Grotto Canyon Hike
Looking for a reasonable out and back again day hike? The Grotto Canyon hike outside of Canmore, Alberta is only a rough 7 km, and takes about 2 hours to complete. You’ll be treated to amazing views of nearby peaks, it can be done during all seasons (within reason and of varying safety, use your best judgment please) and has views including an Inukshuk Garden and waterfall.
What to Expect:
In the Grotto Pond Day Use Recreation Site, hikers will find the Kananaskis trailhead to start their adventure. This recreation site includes a few picnic tables, a pit toilet, and a floating boardwalk bridge out onto the pond.
The trail begins by following a single-file, loose gravel path through the forest, leading to a dried-out creek bed. Across the creek you’ll see a hiker symbol sign marking the trail. From here, you’ll find yourself on a gravel access road, passing by an industrial plant, as you continue to the top of the hill. There, veer right down a hiking trail to the entrance of the canyon (you’ll know you’ve made it when you find a single bench).
From here you can continue to follow the trail along the canyon cliffs in the trees, or walk the canyon floor. Views from above are limited and access to the canyon along the canyon cliffs is extremely sparse. For this reason, most decide to stay on the low path and walk along polished stones and flat rock.
About halfway through the hike there is a waterfall followed by an Inukshuk Garden (please do not touch) and a cave to the northwest, which is the most popular site on this trail and probably what’s going to come up most prominently in a Google image search. It’s not a deep cave, but rather a hollowed-out area of the massive dirt hill. Remember to keep an eye out for pictographs on your travels!
Location:
11 Minutes East from Canmore on Bow Valley Trail (Highway 1A), if you hit Exshaw you’ve gone too far!
