Guide To The Heart Mountain Horseshoe Scramble/Hike

The Heart Mountain Horseshoe Loop is a reliable early-season objective and a popular first scramble for many locals. It features a great loop route, a long ridge walk, fantastic views, multiple peaks, and really nice rock for scrambling. It’s an easy scramble and a difficult hike, so it serves as a good transition from hiking to scrambling.

Best of all, it’s easily accessible, situated above Lac des Arcs, around 10 minutes from Canmore and approximately an hour from Calgary. We tackled the Heart Mountain loop, knowing little more than the route on a topo map, and left pleasantly surprised after a great day out in the mountains that was close to home.

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Heart Mountain Horseshoe Stats

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Heart Mountain Route Description

The Heart Mountain Horseshoe starts at the busy Heart Creek Day Use Area, which is also the starting point for several other trails in the area. This includes the Razor’s Edge bike trail, so don’t be too surprised if you see some bikers at the parking area or the start of the trail. It’s best to complete the loop in a counter-clockwise direction, that way you climb up the more difficult scramble section rather than down.

From the car park, the trail follows the Heart Creek Trail to the creek for one kilometer. Around 100 meters after the creek, the trail breaks away from the trail towards the Heart Mountain summit. Alberta Parks marked the trail well, and the route is listed as the “Heart Mountain Scramble Route.”

Pretty much immediately after detouring off the Heart Creek Trail, the route begins the very steep ascent up Heart Mountain. This section quickly gains through a series of switchbacks to sections of the ridge that would qualify as a scramble. Take your time with the ascent, as the scramble is fairly easy for the majority of the ascent, outside of being strenuous.

We found several goat trails and routes to the West/right that led into more serious rock terrain. If you’re an avid scrambler, this can be fun and challenging terrain, but for most, we say stick to the left. Regardless of which path you take, the views back over the valley open up almost right away.

As the climb up the ridge breaks away from the treeline and reaches the alpine, the scramble becomes more intensive. The most difficult sections are a large 1-2 meter step up and a narrow gully, both of which have blue markers indicating the way. The two sections are the only technical parts on the entire trail, and they’re both near one another. The most difficult thing about the crux that we found was how slick the rock was on one of the holds.

After the grind up through the scramble sections, switchbacks, and steep trail, you’ll reach the Heart Mountain Summit. It boasts one of the best views on the route, offering a stunning vista of the Bow Valley and the Heart Creek Valley. After the grind up to the summit, it’s the perfect spot to stop for a snack or lunch.

After the summit, the path is fairly quiet and follows the ridge left towards Grant MacEwan Peak. The trail along the ridge is very easy to follow and moves up and down at several points, crossing through the forest.

There is a summit register at Grant MacEwan Peak, but it’s often full due to the popularity of the peak. Nevertheless, if it’s your first scramble/summit, it’s definitely worth trying to find a spot to jot your name down.

After Grant MacEwan, the trail moves back towards the highway and north towards the last peak of the day. The third peak is unnamed and features a large cairn with views out to Yates Mountain and Barrier Lake.

Past the third peak, the trail begins a quick descent on steep and loose terrain. It’s not exactly the most enjoyable terrain to descend, and for the first section, you’ll definitely appreciate a hiking pole or poles.

After a kilometre of the steep rocky terrain, the trail reaches the forest and begins to level off. It’s still steep in sections, but the soft dirt in the forest is much more forgiving and grippy. It moves through the forest for nearly two kilometres before reaching the powerlines.

At the powerlines, you’ll take a left and begin the return journey to the car park. This is the same trail the route started, but further along. After a full day in the alpine, it can feel a little long, especially as it runs alongside the noisy TransCanada.

It took us around 5 hours to complete the loop without rushing, and we saw several trail runners giving it a try, which probably clocks in at around 3 hours.

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Trail Difficulty

Heart Mountain is undeniably a physical challenge for anyone, even the most experienced of scramblers and hikers. It’s a big day in the mountains that requires the use of hands at elevation. The route is exposed to the elements and is accompanied by numerous hazards, including cliffs.

It is a very hard hike, and those on the route must come prepared. However, we would classify it as an easy scramble and a good entry point for those looking to bag summits around the Canadian Rockies.

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Trail Length

The loop route is around 13.5 km long and gains just under 1,000 meters of elevation. On average, we’d say it takes most 5.5 to 8 hours to complete the loop with some stops. We’ve heard of some taking longer than that.

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When is the Best Time to Hike Heart Mountain?

Heart Mountain is often one of the first objectives to dry out in the Canadian Rockies. Every year is different, but it’s typically good to go around mid-May and will last until the end of the hiking season in October.