Last updated on April 28th, 2023 at 03:29 pm
When it comes to early season leg stretchers they can seem few and far between in the Rockies. Backpacking the Elbow Loop is a perfect option for mid June when the snow has mostly melted, to stretch your legs and do some multi-day backpacking.
For us, with longer trips in the near future it made for a great little trip to remind us of what we had let ourselves in for and to weed out the overpacking mistakes which we make on the first trip of every season. For those new to backpacking or even for people with kids, backpacking the Elbow Loop is a fantastic option, easy to navigate and mostly along wide open roads, team this with some incredible campgrounds and its a winning trip all around.
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Where is the Elbow loop
The great thing about backpacking the Elbow Loop is that it starts and ends in the same place! The trailhead can be found at Little Elbow, this is a big site, so follow signs and make sure you park in the trail head parking lot.
Little Elbow can be found at the end of Highway 66. From Highway One, take the turnoff for Bragg Creek and Highway 22 South. Just past Bragg Creek at the junction, take the right onto Highway 66 for the Elbow Valley. Follow it all the way to the end and the Little Elbow area is on the left hand side.
Backpacking the Elbow Loop
The Elbow Loop can be done in one night or three to four depending on how much time you wish to take and how far you want to hike in a day. We opted for doing it over three nights.
In order to camp while backpacking the Elbow Loop you must make a reservation for each site you wish to stay at. You can do this here.
Day 1: Little Elbow Trailhead to Mount Romulus Campground
It is a fairly easy first day backpacking the Elbow Loop at around 11km with little elevation gain. The trail follows the service road so it makes for easy and pretty quick kilometers. As you walk along the trail there are views looking across the river and for moments the trees open up and you get to see that very quickly you have become surrounded by giant towering mountains on either side. The trail starts out fairly flat and as you get closer to the campground it starts to undulate at times quite considerably. This, it turns out, is quite the theme of the weekend.
The Mount Romulus Campground is on the right hand side of the trail and you absolutely can’t miss it, with a huge sign telling you you’ve arrived. The first right in the hikers and bikers camp, a little further down the main trail you’ll spot a sign for the equestrian site.
The Campground is really well maintained, tent pads are easy to find, clearly marked and even numbered. The outhouses, of which there are two, are superbly clean and even stocked with toilet paper. A little walk past the tent pads you’ll find the cooking area right on the river, we were pleasantly surprised to find brand new picnic benches, communal fire rings and even firewood and an axe.
While we were making breakfast we bumped into two parks staff refilling the wood pile and cleaning and sanitizing the bear bin. It was nice to see pride and care being taken of the backcountry campgrounds and it showed all the way around the loop.
Day 2: Mount Romulus to Tombstone
This was probably the hardest day of hiking we had while backpacking the Elbow Loop. We were some of the last to leave the Mount Romulus Campground as we decided to ride out the four thunderstorms which passed through in the morning in our tents, rather than starting the day wet!
We headed back out of the campground the way we had come in the night before and quickly got back on the main trail. Shortly after the trail crossed the river which runs beside the cook area. The equestrian Campground is signposted here and there is a large open day use area, perfect for anyone hiking all the way to Tombstone in one day to take a much needed break.
After this the trail starts to climb, with every corner or flat area, you think it’s over but it’s not. The uphill slow grind is what dominated day 2 for us and it took us about two hours to reach Tombstone Pass including stops. Shortly before the pass, there is a clearly marked, must smaller, trail which spurs off the road, signposted Tombstone Lake. This trail eventually joins up with the main trail a few 100 meters from the Tombstone campground.
On this occasion, not knowing how much snow we would find and seeing the dark looming storm clouds heading our way over the mountains, we decided to stick to the main trail and try to reach camp before the weather turned. We failed. Just as we finally reached Tombstone Pass the rain and hail started. Even with the grey, the potential of the incredible views which would be seen on a clear day couldn’t be mistaken. For anyone lucky enough to see this on a nice day, I’m sure it is stunning and a highlight of backpacking the Elbow Loop.
As it was, we had our heads down against the rain, stopping only to throw on gaiters and a rain jacket before we power walked across the pass and got onto the steep downhill towards the campground. Elevation loss was considerably quicker than the gain occurred on the otherwise. The steepness of the trail meant we were at camp within 20 minutes of starting our descent!
Just before reaching Tombstone Campground, you pass the trail fork which you’ll follow the next day to Big Elbow. As with everything on the trail, it’s clearly signposted, in fact so clearly signposted there are two signs! A short walk from the fork and Tombstone campground is on the right hand side.
Once again the toilets were superbly clean, the tent pads were labeled and looked freshly built. There were new picnic benches and large communal fire rings along with firewood. The biggest issue with the campground was finding the water source, a short walk down to the main river or a smaller run off stream which ran behind the tent pads. The sites were mostly in the trees, this made it a great site for a tarp, which was very much needed considering the weather!
Many people staying at the Tombstone campground seem to have hiked in from Highway 40 and the Highwood Pass via Elbow Lake, another fantastic option and one I hope to try next year.
Day 3: Tombstone to Big Elbow
Day three offered up some of the best trail views during our trip backpacking the Elbow Loop. After leaving Tombstone, we headed back up to the fork in the trail and followed the clearly marked Big Elbow trail. From the fork it’s almost all downhill back to the river, through the trees. The trail slims down from a road width to a more traditional path and starts to gain elevation, as you pop out of the trees, views backwards show the valley you’ve just come from.
The trail crosses many small streams, perfect spots to stop for a break, fill water bottles using a filter to get fresh cold water and wash your face. For us, it was a slow day, enjoying the sun and views.
At one point about two thirds into the days hike, the trail splits, follow the trail across the new bridge, if you keep going straight, over the logs which cross the old path. You’ll end up being greeted with an unmaintained trail which apparently has a number of downed trees blocking it.
After the bridge the trail runs straight and flat for a while before climbing again before reaching a second bridge. Once across its just over a kilometer until the the final night of backpacking the Elbow Loop at the Big Elbow Campground. Big Elbow has a smaller sign but you still can’t miss it.
The Big Elbow campground is different to the previous two encountered while backpacking the Elbow Loop. The toilet was once again clean and filled with toilet paper and there was firewood to use. There are no tent pads at Big Elbow though, sites seem to be marked with individual fire pits and picnic tables. Beware though, the most scenic of sites are often the most plagued by the strong winds we experienced blowing through the valley.
With benches at each individual campground there is no communal cooking and eating area, while we stayed at Big Elbow campground we were the only people there and so decided to eat elsewhere away from our tents to avoid any extra attractants.
Day 4: Big Elbow to Little Elbow Trailhead
The last day of backpacking the Elbow Loop was by far the easiest. So it makes for a great last day, cruise back to the car. There is very little elevation gain and the trail follows a big wide road. There is an alternate trail with runs beside the road but everyone we saw was on the road.
The mountains tower above the sides of the trail and the river is never too far away. Shade was pretty much non-existent when we hiked out though. Eventually the trail gains a small amount of elevation before descending. Before you know it you are back at the river, across the bridge which was passed on day one and back to the car!
Backpacking the Elbow Loop is not to be underestimated, each day the hike is over 10km, except the last. The trail is full of ups and downs, nothing huge but enough to provide a great workout every day! The campgrounds while backpacking the Elbow Loop blew me away, they are really well taken care of, clean and tidy. An actual joy to arrive in and spend a night at. The Elbow Loop is definitely an underrated backpacking trip worth taking on. A perfect option for beginners, families and people looking to warm up for a big season.
