Best Sunrise Hike in Alberta | Everything you need to know!!

My friends and I have always heard of people going on sunrise hikes and we knew we had to try it! With hopeful prayers for a beautiful sunrise and a clear sky, we made our trek up prairie mountain! And it was safe to say, we were able to successfully make it to the top on our second attempt!

Prairie mountain is a very popular trail out in Kananaskis. It is about an hour drive west of Calgary depending on where you are. The hike is about 6.6km, 665m in elevation and took us about 3 1/2 hours total (2 hours up and 1 1/2 hours on the way down). Depending on how fast you go, it takes about 2.5-4 hours to go up and down.

Planning

If you are planning to hike prairie mountain, ensure you check google that the mountain is open as sometimes they can get closed for trail repairs or if conditions are really poor.

The 8 of us by no means were avid hikers so to plan our trip we gave ourselves 3 hours of hiking time (even though it wouldn’t take that long, just in case we hiked up the wrong path or wanted to take many breaks) to ensure that we would make it up in time for the sunrise which google said it was at 6:30am that morning.

We left Calgary around 2:30am and arrived at 3:30am. From there we gathered all our supplies and started out hike to the top. We took many breaks throughout the hike and surprisingly we made it the the top a little before the sun rose. Since it was a sunrise hike, make sure you bring headlamps and flashlights as it can be very very dark out in the mountains. Since it was very dark and we were away from all the light pollution from the city, the sky was beautiful since there were so many stars above us! Additionally, if you looked very carefully, there were the occasional shooting stars that appeared! When going on a sunrise hike, I do recommend going as a group since you never know what can happen out in the mountains when it is pitch black.

Since the hike is out in Kananaskis, you will have to purchase one Kananaskis Conservation Pass per car. You can purchase the pass either in person along the way to Kananaskis or my personal favourite which is easily accessible on their website.

Trailhead & Parking

To ensure you begin your hike at the correct location, downloading the "all trails" app will be very helpful! Out in the mountains, the trails sometimes do not show up on google maps correctly so downloading the offline trails map will help! Upon reaching the trailhead of Prairie Mountain, you can easily confirm you're in the right spot by spotting a sign firmly planted in the ground displaying the trail map.

For our hike we had parked on the side of the highway. It is however, recommended for visitors to park at the Elbow Falls Parking lot which is about 100m west from the Prairie Mountain Trailhead.

Google maps does not have the full trail on the map so even though this is completely unsponsored, I do recommend that "all trails" app!

The experience

As we hiked up, we snacked on candies to keep our sugar levels up and drank lots of water and gatorade to stay hydrated! We went on our hike in April so there was still lots of snow and ice. We all wore spikes and crampons under our hiking shoes so that we wouldn’t slip!

Prairie mountain can get pretty steep at times so some people may consider this hike as hard whereas regular hikers may consider it moderate. As you approach the summit, you'll notice a clearing with fewer trees which gives the impression from below that you're nearing the peak. However, it's important to note that you still have another rocky ascent ahead to reach the actual summit!

Review

I really enjoyed this hike. It was a fun hike to go on with friends although it can be quite steep at times. The views throughout the hike and at the summit were absolutely phenomenal. It felt surreal. The Prairie Mountain hike is stunning not just during sunrise but at all times throughout the day. So if getting up super early in the morning for a hike isn’t for you, I still highly recommend the hike throughout the day!

By Feli