This trail is a great option for those looking at getting started with winter hiking.
Tershishner icefall makes for a great introduction to hiking in winter. This relatively short hike up a creek ends in a small icefall at the mouth of Tershishner Canyon. With little elevation gain, easy navigation and low commitment of time, this trail is a superb option for families. If there is lots of fresh snow, this trail can become much more difficult. The snow collects on the creek bed and can be notoriously deep; bring snowshoes just in case!
At a Glance
Distance: 3.2 km return
Elevation gain: ~85 m
Challenge Level: Easy | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Minimal
Management: Kiska / Wilson PLUZ
Other Trail Uses: None
Trailhead: Approximately 26km west of Nordegg and 64km east of Banff National Park boundary.
One of the most popular hike in the area and for good reasons, taking you right to the edge of the canyon and up close for great views of Siffleur Falls.
This hike is located within the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve which encompasses approximately 34 square kilometres of the North Saskatchewan River valley south of Abraham Lake. The area is intersected by the Siffleur and North Saskatchewan rivers with open plains dominated by grasses, forbs and stands of aspen and limber pine trees. White spruce and lodgepole pines cover most of the surrounding slopes.
The area is influenced by the surrounding mountains, the wide shape of the valley and the consistent winds. As a result, the climate is relatively dry and warm creating favourable conditions for a wide diversity of wildlife and plant species.
At a Glance
Distance: 7 km return
Elevation gain: ~80 m
Challenge Level: Easy | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Busy
Management: Alberta Parks Ecological Reserve
Other Trail Uses: None
Trailhead: Approximately 62 km west of Nordegg and 21 km east of the Banff National Park boundary. The trail starts at the Siffleur Falls Staging Area which provides ample parking space and dry washrooms.
This snowshoe gives you a sense of wilderness and great views on an adventure that can be done in half a day.
This hike takes you behind Mount Stelfox to a great viewpoint looking down into Coral Canyon and up the massive valley of Coral Creek.
With a large, easy trail to follow, this adventure takes you quickly into the backcountry giving you a feeling of remoteness. There are also impressive open views up the Cline River valley and towards Sentinel Mountain. This is one of the better options for snowshoeing in the area when there is snow.
At a Glance
Distance: 7.5 km return
Elevation gain: ~190 m
Challenge Level: Moderate | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Minimal
Management: Kiska/Wilson & Job/Cline PLUZ
Other Trail Uses: Horses and OHV (trapline use only)
Trailhead: The trail starts at the Coral Creek White Goat Staging Area, approximately 48 km west of Nordegg and 42 km east of Saskatchewan River Crossing. Toilets are available at the trailhead.
On this adventure, you will walk through the forest, climb up and down old glacier moraines, experience amazing views over the canyon and stand below a stunning icefall along the Cline River. There is a little bit of everything on this hike that will be sure to satisfy a multitude of tastes. The parking lot fills on weekends and there is almost always at least one group on the trail on weekdays. With this trail becoming more popular every year, please tread lightly, pack out your garbage and pick up your dog’s poop!
We’ve been offering this as a guided hike for almost a decade at Nordegg Adventures. Until the pandemic we only saw the occasional hiker or ice climber, now it is becoming a popular trail. Keep in mind that what we find busy would be considered a quiet trail in Banff or Jasper.
At a Glance
Distance: 3.4 km return
Elevation gain: ~75 m
Challenge Level: Moderate | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Moderate
Management: Kiska/Wilson PLUZ
Other Trail Uses: None
Trailhead: This trail starts at the Pinto Lake Staging Area, located approximately 50 km west of Nordegg and 42 km east of Saskatchewan River Crossing. Toilets are available at the trailhead.
Head Out On Your Own
Distances
0.6 km | Short but steep hill
0.9 km | Trail narrows
1.0 km | Abraham Lake views
1.1 km | Short but steep hill
1.2 km | Narrow canyon
1.3 km | Icefalls viewpoint
1.4 km | Canyon viewpoint
1.5 km | Canyon acess
1.7 km | Icefalls
The Trailhead
The Pinto Lake Staging Area where this trail starts is easy to miss as you drive down the highway. There is a small parking area near the road, the only place to park in a snowy winter, with a larger parking area a little further down the driveway in an abandoned gravel pit. Alberta Environment and Parks has plans to improve this parking lot and a toilet has already been added in recent years.
This trailhead serves a few different trails and there are no clear signs for most of them. The Cline River Canyon trail starts on the right-hand side as you enter the gravel pit. Going up the old access road you quickly gain a view of Mount William Booth and the Whiterabbit Valley on the other side of Abraham Lake. The trail goes through an area often used as a campsite before entering the pine forest. The next section is on a fairly flat plateau with the Cline River at the bottom of the valley on your right.
The Forest Walk
The walk through the forest is a pleasant one with glimpses of the White Goat Wilderness Area and the Cline River Valley whenever the trees open up. There is one short but steep hill in this section as you make your way from one plateau to the next. It can get quite icy but a pair of ice cleats makes it easily manageable.
