Snowshoe Experience – Spray Lakes

Thirty minutes above Canmore, the road climbs past the Nordic Centre, tops out at Whiteman’s Gap and drops into a different valley. Spray Lakes is where locals go in winter when they want quiet: a long frozen reservoir hemmed in by the Goat Range on one side and the Spray Mountains on the other, forest trails that hold snow from November to April, and almost nobody on them. You don’t need to have snowshoed before. If you can walk, you can do this — the snowshoes do the floating, the poles do the balancing, and your guide does the route-finding.

What to Expect:

• ~3-hour guided snowshoe from the trailhead through forest and along the frozen lakeshore and back
• Snowshoe and pole fitting with a short how-to before you set off — five minutes and you’ll have it
• Trails that wind through snow-loaded spruce and open onto the ice with the peaks straight ahead
• Fresh tracks more often than not; your guide reads the day’s conditions and picks the route to match
• A stop for hot chocolate with the best view of the walk
• Tracks in the snow to read along the way — hare, marten, moose — and the story of who’s still awake up here in winter

Group Size:

2 – 14 Participants (minimum 2 people to run the tour)

What’s Included:

• Local professional guide, wilderness first aid certified
• Snowshoes and trekking poles, fitted to you
• Hot drink and snack
• Small group experience — never more than 14 guests

Trip Details:

• Duration: ~3 hours total
• Departure: 11:00 a.m. daily
• Location: Spray Lakes trailhead, Smith-Dorrien / Spray Trail (Hwy 742), 25 km south of Canmore. Link to location — exact meeting point confirmed in your booking email, as we choose the trailhead by conditions.
• Getting there: Hwy 742 is a gravel road, plowed but snow-covered in winter. Allow 35 minutes from Canmore and drive to conditions. Winter tires strongly recommended.
• Parking: Your vehicle needs a Kananaskis Conservation Pass ($15/day). Buy it online before you leave — there is no cell service at Spray Lakes.
• Transportation from Canmore: Available on request — call or email us when you book. Highly recommended if you don’t have winter tires.
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate (rolling terrain, ~2 hours on snowshoes; routes stay well away from avalanche terrain)
• Distance: 4–6 km, depending on snow and the route your guide chooses
• Group Size: Maximum 14
• Minimum Guests: 2
• Minimum Age: 6
• Season: December 1 – March 31 (earlier or later if the snow allows — call us)

What to Bring:

• Insulated, waterproof winter boots (snowshoe bindings fit over them)
• Warm layers you can shed — snowshoeing is more work than it looks, and you’ll warm up fast
• Gloves or mitts, a toque (beanie), and a neck warmer for the open lake sections
• Sunglasses — the glare off the ice is real
• Water and a camera
• Gaiters if you own them (not essential; we’ll keep you on packed trails if the snow is deep)

Why We Love It:

Spray Lakes is the winter most people drive past on the way to somewhere busier. Twenty-five kilometres of frozen water, silence you can hear, and mountains stacked up on both sides — half an hour from town and a world away from the Banff crowds. On a good day you’ll see more animal tracks than people. It’s the easiest way we know to get properly into the backcountry without earning it the hard way.