Kananaskis – Smith Dorrien

If you’re heading to Kananaskis, you need to check out the hiking, biking, skiing and backpacking options from the Smith-Dorrien Trail. This high-elevation gravel road provides easy access to the incredible mountains just south of Banff National Park.

The Kananaskis is a secret outdoor playground for Albertans, and the area off of the Smith-Dorrien Trail is the crown jewel. The Smith-Dorrien Trail is a high-elevation gravel road that connects Canmore with the Kananaskis Lakes. Along the way you go past some of the best hiking, biking, backpacking and ski touring in the Canadian Rockies.

While most visitors are day-trippers from Canmore or Calgary, consider bringing your tent or checking into the charming Mount Engadine Lodge and spending a few days in this beautiful valley. The Smith Dorrien trail goes through Spray Valley and Peter Lougheed Provincial Parks.