, unrelenting slog, but views across the Bow Valley are
stunning. From this point, the true summit is another 275 vertical meters (900 vertical feet)
away, along an extremely narrow ridge that drops away precipitously to the east.
Grotto Canyon
• Length: 2 kilometers/1.2 miles (40 minutes) one-way
• Elevation gain: 60 meters/200 feet
• Rating: easy
• Trailhead: Grotto Pond, Highway 1A, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) east of Canmore
This is one of the most interesting trails around Canmore. From Grotto Pond, this trail first
follows a power-line road behind the Baymag plant. Then at a signed intersection it takes
off through the woods to the mouth of the canyon. No official trail traverses the canyon;
hikers simply follow the creekbed through the towering canyon walls. Around 300 meters
(0.2 mile) into the canyon, look for pictographs to the left. At the two-kilometer (1.2-mile)
mark, the canyon makes a sharp left turn at Illusion Rock, where water cascades through a
narrow chasm and into the main canyon. Many hikers return from this point, but through