KANANASKIS COUNTRY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 233

then descends before climbing again into an open meadow. Here begins the relentless slog
to the domelike lower summit, from where it's another 100 vertical meters (330 vertical
feet), via switchbacks or a direct climb up a ridge, to the upper summit and fire lookout.
Little Elbow
• Length: 2.5 kilometers/1.6 miles (50 minutes) one-way
• Elevation gain: minimal
• Rating: easy
• Trailhead: Forget-me-not Pond, near the end of Highway 66
This interpretive trail explores a short stretch of the Little Elbow River, just before its con-
fluence with the Elbow River. From Forget-me-not Pond, the trail passes between the road
and the river, then continues upstream, looping past interpretive boards that describe the
river and the mammals that live along its length.
CAMPGROUNDS
Five campgrounds, with a combined 551 sites, lie along the Elbow River Valley. The most
developed of the five is McLean Creek Campground, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west of
Bragg Creek and just south of Highway 66, by McLean Creek. At the campground en-
trance is the Camper Centre, with groceries, coin showers, and firewood ($8 per bundle).
As in all campgrounds in Kananaskis Country, each of the 170 sites has a picnic table and
fire pit. Unpowered sites are $26 per night, powered sites $34. The other campgrounds and
their distances from Bragg Creek are Gooseberry (10 km/6.2 mi), Paddy's Flat (20 km/
12.4 mi), Beaver Flat (30 km/18.6 mi), and, at the end of the road, Little Elbow (50 km/
31 mi). The latter has facilities for campers with horses. Each of these campgrounds has
only basic facilities—pit toilets and hand-pumped drinking water—but, still, sites are $24
per night. As at McLean Creek, firewood is available at $8 per bundle. McLean Creek is
open year-round, while the other four campgrounds begin opening in mid-May and close
between early September and the end of October.
INFORMATION
Elbow Valley Visitor Information Centre (403/949-4261, 9:30am-4:30pm Mon.-Thurs.,
9am-5pm Fri.-Sun. May-Sept., weekends only the rest of the year) is at the entrance to
Kananaskis Country, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Bragg Creek on Highway 66.