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Scenic Byways

Kananaskis Country:
Highway 40 South

A slow weekend drive through Canada’s quietest Rockies, ending at the highest paved road in the country.

  • 📍 Trans-Canada (Seebe) → Highwood Pass, Alberta
  • 📅 2 days (overnight at Kananaskis Village)
  • 🚗 About 170 km out-and-back along Highway 40 (85 km one way); ~250 km if looping via Hwy 541 / Cowboy Trail
  • 🏘️ 28 places
  • 🍂 Mid-June to October. Highwood Pass section closes Dec 1 – June 15

Kananaskis is what people mean when they say they want Banff without the crowds.

Highway 40 leaves the Trans-Canada near Seebe, drops south into the Kananaskis River valley, and climbs steadily for 67 kilometres before topping out at Highwood Pass — at 2,206 metres, the highest paved road in Canada. Same Rockies, half the parking lots.

Albertans treat Kananaskis as their not-Banff and quietly hope the rest of you stay away. The drive is the spine, but the whitewater on the Kananaskis River, the ski hill from the 1988 Olympics, the Nordic spa, and the alpine meadows above the treeline are why you don’t just drive it in a morning.

Plan two days. Stay at the Village. Pack a picnic for both lunches — there’s only one real restaurant south of the Village, and there’s nothing at all south of Boundary Ranch.

Day 1 — Calgary to Kananaskis Village

→ 90 km 

🚗 About 85 km, 1 hour west of Calgary on Hwy 1, then south on Hwy 40

Scenic Drive · Outdoor

Kananaskis Country (Highway 40 entry)

★ 5.0 Hwy 1 / Hwy 40 junction, Kananaskis Village, AB

This is where you leave the Trans-Canada and the crowds. Highway 40 drops south off Hwy 1 at the Seebe interchange and climbs steadily through 67 kilometres of mountain valley before topping out at Highwood Pass. Stop at the entry kiosk to buy a Kananaskis Conservation Pass — required for parking anywhere in K-Country.

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Kananaskis Conservation Pass (buy before parking) Bow Valley Provincial Park — at the Hwy 1 / Hwy 40 junction — picnic and short walks Heart Creek Trail — easy 3.6 km out-and-back to a small waterfall, just east of the junction on Hwy 1

🚗 5 km · 5 minutes south of the Hwy 40 entry

River · Outdoor · Photo Spot

Canoe Meadows

★ 5.0 Canoe Meadows, Kananaskis, AB

A wide riverside day-use area where whitewater kayakers and rafters launch into the Kananaskis River. Even if you’re not paddling, the rapids are loud and the put-in is the show. The river is dam-controlled, so flow times are predictable — releases usually run late morning to mid-afternoon in summer.

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Canoe Meadows Provincial Recreation Area TransAlta dam release schedule — plan your visit around the daily release window Bow Valley Kayak Club — kayak slalom course used for local races

🚗 1 km · 2 minutes south of Canoe Meadows

River · Outdoor · Photo Spot

Widowmaker

★ 5.0 Widowmaker, Kananaskis, AB

Same Kananaskis River, more serious water. The name describes the rapid, and the Hollywood crews who’ve filmed here weren’t kidding. Watch from the bank as paddlers come down through the boulder garden. The eddy below makes it easy to catch them mid-line. Quieter than Canoe Meadows; better for photography.

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Widowmaker Day Use Area • Kananaskis Visitor Information Centre Riverside trail downstream — 5–10 minute walk along the bank to watch from different angles

🚗 4 km · 5 minutes south of Widowmaker

Outdoor · Viewpoint · Hike

Barrier Lake

★ 5.0 Prairie View Trail Parking

A reservoir lake, but you’d never guess it from the trail. The 7-km loop around the lake stays low and forested with frequent water views; Mount Baldy dominates the south end. The Barrier Lake Visitor Centre on the highway is your last reliable bathroom and information stop before things get rural.

