The best Alberta hikes you've never heard of

Looking for a hike that isn’t mainstream or overly busy but still delivers where it matters? Each of these eight hikes offers either stunning mountain views, a lake or a combination of the two.

Table Mountain, Castle Provincial Park

Appearances can be deceiving. Scroll through Instagram photos of Table Mountain down in southern Alberta’s Castle Provincial Park and you might think the summit offers nothing but precipitous drop-offs. Yet Table Mountain lives up to its name, offering a gentle, grassy summit with superb prairie and mountain views. Allow two hours to hike the 5 km (3 mi) over a 700 m (2,296 ft) elevation gain.

Wind your way along the treed trail and follow alongside a rocky creek bed. Your final push to Table Mountain rewards you with magnificent prairie-meets-mountain views.

Turtle Mountain, Crowsnest Pass Area

The hike to Turtle Mountain will leave you breathless in more ways than one. Granted, you steeply ascend 925 m (3,3034 ft) over just 3.1 km (2 mi), but this is also the mountain responsible for Canada’s deadliest landslide. It’s closely monitored, but scientists say it will slide again one day. While you may feel a wee bit of tension at the summit, wondering just when it’s all going to let loose again, focus instead on enjoying the spectacular views of the Frank Slide and the Crowsnest Valley.

A short and steep hike up to Turtle Mountain is worth it for the chance to see Crowsnest Valley spread out before you.

The Grizzly Ridge Hike

The crux of the superb Grizzly Ridge hike is finding the trail, not navigating the rocky slabs to the airy summit. There isn’t any trail signage and yet once you’re on it, the hike is straightforward. From Highwood Pass head towards Ptarmigan Cirque, but cut left onto a trail beside the creek, five minutes from the parking lot. Turn left again at a big pile of rocks about 45 minutes into the hike. Continue up a black scree slope to Grizzly Col. Still have some leg juice? Gain the ridge in 15 minutes and from there it’s a short hike to the ridge summit. The views are some of the best you’ll find in Kananaskis Country.

The Hoodoo Trail, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park / Aisinai'Pi

The Hoodoo Trail, is a stunning 4.0 km (2.5 mi) out-and-back interpretative hike in Canada’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site, Writing-on-Stone/Aisinai’pi, located in the southeast corner of Alberta. Start at the campground and hike through an otherworldly landscape of hoodoos that come in all shapes and sizes. Continue past sandstone cliffs overlooking the pretty Milk River and on through prairie grasslands to finish at the Battle Scene petroglyph – one of the most notable rock carvings in the park.

You might just feel like you're hiking on another planet, so strange are the hoodoo formations along the Hoodoo Trail.

Window Lake, Crowsnest Pass Area

Nothing beats a glittering lake in the mountains on a summer day, especially a lake you can actually swim in. It’s only a 2 km (1.2 mi) hike in from the trailhead if you’ve got a high-clearance vehicle. Otherwise, double your mileage but reduce your angst over bottoming out in your car. The bulk of the 210 metre (689 ft) elevation gain occurs in the first kilometre. From there, it’s lovely hiking through woods filled with massive trees until you pop out beside the lake. Either hike around the entire lake through stunning swaths of wildflowers or find your piece of paradise and enjoy the landscape.

This slice of paradise is Window Lake where you can actually take a dip. There's a good chance you might be the only one there.

Pierre Grey's Lakes

Pierre Grey’s Lakes Provincial Park isn’t a mainstream destination. The park is a solid 398 km (247 mi) drive west of Edmonton and an ideal stopover for people travelling north. But with five lakes and 24 km (15 mi) of easy hiking trails, it’s also perfect for people looking for something a little different. Don’t miss the hike out to the end of a spit in Desjarlais Lake, where there’s a massive osprey nest, or the hike to the remains of a historical trading post on the shores of Moberly Lake.

Lake Annette/Paradise Valley, Banff National Park

A tiny fraction of the people who visit the ever-popular Moraine Lake do this hike and yet it’s a stunner. Follow Paradise Creek up to Lake Annette as it climbs a modest 250 metres (820 ft) over 5.7 km (3.5 mi). Enjoy lunch under the magnificence of Mount Temple’s sheer north face. Ambitious hikers can continue all the way to Sentinel Pass or the Giant Steps.

Sneak away from the crowds at Moraine Lake and hit the stunning trail to Annette Lake. You can opt to lunch at the lake or continue on to the Giant Steps.

Nigel Pass, Jasper National Park

Enjoy a moderate hike to Nigel Pass, gaining just 361 m (1,184 ft) over its 7.2 km (4.5 mi) length. Enjoy exceptional views of Mount Saskatchewan and Parker Ridge along with wildflower-filled meadows with its location halfway between Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefields. If you’ve got the time and energy, continue exploring along the pretty Brazeau River in either direction from the pass.

Halfway between Lake Louise and the Columbia Icefields in the very doable Nigel Pass. You'll find fields of wildflowers and epic views for miles.

Horseshoe Canyon, Drumheller

Looking for an easy hike with a difference? Head to Horseshoe Canyon, near Drumheller, for a walk through a badlands landscape famous for its intriguing geology. From the observation deck, descend into the canyon, where three eco-systems reveal themselves over two arms of the canyon; wild prairie grasses, wooded coulee slopes along with the eroded rock that make up the Canadian Badlands. Spend the better part of a day hiking on up to 10 km (6.2 mi) of trails.

Take an easy hike in the footsteps of dinosaurs. The time-worn maroon-striped slopes of the canyon reveal rocks from the Cretacious Period.