Sights and Drives

Kananaskis Valley is the most developed area of Kananaskis Country [1], yet summer crowds are minimal compared to Banff [2]. The following sights are along Highway 40 and are detailed from the TransCanada Highway in the north to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park [3] in the south.

Your first stop should be Canoe Meadows, a large day-use area above the sparkling Kananaskis River. Below the picnic area, white-water enthusiasts use a short stretch of river as a slalom course. Man-made obstacles and gates challenge recreational and racing kayakers, while upstream (around the first bend), the Green Tongue creates a steep wave, allowing kayakers to remain in one spot, spinning and twisting while water rushes past them.

South of Canoe Meadows is Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre (403/673-3985, daily 9 a.m.–6 p.m. June–mid-Sept., daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m. the rest of the year). Nestled between Highway 40 and the Kananaskis River, riverside trails lead in both directions, including two kilometers (1.2 miles) downstream to Canoe Meadows. Barrier Lake itself is farther along Highway 40, dominated to the south by the impressive peak of Mount Baldy (2,212 m/7,257 ft). The lake is human-made but still a picture of beauty. From the south end of Barrier Lake, Highway 40 continues south to a spot that will be of particular interest to anglers, Mount Lorette Ponds, stocked annually with rainbow trout.

Kananaskis Village [4] lies just off Highway 40 four kilometers (2.5 miles) south of the ponds. The village, the epicenter of action during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, sits on a high bench below Nakiska [5]—where the downhill events of the games were held—and overlooks a golf course. The village comprises two hotels, restaurants, and other service shops set around a paved courtyard complete with waterfalls and trout-stocked ponds.

From the village, it’s 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) farther south to the border of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park [3]. Just beyond the village is Wedge Pond. Originally dug as a gravel pit during golf course construction, it is now filled with water and encircled by a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) trail offering fantastic views to towering 2,958-meter (9,700-foot) Mount Kidd.