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Prairie View Trail — Barrier Lake Lookout — 11 km moderate hike to the fire-lookout above the lake Yates Mountain via Prairie View — 15 km extension for the panoramic summit
🚗 1.2 km · 3 minutes 
History

The Colonel’s Cabin

★ 5.0 The Colonel’s Cabin, Alberta 40

A 1934 forestry station cabin repurposed in 1939 to hold German prisoners of war during the Second World War. Quiet, small, and rarely visited. Worth the detour if Canadian wartime history matters to your trip; skip it if you’re racing south to Highwood Pass.

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Alberta Register of Historic Places listing — official heritage designation and history University of Calgary Biogeoscience Institute — now uses the original forestry station for ecological research Seebe — abandoned hydroelectric townsite — former TransAlta company town, nearly all houses removed by 2007
🚗 8.8 km · 8 minutes from the Colonel’s Cabin
Hike · Outdoor

Wasootch Ridge Trailhead

★ 5.0 Wasootch Creek, Kananaskis

Trailhead for a 13.4-km out-and-back ridge hike with one of the longest sustained ridge walks in Kananaskis. Steep at the start, then easy walking along the spine for kilometres. April through October. Bring poles and water — there’s no shade above the treeline.

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Wasootch Creek Trail — the AllTrails route to the ridge — moderate to hard, 13.4 km Wasootch Slabs — popular rock-climbing crag right next to the trailhead parking Wasootch Day Use Area — creekside picnic spot if you’re not hiking
🚗 3 km · 4 minutes south of Wasootch
Birding · Picnic · Outdoor

Mount Lorette Ponds

★ 5.0 Mount Lorette Ponds, Kananaskis

Three small engineered ponds at a bend in the Kananaskis River. Stocked with trout for casual anglers and a known birding stop — Canada geese, ospreys, and golden eagles all pass through during spring and fall migration. A flat, wheelchair-accessible loop makes it the easiest stop on the drive. Have your lunch here - the ponds have shaded picnic tables, a flat accessible loop, the river running past, and mountains on every side.

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Mount Lorette Ponds Day Use — accessible loop trail and picnic facilities Fishing — rainbow trout stocking — licence required; check current rules
🚗 3.3 km · 5 minutes from Mount Lorette Ponds
Stay · Family

Sundance By Basecamp

★ 5.0 2 Sundance Rd #40, Kananaskis

Glamping in canvas trapper tents and tipis along the Kananaskis River. Closed in winter. A family-friendly base if you don’t want a hotel and don’t want to pitch your own tent. Tents come with beds and woodstoves; tipis sleep larger groups. An alternative overnight to the Village hotels — book months ahead.

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Sundance by Basecamp (official site) — booking, season dates, what’s includedd parking Canvas trapper tents — woodstove and double beds inside Riverside fire pits — the part everyone remembers
🚗 3.7 km · 5 minutes from Sundance By Basecamp
Hike · Waterfall · Family

Troll Falls

★ 5.0 Troll Falls, Kananaskis

An easy 3.4-km family trail through aspen forest to a tiered waterfall. The path is gentle enough for strollers up to the lower viewing platform; the upper falls require a short scramble. Look for the troll faces in the rock — that’s the joke that gives the falls their name.

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Troll Falls trail (AllTrails) — easy 3.4 km out-and-back Hay Meadow loop extension — add the meadow trail for a longer 6 km loop Upper Troll Falls scramble — short rocky climb above the main falls — be careful in wet weather
On the way to Troll Falls
Birding · Wildlife · Outdoor

Golden Eagle Migration Observation Site

★ 5.0 Hay Meadow, Kananaskis Village

Each March and again in October, thousands of golden eagles funnel through the Kananaskis Valley between northern Canada and the southwestern United States. The Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation runs Eagle Watch here on peak days. Bring binoculars. Most visitors don’t know this migration happens.

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Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation (Eagle Watch) — daily migration counts during peak weeks Hay Meadow interpretive area — viewing benches with binocular mounts
🚗 1.5 km · 2 minutes from Troll Falls parking
Ski · Outdoor

Nakiska Ski Area

★ 5.0 2 Mt Allan Dr, Kananaskis

Built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and still running as a friendly mid-size ski hill. Sixty-four runs across all levels, less crowded and cheaper than Banff. Off-season the chairlift runs for sightseers and the trails open for hikers. Closest skiing to Calgary.

