Just Another Mountain

Trail Stats

Distance: 6.5 KM out-and-back

Elevation: 560m

Time: 3-4 hours

During our road trip in which we were primarily in Banff National Park, we decided to venture a little further to Kananaskis as I was intrigued by this hike to a hot springs on top of a mountain. On the drive, we finally saw some wildlife – a herd of female big horn sheep and some deer, as well as a coyote on the way home. In our 9 day trip, this was one of just two times we spotted any animals!

The trail we set out to complete was the amazing Mist Mountain Hot Springs trail. You can actually summit Mist Mountain but from what I’ve seen it is pretty technical, so the hot springs were good enough for us! There is no parking lot here or even a sign for the trailhead, you have to just park on the side of the road and look for the orange ribbon tied to a tree branch to find the start of the trail. There were a few cars when we arrived so we had no trouble finding it.

The trail begins through a forest and it gets progressively steeper. It definitely requires effort and would be challenging for beginners. The trail then opens up into a gorgeous meadow with lush green grass and fir trees. You continue to climb uphill until getting to the top and then you’ll see the unnerving loose scree and narrow trail that awaits! When I got to the top of the hill and looked at the surrounding mountains and trees, I genuinely felt so content to be there in that moment. It was breathtaking scenery and really reminded me of the German Alps.

Upon seeing the remainder of the trail, two of our friends decided against continuing. I was pretty nervous too because the trail was so narrow and full of scree that one wrong step could lead to a slip and the sheer drop on the right was rightfully terrifying. But as always, John plowed on so I closely followed behind.

This part isn’t very long at all, it literally just takes a few minutes and then you’re able to climb across some bigger rocks. When we got to the hot springs, a couple was just about to leave so we had it all to ourselves. I would hate to do this hike on a busy day, we were so lucky we had lots of time to ourselves before we saw another couple coming along in the distance.

The water was nice and warm and we both fit comfortably in it. It was really special to be alone, surrounded by such a beautiful landscape, taking it all in whilst soaking in a natural warm bath.

We made our way back and we ended up basically running once we got to the forest because it was so steep that it was easier to just let loose and take off! We even ended up catching up to our two friends about five minutes from the trailhead 🤣

I would definitely recommend this hike but only if it wasn’t busy. We arrived at the hot springs at 5:00 PM and it was a very rainy day in Banff which is why we headed toward Kananaskis. The weather wasn’t perfect but the rain held off and the blue sky was trying it’s best to break through the clouds. Honestly, a cooler, stormy day is much better suited to this hike than a hot summer’s day. You’ll appreciate the subtle warmth of the hot springs even more!