If youre after a brief, easy walking that is like no other, certainly that I have done in Alberta, examine out the Heart Creek Bunker trail near Canmore. The easy walking ends at a bunker constructed into the mountain listed below the slope of Mount McGillivray. Its a primarily non-descript, rather loud hike to get to the bunker, but once there its extremely fascinating.
The Heart Creek Bunker goes by a lot of names including the Bow Valley Bunker, the Vault and The Cold War Bunker. As one can picture, its pitch dark in the bunker so you will not get far without a flashlight.
Heart Creek Bunker path information
Range: 3.8 km return.
Elevation gain: 94 metres.
Difficulty: Easy and family friendly.
Pet dogs: Allowed on a leash.
Time needed: Two hours with time to check out the bunker.
Finest time to go to: A year-round walking.
Path description for the Heart Creek Bunker Trail.
Start at the parking lot by the Trans-Canada Trail marker– the yellow one pictured below. This is not the trailhead for the Heart Creek Trail. That one is over by the outhouses.
Hike through blended forest with the lovely noise of Trans-Canada traffic in the background, crossing a gravel-bed gulley in brief order. After treking roughly one kilometre, cross another gulley where youll also see a great deal of building devices.
Continue treking through the forest to reach a big hill. Youll most likely need to put your microspikes on here if its winter season. Reach a junction signed with a Trans-Canada path marker. Go left. Continue through more forest for around 10– 15 minutes to reach yet another junction. You might see some pink flagging tape around too. Turn left once again and rise all the method to the cave entryway, approximately 200 metres from the crossway. Backtrack your steps to return.
Keep in mind that in winter season after a heavy snowfall, there might in theory be avalanche risk from above. Just be conscious and prevent the location in times of fresh, heavy snow.
Signs stating Bow Corridor Link Trail– part of the Trans-Canada Trail and the start of the Heart Creek Bunker Trail.
The first of the gravel gulleys you cross.
The second gulley you cross is near a construction website.
The junction imagined by the snow is where you make the last left hand turn– but its seen here on the return walking.
The view prior to you reach the Heart Creek Bunker.
The end of the Heart Creek Bunker trail.
The view you get on the descent from the Heart Creek Bunker.
The Bunker Creek Caverns.
I was quite stunned at the size of the bunker. Supposedly, this is just a 3rd of the work that was done to construct the bunker.
As one can think of, its pitch dark in the bunker so you wont get far without a flashlight. Some individuals have actually spent a lot of time on their work in here.
We left attempting to think of how this moist bunker might ever be a good location to store delicate documents!.
Households enjoy this location. We saw great deals of kids delighting in the snow at the entryway and inside they might be seen having fun with flashlights. If you simply have a couple of hours, its the ideal getaway. Must you have more time and energy, combine it with among the other brief enjoyable hikes neighboring consisting of Jura Creek or the Grotto Canyon, specifically in winter season when parts of the walkings are ice walks.
This image gives you a sense of the size of the bunker.
Lots of graffiti on the walls in the bunker.
More graffiti.
Discovering the trailhead.
The trailhead for the Heart Creek Bunker trail is the same one utilized for both the Heart Creek walking and the Heart Mountain trek. It is signed on the Trans-Canada Highway, a minimum of if youre driving west..
From downtown Calgary, its less than an hours drive to the trailhead. Take the Trans-Canada Highway heading west for 87 kilometres. Get off at exit 105 onto Range Road 91A. Go left, changeover the Trans-Canada Highway. You make an odd left turn– to get to the trailhead which will all make sense and be obvious when youre there.
Continue straight to the Heart Creek Parking Lot. This is an enjoyable hike to do en route to or from Canmore as its easy and quick!
A large parking area at the Heart Creek Bunker path can get hectic on the weekend.
What to take on the Heart Creek Bunker Trail. If youre treking the path in winter season
, I would certainly definitely advise. Everybody in your treking group will require either a flashlight or a headlamp.
If youre after a brief, simple hike that is like no other, certainly that I have actually carried out in Alberta, check out the Heart Creek Bunker trail near Canmore. The easy hike ends at a bunker built into the mountain listed below the slope of Mount McGillivray. Its a mainly non-descript, somewhat noisy walking to get to the bunker, once there its exceptionally intriguing.
The Heart Creek Bunker passes a great deal of names including the Bow Valley Bunker, the Vault and The Cold War Bunker. The intent of constructing the bunker was “to offer a vault storage location in case of some sort of catastrophic emergency situation.” Rocky Mountain Vaults & & Archives Ltd., a defunct corporation because 1999, proclaimed to be able to keep files dry and safe within almost 275 metres of limestone– a porous rock!
The bunker was also implied to be survivable with air exchanges and interaction systems just a few of the planned things for it. Now the bunker is simply a small antique of Cold War history– and a location where you may find the odd rodent in addition to graffiti-covered walls.