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Nakiska Ski Area (official) — lift tickets, conditions, season dates Nakiska Bike Park (summer) — downhill mountain biking, chairlift-served 1988 Calgary Olympics history — alpine racing legacy
🚗 5 km · 8 minutes back south to the Village turnoff, then up Mount Kidd Drive
Outdoor · Stay

Kananaskis Village

★ 5.0 Kananaskis Village, AB

A purpose-built resort village wrapped around two hotels: the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge and the smaller Mount Kidd Manor. Hosted the G8 summit in 2002 and the G7 in 2025. Not a town in the traditional sense — more like a basecamp with parking, restaurants, and walking access to everything you came south for.

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Village shops and Black Tie Café — coffee, pastries, and small retail around the village square G7 Summit 2025 history — why Pomeroy was off-limits in June 2025
🚗 Walking distance from the Village (or 1 km drive)
Spa · Stay

Kananaskis Nordic Spa

★ 5.0 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis Village

Hot pools, cold plunges, eucalyptus steam saunas, hammocks, and outdoor exfoliation cabins, all looking up at Mount Kidd. The three-cycle hydrotherapy routine is the point: hot, cold, rest. Book a four-hour pass minimum and bring two swimsuits — staying wet in winter is colder than you’d think.

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Kananaskis Nordic Spa (official) — day passes, treatments, opening hours Two Trees Bistro — the on-site restaurant — robe-friendly lunch Spa etiquette + what to bring — two swimsuits, slippers, water bottle
🚗 Inside Kananaskis Village
Outfitter · Outdoor

Kananaskis Outfitters

★ 5.0 1-279 Mt Sparrowhawk Crescent, Kananaskis

Built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and still running as a friendly mid-size ski hill. Sixty-four runs across all levels, less crowded and cheaper than Banff. Off-season the chairlift runs for sightseers and the trails open for hikers. Closest skiing to Calgary.

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Kananaskis Outfitters (official) — current rentals, guided tour bookings E-bike tours — the easiest way to cover ground without losing the views Trailhead delivery service — call ahead and pick up bikes or kayaks at a trailhead
🚗 Walking distance inside the Village
🍷 Dinner

Cedar Room · Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge

★ 5.0 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis Village

Gastropub menu with mountain views — the easy 8 p.m. reservation. For something fancier, book Forte in the same hotel. Woody’s Pub is the casual third option if you just want a beer and a burger. All three are inside the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge.

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🚗 Walking distance inside the Village
Overnight

Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge

★ 5.0 Mountain Lodge ★ 5.0 · 1

The main hotel in the Village — full service, indoor pool, shuttle to the Nordic Spa across the road. Mount Kidd Manor next door is cheaper and smaller. Sundance by Basecamp (Stop 10, glamping on the river) is the alternative if you booked tents. All three book months ahead for summer weekends.

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Day 2 — Village to Highwood Pass and home

→ ~210 km

🚗 In the hotel — no drive
Breakfest

Forte Restaurant · Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge

★ 5.0 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis Village

Full sit-down breakfast at the Pomeroy. Black Tie Café in the Village square is the quick coffee-and-pastry alternative if you’re moving early. Pack a sandwich to go — Day 2 lunch will be a picnic and there’s nothing south of the Village.

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🚗 6 km · 7 minutes south from Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge
Family · Outdoor · Food

Boundary Ranch

★ 5.0 2 Guinn’s Road, Box 44, Kananaskis

A working guest ranch offering trail rides for all levels — kids from six up. The shorter rides loop through aspen meadows; the longer ones climb into the foothills. BBQ dinners, staged gunfights, and wagon rides round it out. Touristy in the cheerful sense — great for families with younger kids.

