Distance: 20.6km

Elevation: 700m

Rating: Difficult (Due to distance and the chain section)

Remoteness: Moderately popular hike, but you can find seclusion on this one!

Distance From Calgary: 126km (1hour 26minutes)

Access to this trail starts at the Cat Creek Day Use parking lot. The trail follows alongside highway 40 and remains relatively flat for the first 1.4km of this hike. Not the most exciting start to a hike, but if you look away from the highway, the view of the valley is pretty nice!

The trail then veers west, where you will reach Highwood River for an unavoidable river crossing. I highly recommend water proof shoes for this one, as you don’t want to walk another 18km with wet feet! I did this hike in the fall, and the water was only ankle deep, but the water could be higher in the spring with snow melt. Shortly after this crossing, you reach a trail intersection where you take the left trail heading southwest. You will know you went the right direction if you quickly need to do another shallow creek crossing. This second creek is much narrower than the first, and changing to waterproof shoes can be avoided for this one.

Be weary of all the cows grazing in the area. Although relatively harmless, they can be quiet and “sneak up on you”. They scared me on more than one occasion on this hike!

The next 6.5km is on a wide path through the forest, with a relatively gradual slope incline. At one point you pass through the above horse camp. The Carnarvon sign pictured above is tricky, and makes is seem like the trail goes in that direction. However, you want to stick to the wide trail that continues to the right here.

The fall colors gave the forest a nice contrast when I hiked this one in October!

The forest walk does feel long, but eventually the trees open up to reward you with a view for all your hard work.

From here, you will see the waterfall that comes directly from Carnarvon Lake, as well as have a view of the rest of your path of ascent. This is where the slope grade kicks up a notch, giving your muscles a bit more of a burn.

Once you reach the waterfall, the pathway veers to the right to give you your first look at the chain section.

Don’t forget to look at the view down the valley before starting your climb!

Although it looks daunting, the chains are very sturdy, and there is plenty of foot and hand holds on the rock to assist your climb.

I brought my small dog with me, and he was unable to climb it unassisted. I did see larger dogs climbing alongside their owners no problem. Bring your dog at your own discretion. This section is by far the most fun portion of the hike!

Once you summit the chain section, you will continue along the creek for approximately100 more metres. This is short lived, as soon you will be rewarded with your first look at Carnarvon Lake!

There is a path that veers right to go around the lake. From here there is much more exploring that you can do if you have the time and energy. Wild camping is permitted up here, so the lake would be a great home base for a tent if you wanted to spend a few days exploring!

As far as hikes go, this wouldn’t be a go-to recommendation for me, as the majority of this hike is walking on a wide path through the forest. However the chain section, and the possibility of further exploration, intrigued me enough that I will go back! I will update this post if I do.