GDT

Distance: 9km option one, 11km option two.  Elevation gain: 200m to pass.  Elevation loss: 175m.  Option two gains a further 50m above the pass. This is an official trail within Lougheed Provincial Park and Elk Lakes Provincial Park with signposts at major junctions.  Camping at Elk Lakes is by self-registration and there is a fee, so bring some small bills.

Access:  As you drive south on Highway 40 into Peter Lougheed Park, the shallow ditch of Elk Pass is framed on the west by a string of peaks including Mount Fox and Aosta, and on the east by the Elk Range.  At the winter gate, turn onto Kananaskis Lakes Trail (Hwy) and follow it for about twenty minutes to reach the Elk Pass parking lot. 

From the parking lot, the gated access road travels up an interminable hill, which probably only feels that way because it's right at the beginning. At the top, catch your breath while admiring a view of Upper Kananaskis Lake and listening to the hum of the powerlines. The road runs beside the hydro towers then drops down into Fox Creek. After the second crossing of Fox Creek (both bridged), keep right and follow the road up the east side of the creek.  After two more crossings, the creek quiets down and meanders beside the road. At a small meadow (old corduroy) the trail goes over a tiny ridge and turns southeast.  A picnic table marks the turnoff for the Blueberry Hill ski trail, which doesn't offer much of interest to summer hikers.

Continue southeast to a sign. The foot trail veers right, away from the road. After crossing through trees and grass to the other side of the meadow, the sign post at the provincial border is reached. Sadly the marker put in place by the Boundary Survey in 1916 has been removed.

Mt Fox from lower lake

From here there are two possible routes. Option one, to the left, is the fast route to the rangers' station, and follows the line of the ancient Indian footpath.

The trail winds along the west side of bear-friendly meadows until it jogs right into the forest. Follow beside Elkan Creek as it plunges down a minor canyon. At the bottom, a log carries you across the creek. The trail enters swampy meadows, the squishiest parts spanned (this being a park) by lengthy boardwalks. Your boots will still get muddy. Mount Aosta, complete with buttresses, dominates the view. After the meadow a short stretch of forest trail brings you to the ranger station and the parking lot.