Located where the foothills meet the Rocky Mountains on the edge of Canada's most famous National Parks is this outdoor recreation area. Sibald Lake Provincial Park is about an hour West of Calgary, it's half-way to Banff. We had never been here before and just had a few hours before the rain, this hike was about 8 km with 300 m of vertical and could be done in just over two hours.
We went clockwise and started towards Deer Ridge, it started off very pleasant, walking through the meadow by a pond. The grass was still short, it's early May and they allow cattle grazing here. You can see the ridge on the left and the trail loops around through that valley far across the pond.
Finding the trail is simple, they have signs and there's an opening in the forest. Like most hikes in these parts, it started off gradual then there were 300 meters of switchbacks up the ridge.
The views of the pond through the trees was nice, we kept a lookout for animals but didn't see anything of interest. This looks like prime moose territory.
Heading up the ridge was a decent workout. This trail is great to warm up before trying more difficult trails in the mountains. We went in May, since I'm not a fan of hiking in the snow and cold wind we were waiting for the summer to seek the peaks.
The views from up on the ridge were good enough for me. This is looking south-west, visibility was just okay. There was some smoke from fires and rain clouds off in the distance.
This view is more to the south, you can see some of the most Eastern Peaks of the Rockies here - Moose Mountain and Mount Bryant. Sibbald Creek and Sibbald Creek Highway wind through the valley below.
Spring was in the air, so much greenery it's always a pleasure to get out into the hills and forests. Fresh shoots were coming up from the forest floor, perfect deer food.
It was almost a straight line down the ridge. I don't know why they have these straight paths through the mountains but they are quite common, maybe they were old logging roads or something for forestry control. This isn't the only place one can find paths that are due straight for kilometers at a time.
We reached the brook flowing through the valley to the pond near the start of the trail and crossed over it. On the other side is the Eagle Hill Trail which we sort of followed then made the loop a little longer, passing by Sibbald lake at the end.
I can never get enough of these Aspen groves. The contrast of white, black blue and green makes for great pictures.
Eagle Hill is more of a bump but it's a simple loop for those with kids and who aren't up for hiking up a ridge. It was popular for families and almost as lovely, minus the expansive views.
We sort of follow the largest red loop you can see below, starting at the lower pond and ending near the 'lake'. They are both glorified ponds but one has a camp next to it and looks warm enough for swimming.
All in all it was a great day and we will probably be back to hike in the area again. Have a nice week.
All Photos Taken with an S22 and are unedited