Categories: Travel

This Alberta hike has hoodoos, a cave, and stunning views of a bright blue lake

Photo via Nordegg Adventures

With wildlife, bustling cities, and crystal clear water, Wild Rose Country has some incredible sights – many of which are best seen on foot! One of the best hikes you can take? The Hoodoo Creek Trail in Alberta.

Fill up a water bottle, pack some snacks and tie your shoes, because there’s nothing better than an autumn hike and before temperatures drop, you’ll want to get out and about!

Not sure where to go? Prepare to be dazzled!

What to expect

Located just outside of Nordegg, The Hoodoo Creek Trail is a thrilling adventure that’ll take you 1.9 kilometres into the wilderness.

While it’s referred to as an ‘unofficial’ this route will take you in and in and out of the creek bed, through a narrowing valley pass, past hoodoos and into a shallow cave.

Along the way, you’ll also get an incredible view of Alberta’s famous Abraham Lake —but it’s important to keep the rich history of the area in mind!

Tall, crumbling, and usually shaped, many of the structures you’ll see on the trail are what remains of an incredible event that took place years ago.

“Hoodoos like the ones you’ll see on this hike are evidence of the glaciers that once covered the area. As they advanced and retreated over the region, they carried rocks of various sizes and deposited them along the way. As they advanced and retreated over the region, they carried rocks of various sizes and deposited them along the way,” Nordegg Adventures explains.

“The deposit, called till, contained a mixture of clay, sand fragments and occasionally large rocks. In some cases like here, the calcium carbonate in the limestone cemented the deposits together. As the water eroded the deposits, those hardened deposits remained as pillars called hoodoos.”

Pretty cool, right?

How to get there

Photo via Nordegg Adventures

If you’re interested, prepare for a 3.8 km (round trip) adventure with an elevation gain of 360 metres.

How long it will take will vary from person to person, but it’s described by the travel site as “moderate.”

Our advice? Take it easy and enjoy what you can!

The trailhead can be found on Highway 11, 2.8 kilometres west of the Windy Point Access. Here, you’ll find an informal marker on the side of the road. Hoodoo Creek is marked with a green highway sign, 39 km west of the town.

Believe us when we say that you’re in for quite the treat! Enjoy and stay safe.

It’s wildly cool!