Soon the trail narrows and drops down to your right. There are two openings in the forest ahead affording distant views of Windy Point Ridge and Mount Abraham. These openings in the forest are caused by water seeping out of the ground, causing the area to slowly slump toward the river below. Continue on the trail ahead, making your way down another short but somewhat steeper hill. The trail from here changes slightly from year to year, making its way through the forest to the first view of the Cline River Canyon. Be careful here: the edge of the canyon is unmarked and slopes toward the cliff. Make sure to stay at least at body length away from the edge.
This is one of the skinniest and most dramatic sections of the canyon, making it hard to see the river at the bottom. You can see multiple icefalls plunging over the cliffs on the other side of the canyon.
The Canyon
Follow the trail to the left to another viewpoint with a natural railing made of rock. This is your first view of the icefalls where you’re going. There are a number of great viewpoints ahead on the trail, looking straight at the canyon and the peaks framing the valley ahead.
To access the canyon, continue on the trail until you reach an opening in the forest that looks like the end of the trail. Access the small stream on your right and make your way down the drainage. This section is a mix of snow, ice and rocks depending on how much snow the winter has brought. In most years ice cleats work best while snowshoes are great in years where heavy snow fills in the bottom of the gully.
IN THE CANYON
Once at the river, take a left and head towards the icefalls, passing over river rocks and a small water source coming out of the rocks. This source isn’t particularly warm but runs all winter long, even on the coldest days.
An extra jacket will help you enjoy your time here since it’s often much colder in the canyon. Take your time to enjoy the peacefulness of the place, the ice covering the canyon walls and the river running through it. The ice on the walls comes from water seeping above the canyon walls, not from a creek or a stream. On some days you can see the water slowly dripping down the icicles and they get bigger as the season goes on.
A few things to keep in mind to ensure a safe experience include:
Stay on the ice that is sitting on rocks at the base of the icefalls. The river in the canyon freezes from time to time but we don’t recommend going up the canyon since the river is deep in sections, the ice is unstable and there is a risk of falling rocks or ice.
Ice climbers break off a lot of ice chunks, some quite large, while climbing. Stay a good distance back to avoid getting hit.
The ice does break off the wall and falls down below from time to time. This mostly happens when we have large temperature fluctuations and we see this often when the temperatures suddenly drop to -30C. Enjoy the views without getting too close to the canyon walls and stay aware of your surroundings.
THE RETURN
Retrace your footsteps to return to the trailhead.
A fun little canyon hike filled with rock features and a frozen waterfall.
Allstones creek is a great hike for most abilities and families. You enter a deep canyon with lots of interesting, exposed rock that ends at a frozen waterfall.
It’s not too long that you get tired and not too short that you barely stretch your legs or have time to explore. It is not often there is a fun-filled route this close to the highway and of this length. What are you waiting for!
At a Glance
Distance: 3.2 km return
Elevation gain: ~80 m
Challenge Level: Easy | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Moderate
Management: Kiska/Wilson PLUZ
Other Trail Uses: None
Trailhead: The trail starts at the Allstones Lake Staging Area, approximately 31 km west of Nordegg and 52 km east of Saskatchewan River Crossing. Toilets are available at the trailhead.
The trail guide
Distances
1.2 km | Frozen waterfalls
2.4 km | Trailhead
The Journey
There are two options to park for this hike, one on the north side of Allstones Creek and one on the south. Both have toilets available but no garbage cans. The north lot fills up quickly when it is accessible and is often filled with snow during the winter months. The parking lot on the south side is usually accessible all season long.
Cross the highway and enter the creek from the left side (south) or if you want to start with an adventure, you can take the culvert from the parking lot side to cross under the highway. Immediately, you will find yourself surrounded by beautiful, vertically exposed rock ribs. Start heading up the frozen creek bed past the vibrant coloured rock as the canyon starts to constrict around you.
Follow the creek for multiple twists and turns, snaking your way past water-carved cliffs and overhangs. Be sure to take the time to appreciate the artwork created over many years of erosion by the persistent creek. Most years the creek freezes and covers the rocks in the creek bed, creating an easy pathway to follow.
In a mostly flat 1.6 km you will reach an intimate waterfall, frozen in time, as it cascades over a headwall. See if you can hear and see the water moving behind the ice!
A pretty frozen waterfall that’s well worth the short hike through the forest.
These falls may not be as dramatic in the winter as others nearby like Siffleur Falls, the Cline River Canyon or Crescent Falls but they’re still worth the effort. They are not as busy as the better-known frozen waterfalls meaning that you often have the place to yourself and the ability to walk right to the base of the falls allows you to really appreciate their scale.
The best times to visit are first thing in the morning and shortly before sunset when the light on the falls is at its best. Snowshoes are best after a snowfall but this trail is usually well packed enough to use ice cleats only on most days.
At a Glance
Distance: 3.6 km return
Elevation gain: ~120 m
Challenge Level: Easy | Family Friendly
Trail type: There and back
Congestion: Minimal
Management: Kiska / Wilson PLUZ
Other Trail Uses: Snowmobiles are allowed on a section of the trail
Trailhead: Approximately 45 km west of Nordegg and 45 km east of Saskatchewan River Crossing. During the winter months the road to the Cline River Waste Transfer Station is not maintained. Park at the highway and walk up the access road.
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