KANANASKIS COUNTRY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 238

Foran Grade Ridge
• Length: 2.5 kilometers/1.6 miles (50 minutes) one-way
• Elevation gain: 190 meters/620 feet
• Rating: easy/moderate
• Trailhead: unmarked pullout 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile) west of the winter closure gate at
Sandy McNabb day-use area
Climbing steadily from Highway 546, this trail traverses an open field and passes through
an aspen forest before reaching the high point of the ridge. From here, views extend up the
Sheep River Valley all the way to the Opal Range. The distance given is to this first vant-
age point. An alternative to returning along the same route is to continue along the ridge
for another 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles), then descend the west side of the ridge to Windy
Point Creek, which the trail follows downstream to Highway 40. Either walk back to the
trailhead along the highway or cross the road and link up with a trail running through the
valley floor for a total trail length of 11 kilometers (6.8 miles).
CAMPGROUNDS
Along Highway 546 are two campgrounds. Sandy McNabb Campground (May-mid-
Oct., $22 per site) is the first you'll come to, a short walk from the river right by the en-
trance to Kananaskis Country. It's named for an Albertan oilman who made an annual pil-
grimage to this spot with his family. Each of the 98 sites has a picnic table and fire pit
(firewood is $8 per bundle). Other facilities are limited to pit toilets and hand-pumped wa-
ter.
At the end of Highway 546, 21 kilometers (13 miles) farther west, is Bluerock Camp-
ground (mid-May-mid-Oct., $22 per site), where some of the 66 sites are set aside for
equestrian campers. This campground has similar services to Sandy McNabb.
Both facilities are operated by High Country Camping (403/591-7226,
www.campingalberta.com ) . All sites are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Highwood/Cataract Creek
The Highwood/Cataract Creek areas stretch from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to the
southern border of Kananaskis Country. This is the least-developed area in Kananaskis
Country. The jagged peaks of the Highwood Mountains are its most dominant feature; high