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Boundary Ranch (official) — trail ride bookings, BBQ events, summer programs Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies — multi-day backcountry pack trips Old West Show — staged gunfights — runs select summer evenings
🚗 2 km · 3 minutes south on Lorette Rd to the Kananaskis Country Golf Course
Food · Viewpoint

Summit Restaurant

★ 5.0 1 Lorette Rd, Kananaskis

The restaurant at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course terrace looks straight at Mount Kidd and Mount Lorette. You don’t need to be a golfer — the terrace is open to walk-in lunch. Skip the meal here if you’re still full from breakfast, but at least pull in for the view.

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Kananaskis Country Golf Course — two championship courses (Mt Kidd and Mt Lorette) Pro shop and rentals — if you want a quick 9 holes Mount Kidd view from the terrace — best photo spot on the south side of the Village
🚗 4 km · 5 minutes south from the Kananaskis Country Golf Course
Family · Outdoor · Picnic

Wedge Pond

★ 5.0 Wedge Pond, Kananaskis

A small pond rather than a lake, with a flat 1.6-km loop trail and a gravel beach for kids to splash. Not for swimming laps — for spreading a blanket while small humans throw rocks at the water. The mountain backdrop is the same as the Village but the crowds are half.

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Wedge Pond Loop Trail (AllTrails) — easy 1.6 km flat loop with reflective views of Mt Kidd Mount Kidd RV Park — full-service campground 1 km north of the pond Sparrowhawk Tarns Trail — ambitious 14 km alpine hike from the next pull-off south
🚗 27 km · 30 minutes south, then west on Kananaskis Lakes Trail (10 km) into Peter Lougheed PP
Outdoor · Viewpoint · Hike

Lower Kananaskis Lake

★ 5.0 Lower Kananaskis Lake, Kananaskis

The largest lake in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and the centre of K-Country’s south end. Boardwalks, fishing piers, trails fanning out from three day-use areas, and Interlakes Campground if you want to stay overnight. The shore loop is mostly flat with the Opal Range as a constant backdrop.

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Peter Lougheed Provincial Park — park overview, trails, camping Boulton Bridge Day Use — the easy boardwalk and picnic shelters Canyon Trail (Boulton Creek) — forested 2.2 km out-and-back to a small canyon Upper Kananaskis Lake — add the 16 km shoreline circuit if you have all day
🚗 You’re at Lower Kananaskis Lake — no extra drive
🥪 Lunch

Picnic at Boulton Bridge boardwalk

★ 5.0 Boulton Bridge, Peter Lougheed PP, AB

The restaurant at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course terrace looks straight at Mount Kidd and Mount Lorette. You don’t need to be a golfer — the terrace is open to walk-in lunch. Skip the meal here if you’re still full from breakfast, but at least pull in for the view.

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🚗 22 km · 25 minutes back east to Hwy 40, then south to Elbow Pass Day Use
Hike · Alpine · Outdoor

Elbow Pass (Elbow Lake trailhead)

★ 5.0 Elbow Pass, Kananaskis

A short but steep 1.3-km hike — 125 metres of climbing — reaches Elbow Lake and a backcountry campground. The lake sits on the literal divide between two watersheds, fed by the Rae Glacier melting above. Bring a windbreaker; the pass is exposed.

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Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial Park — the wilderness area you enter past Elbow Lake Rae Glacier — feeds Elbow Lake from the summit of Mount Rae above Tombstone Lakes extension — experienced hikers continue 8 km farther into the alpine basin
🚗 3 km · 4 minutes south of the Elbow Pass turnoff
Alpine · Outdoor · Wildlife

Rock Glacier

★ 5.0 Rock Glacier, Kananaskis

A 15-minute interpretive walk across an active rock glacier — a slow river of moving stone above 2,000 metres. Look for pikas in the boulders; they barely move 10 metres from their rock pile in a lifetime. This is the threshold of true alpine, where arctic-Canadian plants grow in southern Alberta.

