Days of Noah are Here!

Ha Ling Peak - Canmore/Spray Lakes Road

Ha Ling Peak

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

Ha Ling Peak

Typical trail with sporadic steps built in

Ha Ling Peak

Trail with chain section

Ha Ling Peak

1st Lookout

Ha Ling Peak

2nd Lookout

Ha Ling Peak

View of East End of Rundle

Ha Ling Peak

View of Ha Ling upper slopes

Ha Ling Peak

View of reservoir canal

Ha Ling Peak

1st set of wooden steps

Ha Ling Peak

More trail with sporadic steps built in

Ha Ling Peak

2nd and 3rd sets of wooden steps

Ha Ling Peak

Summit comes into view just past the last set of wooden steps!

Ha Ling Peak

From the col there is a short bit of loose scrambling to the top

Ha Ling Peak

Last bit of loose scrambling to the top

Ha Ling Peak

You can do this one in the off-season also! Lol!

Ha Ling Peak

Winter summit photo November 2023 - photo turned out not so well but you get the idea, microspikes, warm clothing, headlamp, hot drinks

Ha Ling Peak

Looking East at Mt Lawrence Grassi

Ha Ling Peak

Looking West at the East End of Rundle

Ha Ling Peak

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!

Ha Ling Peak

Vicky and Emily wondering about the great weather!

Ha Ling Peak

Vicky in shirtsleeves!

Ha Ling Peak

Emily

Ha Ling Peak

Vicky enjoying a hot drink

Ha Ling Peak

Emily and Allan

Ha Ling Peak

Vicky and Allan

Ha Ling Peak

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.