Today I’m sharing a recap of the hike I did to Elbow Falls near Bragg Creek in southern Alberta. Check out my hiking page for more hikes that I’ve done.
A couple weeks ago I was craving some time out in the mountains or a hike. I starting looking at different spots I could go and finally decided on heading towards Bragg Creek into the foothills. Canmore and Banff are typically pretty busy during the high seasons so it can be pretty hard to find parking. I figured I’d avoid the parking headache and go to Bragg Creek instead.
There’s actually quite a few hiking options from there, but I ended up deciding on Elbow Falls. It was described as short, easy, and that’s exactly what I was in the mood for.
On the hour long drive to the parking lot for Elbow Falls it started to rain. It was an overcast and cooler day to begin with. Thankfully that was a good thing though because apparently it’s a pretty popular spot and it can get pretty busy. I’m sure the fact that it’s such an easy hike with such beautiful scenery is why it’s so popular. I would gladly deal with some rain to almost have the entire place to myself.
There were lots of stairs and railings. The path was pretty obvious and you wouldn’t be able to go off course unless you intentionally wanted to. Even with the wet ground from the rain it was super easy to navigate.
I forgot how loud water and be, especially when waterfalls are involved. While it’s definitely not the biggest or most impressive waterfall, it sure is pretty. And the fact that you can get such a pretty view within minutes of parking your car is pretty great too.
It’s a looped path so on the way back we got another higher view of Elbow Falls. I can’t believe that I hadn’t been there before. If you’re looking for a really easy, quick spot for a hike, Elbow Falls is definitely the one for you.
After checking out the waterfall we walked back out onto the flood plain and checked out the river that fed the waterfall. The water was really clear and still super cold!
It was so nice to be able to spend some time in nature and get out of the city. I’m very lucky to be able to live so close to the mountains. I need to do a better job at taking advantage of that and doing quick trips like this.
There were a ton of wildflowers blooming while we were there. I’m sure if I went back in a few weeks there were be different flowers blooming. The purple ones below are asters.
I’m sure these berries would look pretty delicious to bears. I’m sure they’ll start eating more to prepare for hibernation this winter.
The red flowers below are red paintbrush and only grow at higher altitudes, though pink ones will grow lower down. There’s also yarrow and bluebells in there too.
I found that All Trails was helpful when figuring out where I wanted to go. They have descriptions of the hikes, length, elevation gained, and even photos of the hike so you have an idea of what to expect. In addition to the website they also have an app which I’ve found helpful.
Do you have any good hiking spots where you live?