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What a rock glacier is — slow-moving ice-and-rock mixture, distinct from a true glacier American pika — the little rabbit relative you’ll hear chirping in the boulders Highwood Pass alpine zone — southernmost true alpine in the Canadian Rockies
🚗 3 km · 3 minutes south of Rock Glacier — the high point of the drive
Viewpoint · Alpine · Scenic Drive

Highwood Pass

★ 5.0 Hwy 40, Kananaskis, AB

At 2,206 metres, the highest paved road pass in Canada. A short interpretive trail crosses the pass itself, and the Ptarmigan Cirque trail starts across the road. Closed to vehicles December 1 to June 15 each year for wildlife. Cell signal disappears. Weather changes in minutes. Layer up.

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Highwood Pass — Wikipedia — history, elevation, seasonal closure dates Ptarmigan Cirque Trail (AllTrails) — 4.5 km alpine loop into a hanging basin — the must-do hike at the pass Arethusa Cirque — 6 km alpine alternative just south of the pass Pocaterra Ridge (long traverse) — 10 km ridge walk for experienced hikers, two cars needed
🚗 10 km · 10 minutes south of Highwood Pass — past the Alberta/BC divide
Viewpoint · Photo Spot

Mount Armstrong Viewpoint

★ 5.0 Mount Armstrong, East Kootenay, BC

A named peak rising on the BC side of the divide, visible from a pull-off on the south flank of Highwood Pass. The mountain is shadowed at dawn and lit in the afternoon — plan your photo stop for the way back north, not the way down.

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Mount Armstrong — Wikipedia — 2,785 m peak in the BC Rockies Lineham Creek Day Use — nearby trailhead for backcountry routes into the BC side Lineham Creek Day Use — nearby trailhead for backcountry routes into the BC side • Continental Divide — you crossed it at Highwood Pass
🚗 ~30 km · 30 minutes — continue south on Hwy 40 to Highwood Junction, then 5 km east on Hwy 541. Only on the loop-back route.
Wildlife · Outdoor · Family

Sentinel Day Use (Mountain Cows)

★ 5.0 Sentinel Day Use Park, AB-541, Kananaskis Improvement District

Yes, cattle — grazing on Crown land along Hwy 40’s southern stretch and into Hwy 541. The southern foothills of K-Country were assigned multi-use status in 1978, which is why you’ll see cows, oil-well sites, and hiking trails sharing the landscape. Stop at Sentinel for the picnic tables and to remind yourself this isn’t a national park. Skip this stop if you’re returning north via Hwy 40 — it’s 30 km past Highwood Pass and only practical on the Hwy 541 / Cowboy Trail loop.

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Sentinel Recreation Area — picnic shelter, river access, basic facilities Picklejar Lakes trail (nearby) — 8 km hike from a trailhead just west of Sentinel Cowboy Trail (Hwy 22) — the route home if you’re looping back via Longview and Black Diamond

Good to know

Best time

Mid-June to October for the full route. The Highwood Pass section of Hwy 40 closes to vehicles December 1 to June 15 for wildlife. The northern half — Hwy 1 to the Kananaskis Lakes Trail turnoff — stays open year-round. Late September brings golden larches; July and August bring wildflowers above the treeline.

Where to stay

Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge or the smaller Mount Kidd Manor — both at the Village. Sundance by Basecamp on the river for glamping in canvas tents and tipis. Mount Kidd RV Park for full-service camping. Boulton Creek Campground in Peter Lougheed PP if you want to wake up closer to the alpine.

Total driving

~170 km out-and-back along Hwy 40, plus ~20 km of side trips into Peter Lougheed PP and Highwood Pass viewpoints — call it ~210 km total. From Calgary and back, budget ~370 km over two days, or ~420 km on the Cowboy Trail loop.

Fuel & food

Fill up in Canmore or at the Husky station at the Hwy 1 / Hwy 40 junction. Sit-down restaurants only at Kananaskis Village (Cedar & Stone, Forte, Woody’s Pub, Brewster’s Kitchen at the Pomeroy) and Summit Restaurant at the golf course. Boulton Trading Post in Peter Lougheed PP has basic groceries May–September. No food or fuel south of Boundary Ranch — pack a picnic and a full tank for the Peter Lougheed / Highwood Pass stretch.

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