Manning Park Lodge to Cascade Lookout, Alpine Meadows, and Bighorn Camp (10 km hike)

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Photo ofManning Park Lodge to Cascade Lookout, Alpine Meadows, and Bighorn Camp (10 km hike)

Author

mclivancouver

with 1 trail buddy

5,634 189 2155

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Trail stats

Distance: 16.06 mi
Elevation gain: 3,438 ft
Technical difficulty: Easy
Elevation loss: 787 ft
Max elevation: 6,602 ft
TrailRank: 61
Min elevation: 3,858 ft
Trail type: One Way

Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Coordinates: 3395
Uploaded: August 4, 2018
Recorded: August 2018

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near Manning Park, British Columbia (Canada)

Viewed 1440 times, downloaded 7 times

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Itinerary description

The saved track includes 12.9 km of road access, and a 9.7 km subalpine mountain hike. The starting waypoint is the store and restaurant at the Manning Park Resort on the Crowsnest Highway (Hwy #3). The store offers trail snacks and drinks, and has an adjoining coffee shop with packaged sandwiches, samosas and other takeaway foods. There is a public mountain water tap at a small pavilion near the public washrooms in the Resort grounds.

The initial track segment follows road access from the Manning Park Resort to the Cascade Lookout, 8.6 km to the north along a narrow two-lane paved switchback road. The second road segment continues on a gravel road for a further 4.5 miles (park road signs still on imperial system) to the parking lot at Alpine Meadows. This has some washboard sections and raises dust.

Starting at Alpine Meadows parking, the 9.7 km hiking segment starts south along the Paintbrush Trail through sub-alpine flower meadow, passing a large communications installation, and curving around to the west towards Blackwall Peak. The hike continues along the Heather Trail to Buckhorn Camp, the first designated camping site to the north of the parking lot, then backtracks directly to the parking lot (End Station). Be aware the hiking segment is steady (gentle) downhill to Buckhorn Camp, so steady uphill returning to Parking.

Air Quality index (AQI) was high on the day due to forest fires, and together with heat haze, the distant mountains were shrouded and hard to photograph cleary.

Waypoints

Manning Park Lodge

Starting waypoint. Store and coffee shop with trail foods, restaurant, public washrooms, mountain water tap, accomodation, recycling bins. Ground squirrels are abundant on the resort grounds.

Cascade Lookout

Parking at the top of the paved access road, approx. 8.6 km from Manning Park Resort. Spectacular mountain views. A steep gravel road continues 4.5 km further from here to the Alpine Meadows parking areas and the start of this hike. It is occasionally washboard and raises dust.

Alpine Meadows Parking Lot

Air Quality Index (AQI) somewhat elevated on the day due to forest fire activity. Toilet facilities. Summer wildflowers are abundant around this area.