Sarrail Falls

July 12, 2014

What a marvelous lake!  Kananaskis Lakes are two good enough reason to want to spend hours in this park.  The hike around Lower Kananaskis Lake is nothing but sublime as the view of the lake never leaves your shoulder gaze.  On this occasion I would endure 30 Celcius, blue sky and a short hike towards Mount Sarrail.

On this occasion I would decide to park across Mount Sarrail campground in the Canadian Everest Expedition trail parking lot.  This would add another kilometer to my hike, however on a very busy summer day this was much less of a headache for me to park in this near empty spot versus attempting to park at he Lower Lake lot.  However, from the lower lake lot you are only facing 1.1Km of a trail.

I would highly recommend doing the entire Kananaskis Lake loop!  Having done both ends, in opposing seasons, I can say this is a must of a day hike for Kananaskis; if not the best trail in Peter Logheed Provincial Park.  You're covered in trees, however it would take no more than a few feet to reach the next opening where you can gawk at the lake with rocky mountain scenery.

In the winter time I made a couple predictions in my video; one that this lake, and subsequent trails would be jammed packed full of people and two that the view during the summer will cause my jaw to drop.  I can now say for certain that my past predictions were both correct.

As for the waterfall, this is a smaller waterfall than I came to expect, however no less impressive.  With the bridge replaced by log polls, this gave a greater level of class in my eyes.  As Sarrail Falls trembles beside you, you are forced to balance over the polls to connect with the other side.  For a waterfall 1.1 Kilometers in from the start of a hiking trail, I can only Imagine what Fossil Falls has is store for me in the future.  

Fossil Falls is further down the trail and on an off shoot (south bound) from the Kananaskis Lake loop.  One summer I will be hiking this trail to explore the much larger Fossil Falls.  However if that journey is anything as splendid as this short hike, I would have to say I'll be in for a major treat. Overall this was a great trail, in both seasons, and one I wish to encounter again, perhaps from the view of the lake on a canoe.