Grassi Knob Hike - Canmore

Grassi Knob Loop

 Distance 9km

Elevation 795m

Time 3hrs

Grassi Knob summit shot

There are so many hikes around Canmore it can be hard to choose. Most have spectacular views for minimal to moderate effort, beautiful lakes, or alpine ridges to wander. The Grassi Knob hike has none those. We picked this hike for a few attributes - it was close to Canmore, short, and none of us had done it (or even heard of it) before. It was also a loop, which is always nice. The hike was super steep up the West Ridge and we spent 99% of our time in the trees. We choose to descend the East Ridge, which was a slightly more gradual slope, and returned to the car along the Highline Trail. The whole outing took less than 3 hours and we were rewarded with a good workout and excellent views once we reached the summit. Overall, it worked well for Alanna and Cam who had a birthday massage booked in Banff in the morning and things to do that afternoon back in Red Deer, but it isn't a hike I need to repeat anytime soon.

We parked our car in a neighbourhood at the top of Lawrence Grassi Ridge and Wilson Way. There was plenty of street parking by the Peaks of Grassi Park. Following the Highline Trail for 1.5 km leads you to a well marked fork. Follow the trail up towards Three Sisters Creek for about 100m. Immediately after the bridge, the trail starts up the West Ridge on your right

Follow the Highline Trail to the bridge

The bridge about 100m after the fork on Highline

Steep trail starts immediately after the bridge

The trail was obvious and we followed it up through the trees for about an hour. At one point there is a rocky view point overlooking the reservoir and Canmore, but it was occupied and Kona really wanted to play with the hikers dog (also named Kona!) so we kept moving.

Unrelenting up

There is an option to dip into the gully for part of the uphill when water levels are low. We saw the fork on the right soon after starting up the trail but just stayed on the ridge which was the more obvious trail. It was steep but wasn't too difficult. The gully trail does join back up with the ridge trail about 1/3 of the way up the ridge and is apparently less steep but you have to walk through the creek bed.

Happy Kona waits for the slow humans

Eventually the trees started to thin and we got some cool views of the Ships Prow and Miner's Gully. I was happy to be in the shade as it was already 28 degrees and we were all pouring sweat from the steady climb.

Miner's Gully views from the West Ridge Trail

The trail wrapped around the summit and joined up with the East Ridge trail just above the treeline. From here, it was a few rocky steps to the top.

Joining the east ridge trail for the final climb to the summit

Surprisingly, there were 2 other people who had just arrived at the summit. We didn't linger long, just enough time to eat some cookies, snap a few photos and water the dog. From the little rocky pinnacle, you get excellent view of the Ship's Prow, Mt. Lawrence Grassi, the town of Canmore, and the Three Sisters. It is a full 360 degree view point. There was a lesser travelled trail that takes you to the base of the Ship's Prow if you feel so inclined.

Ships Prow from Grassi Knob

Lawrence Grassi and Rundle

View of the Three Sisters and Highway 1 looking East

We descended the East Ridge, which added 2 km onto the hike as we had to take the Highline Trail back across to the car. I liked that we made it into a loop and that the descent wasn't as steep as our up-trail had been. It was a very fun day up a lesser travelled hike close to Canmore, with a similar profile to the Grouse Grind (but no gondola and cafe at the top).