Ha Ling Peak - Canmore/Spray Lakes Road
Ha Ling Route sign at the start of the trailhead into the trees. Of course if hiking in the winter/spring pay attention to any avalanche warnings and depth of snow pack in the red areas. https://avalanche.ca/map
Typical trail with sporadic steps built in
Trail with chain section
1st Lookout
2nd Lookout
View of East End of Rundle
View of Ha Ling upper slopes
View of reservoir canal
1st set of wooden steps
More trail with sporadic steps built in
2nd and 3rd sets of wooden steps
Summit comes into view just past the last set of wooden steps!
From the col there is a short bit of loose scrambling to the top
Last bit of loose scrambling to the top
You can do this one in the off-season also! Lol!
Winter summit photo November 2023 - photo turned out not so well but you get the idea, microspikes, warm clothing, headlamp, hot drinks
Looking East at Mt Lawrence Grassi
Looking West at the East End of Rundle
Winter descent on the wooden steps November 2023
And now for a better winter summit! December 26, 2009 we had t-shirt weather and no wind! A very rare event in the Canadian Rockies!
Vicky and Emily wondering about the great weather!
Vicky in shirtsleeves!
Emily
Vicky enjoying a hot drink
Emily and Allan
Vicky and Allan
Vicky
Ha Ling Peak - Canmore/Spray Lakes Road
- Scramble: Class 1 – Steep Hiking
- Altitude: 2,408m (7,898 ft)
- Elevation Gain: approx 810m (2,660 ft) per AlbertaParks.ca but some Garmin watches and other websites are quite variable like from 755m to 800m
- Ascent Time: 1 1/2 – 2 1/4 Hours
- Best Season to Scramble: Mid-May to October
Highlights
This scramble offers nice views and is great early season training for bigger scrambles later on. If you are coming to the Canadian Rockies for a two-week holiday this is one to test your legs on and get them acclimated with steep hiking.
Getting There
Head west out of Calgary on the TransCanada highway # 1 to Canmore 106km (66.2 miles). From the Bow River Bridge in Canmore drive 8.6 km (5.4 miles) up the Spray Lakes road to the Goat Creek parking lot. The road from the Bow River bridge takes you up past the Canmore Nordic Centre and onto the Spray Lakes road (packed gravel). Just past the Nordic Centre the road turns to dusty gravel and you head uphill for a few kilometers. It levels off at the gap between Ha Ling Peak and the East End of Rundle then goes down a short hill then hang a right into the parking lot. If your base is Banff head east on the TransCanada for 26km (16.2 miles) to Canmore and follow route as above.
Route Description
From the parking lot head straight across the road, up the hill and cross over the canal. At this point you will see a small wooden building. The trailhead starts just behind the building. Once on the trail just head on up. When you reach tree line the trail traverses far over to the right side of the slope then traverses back to the summit. In the old days we used to head straight up from the tree line, definitely a tough workout. The traverse makes it a nicer experience.