Parking
Begins at Boulton Creek Campground. A separate public trailhead lot and capacity were not identified; follow posted campground parking directions.
Overview
About Whiskey Jack Trail
Why go
- A direct climb from Boulton to Lookout and Pocaterra trail connections.
Heads up
- Steep uphill travel; walking back to Boulton doubles the one-way distance.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peter Lougheed map
Full mapElevation1,705–1,950 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
4 active Peter Lougheed alerts
- ClosureTrail closures and Three Isle detourThree trail sections remain closed; stay out of closed areas and follow the signed Three Isle detour to reach the open backcountry campgrounds.Official details
- CautionBear activity near Elpoca and ValleyviewFrequent bear activity has been noted along Valleyview Road from Elpoca Day Use Area south to Highway 40, near Little Highwood Pass and Valleyview Day Use Areas; use bear precautions.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Peter Lougheed Tour Guide
Your drive to Whiskey Jack Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Peter Lougheed audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Boulton Creek: Trading Post and Creekside Break0:00 / 0:26
“Boulton Creek Trading Post is coming up, a useful stop for ice cream, baked goods, or a few forgotten camping supplies. It's inside the campground, but visitors can use the shop too.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peter Lougheed Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lower Lake Day Use: A Winter Lakeshore Stop
- Elk Pass: A Meadow on the Provincial Boundary
- From Beaver Pond to Meadow
- North Interlakes and Panorama: Two Lake Views
- 41 audio storiesacross Peter Lougheed’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Canada Lynx, Black Bear, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 66 trails, 41 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Whiskey Jack Trail
The climbWhiskey Jack Trail is a steep 3.
Whiskey Jack Trail is a steep 3.9 km one-way climb from Boulton Creek Campground to the junction of Lookout and Pocaterra trails. Alberta Parks lists 210 m of elevation gain. It is a point-to-point connector, not a loop. Allow about 1¼ hours to reach the junction. For a standalone outing, turn around there: the return is 7.8 km total, usually about two to three hours. If you continue onto another trail, plan that added route separately.
Past the junctionThe Kananaskis Fire Lookout is a separate destination beyond this trail, reached by continuing…
The Kananaskis Fire Lookout is a separate destination beyond this trail, reached by continuing on other trails. Its present building was built in 1976, after an earlier structure went up in 1952. From there, the view crosses the Kananaskis lake basins toward Elk Pass and north toward the Opals. Do not count those views or distance as part of Whiskey Jack alone.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Peter Lougheed
132 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
17 sightingsCanada LynxMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
30 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
69 sightingsMooseMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
176 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
19 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Peter Lougheed. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
