Moose Mountain Hike

Trailhead: Drive to the entrance of the Moose Mountain Fire Road located on the right hand side of the #66 highway just west of the Paddy’s Flats Campground. 35 minutes west of Calgary. Turn right onto the gravel road and follow it all the way up until you see a parking lot on your right. Do not drive up the road if there is any fresh snow on the ground.

Description: Locate the trailhead next to the parking lot and follow the Moose Mountain Lookout supply road. Expect to share the road with lots of mountain bikers. Follow the road along the ridge as it works it’s way over several ups and downs.

At approximately 1.4kms you’ll see the Moose Packers bike trail junction leading down to your right. Continue on the dirt road as it turns to your left then bottoms out and turns west. From here you start to climb up to the summit of Moose Mountain. Follow the switch backs to the top of the first ridge then continue on straight ahead up to the summit and lookout.

The last 100ms to the summit is not as as bad as it looks from the approach below. Once you arrive at the lookout you’ll be rewarded with stunning views in all directions. Moose Mountain Ice Caves are located bellow the ridge to the south. Other hikers can be spotted 4kms south on top of Prairie Mountain. Don’t expect any services at the Fire Lookout. The return hike is a bit of a grind while having to hike back up several 100meters of elevation. The last stretch to your vehicle will have you feeling like it’s been a long day and you’ll probably be wondering why the return was harder then the ascent.

Elbow River Area Map PDF