Grizzly Ridge Trail

Grizzly Ridge is an informal, unsigned out-and-back from Highwood Meadows Day Use, passing Pocaterra Tarn and Grizzly Col before reaching a high rocky ridge in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Plan on 6 miles round trip, about 2,240 feet of climbing and roughly 4.5 to 6 hours. Most of the route is a moderate mountain hike; the final 100 metres or so are a rocky scramble with handholds and minor exposure. Come for the broad ridge views if you’re comfortable finding an unmarked turn and scrambling above the col. If that last section is beyond your comfort level, Grizzly Col is a natural turnaround; the col-only outing is still about 5.6 miles round trip.

From the Highwood Meadows lot, start on the signed Ptarmigan Cirque approach. After a few hundred metres, look for an unsigned left turn into the trees; the entrance is muddy and easy to walk past. The first stretch rolls across a creek and muddy patches, then climbs moderately over open avalanche slopes. Don’t follow the tempting left branches before Pocaterra Tarn. Stay on the main track until you pass the tarn, then turn left at a small rock marker. The track continuing to the right heads toward Pocaterra Ridge.

Above the tarn, the path climbs through larch trees, then across a grassy slope toward rockier ground. The tread becomes scree-like as it rises, with dark rock that can feel hot in direct sun. Grizzly Col is the notch between Grizzly Ridge and Mount Tyrwhitt, and a useful place to pause before the steeper finish. Mount Tyrwhitt rises to the right; its own scramble is very steep and is not part of this route.

The climb from the col to the ridge takes about 15 minutes. At the ridge, bear left toward Grizzly Ridge. The final roughly 100 metres are a hands-on scramble over rocky ground with some exposure; this short finish can feel more serious than the long approach. Turn back at the col if you don’t want that section. From the ridge, the view opens over Paradise Valley and Pocaterra Ridge, with surrounding peaks in every direction. The route’s published high point is about 2,770 metres.

The trail starts at Highwood Meadows Day Use on Highway 40. A Kananaskis Conservation Pass is required for vehicle parking, and this stretch of Highway 40 closes each year from December 1 through June 14. There is a washroom at the parking area, but no food or confirmed drinking-water source along the hike. Dogs are allowed in Alberta Parks on a leash no longer than 2 metres; consider the exposed scramble when deciding whether to bring one.