If you are looking for a fun scramble which isn’t going to take all day try out the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble just outside Canmore. It had been on our list for a long time but we had just never found the right day.
Everytime you drive between Calgary and Canmore you can see Heart Mountain, named for its shape as seen from the highway. This scramble has a long season and we were lucky enough to still be able to complete the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble in mid October and experience an almost completely dry trail! Its lower elevation makes it a great option for an early or late season scramble as typically it is ready to go earlier than the taller peaks which dominate the area.
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The Heart Mountain Horseshoe Scramble
Distance: 10.3km
Elevation: 935m gain
The Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble is fairly straightforward to get to following signs from the parking lot, the trail starts behind the bathrooms. The start of the trail follows the powerline and is fairly wide and easy going. It passes the junction for the Heart Creek trail, a more family friendly option for a hike. Cross the creek and the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble is on the right hand side, clearly sign posted with a warning about the fact this trail is a scramble.
Because this is a scramble, it means that it involves some hands on rock moments, specifically at the crux and a large rock step. You should be comfortable doing this and have a high tolerance for exposure since parts of the ridge can be a little skinny.
After the sign, the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble, starts to gain elevation, quickly! It’s pretty steep the entire way up from the junction in fact. The trail was a little loose underfoot but nothing unmanageable. As you quickly gain elevation, turn around, the views behind are great.
Before you know it, you are in the first of the many rock bands, the rock is pretty grippy for the most part and easy to walk up, but steep. I used my hands for this part as my hiking poles couldnt dig into the rock and I found them more of a hindrance at this part.
The trail goes from rock to dirt and back a number of times, look out for blue trail markers on the rock which indicate the easiest way up. The first time you’ll spot them is on a large step. The trail looks like it continues parallel to the rock band, but the easiest way up and over it, is at the blue marker. I found the rock here pretty slippery under foot due to the large number of people who have obviously used the step but the hand holds above are strong and easy to find.
Shortly after this you’ll get to the crux of the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble. It looks daunting from a distance but as you get closer, the well worn path becomes apparent. Again, a blue marker towards the top, indicates where to exit out of this section.
Before you know it, you’ll reach the summit of Heart Mountain, from here you can see the other side of the horseshoe and where the trail starts to descend back to the valley. Keep your eyes open for the trail to continue on as it rather disappears through the trees for a short time.
Views as you work around the horseshoe are gorgeous and you’ll find the best ones as you reach the far side of the curve where the true ‘summit’ of the Heart Creek Horseshoe scramble is, Grant MacEwan peak. There was a registry here for those so included to sign it. As you leave the summit follow the trail left. The right hand trail takes you on a harder scramble to the Twin Towers.
The trail continues to go up and down along this traverse with beautiful views over Barrier Lake and down the valley towards Calgary.
There is only one way to describe the descent on the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble and that is steep, there are lots of loose rocks so we took it really slowly getting down. Even once in the trees, the trail continues to be steep and seems to go on forever. Eventually there is a junction, keep right and this will take you back to the main trail where you’ll go left in order to get to the parking lot. This final stretch is rather boring and runs parallel to the highway but it only takes about fifteen minutes to get back to your car.
For anyone who wants to pack in two adventures in one day, you can also check out the heart creek trail on your way past or on the other side of the parking lot, pick up the trail for the Heart Creek bunker hike.
Where Is The Trailhead
The Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble is most commonly accessed from the Heart Creek parking lot which is clearly signposted from Highway 1.
Heading East from Canmore, the parking area is just off Highway 1 and approximately a 17 kilometre drive from town. If you are coming West from Calgary it is approximately a 90 kilometre drive on Highway 1.
Some people also choose to park on the side of the highway providing more direct access to the trail but we didn’t find the short hike from the parking lot demanding and it was fairly short.
Items You Might Need For Completing The Heart Mountain Horseshoe Scramble
The first thing you’ll want if you are doing the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble will be a good pair of hiking boots with great grip. I wore my usual La Sportiva Raptor 2 boots, these are so comfortable and provided amazing grip on the rock we were on.
I personally wouldn’t consider completing this trail without hiking poles, I like using them on the up but I really relied on them for the steep and loose descent, they helped me slow down and not slip over.
We also took our Garmin Inreach Mini 2, we completed the Heart Mountain Horseshoe scramble in October and we saw nobody else for the entire six hours. If we needed assistance, our Garmin would have come in super useful although we did have limited cell reception for part of the trail.
A day pack is a must have on this trail, we packed all the layers since once out of the tree line it can get windy, plus when hiking in the mountains in October you never know what the weather might change to during the day. We also carried water in our Nalgene bottles along with plenty of snacks and a first aid kit.
There was a bear warning in place on the trail when we hiked it and we did end up seeing a Grizzly bear towards the end of the hike when we were heading back to the car. Don’t set out on this trail without having bear spray and know how to use it.
