A spring day in the Kootenay Plains
One thing we’ve learned out here in Alberta is that winter in the mountains lasts way longer that we expected. It might be sunny and 20C in the city, but somehow its the last weekend of ski season in Banff. Still, we were bound and determined to at least get out to the mountains over the Victoria Day weekend — and with snow in the forecast we decided to skip camping and look for something we could reach in a day trip.
That led us to the stunningly pretty region called the Kootenay Plains - smack dab in the middle between the more famous Banff and Jasper areas. its a loooong way from any 5-star hotels but an incredible area to explore, and the camp grounds we scoped out look like they will be great for some summer adventures.
Starting up the Two O’Clock Ridge Trail with the rockies in the background
We started out with a hike up the Two O’Clock Ridge - which was featured some beautiful views , especially before we got up into the trees. Make no mistake, this is a steep climb — it actually probably qualifies as a vertical kilometre! Having adapted to flat prairie living, we decided to call it quits well before the summit, but we’ll definitely be back for a second attempt later in the year when the snow has fully melted.
Looking down into the river valley from part-way up the trail
Having abandoned our uphill quest, we decided to head just down the road to the Siffleur Falls area. This hike was much busier — unsurprising for a family friendly hike on a holiday weekend. Still, once we were past the end of the boardwalk we were able to get off the main trail and explore lots of pretty side trails before making our way to the waterfall.
On the Siffleur Falls boardwalk
There are some exceptionally pretty views from the hills overlooking the river valley in this area. The North Saskatchewan River is tiny and crystal clear out here — not at all like the giant muddy river my dog likes to swim in near our home in Edmonton.
Looking down river from one of the bridges
One benefit of heading out into a quieter area was that we saw TONS of animals from the car including: two herds of mountain goats (grazing basically right on the highway), loads of deer, a fox, and a couple of horses grazing on the side of the road (not sure if they had escaped their paddock or were members of Alberta’s feral horse population).
Love a good creek-crossing.
It was a quick little trip but we will be back soon!
