Spray Lakes Road
Day 2 - August 18, 2007
I woke up around 7:30am, showered, dressed, and packed up. I left the Red Carpet Inn at around 8:30am, heading west on Hwy 1 towards Canmore. It was fairly light traffic, and I figured I'd get breakfast at the Tim Horton's in Canmore before hitting the Spray Lakes Road. Well, I found out where everybody was; they were at Tim Horton's standing in line. There had to be 50 people in line when I arrived, so I quickly decided to go next door to McDonalds where there was no waiting at all.
I ate a quick breakfast, filled the gas tank, and headed south out of Canmore to find Spray Lakes Road. Spray Lakes Road becomes a gravel road almost immediately, and begins rising in elevation. Within just a few miles, you can look back down at the town of Canmore from the road.
| Looking down at the fog over Canmore |
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The full name of the road is the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Road. It's a very well maintained gravel road, providing access to the backcountry for campers, hikers, and mountain-bikers. It's also a very fun road for dual-sport motorcycles. The road is very wide in most areas. It traverses Spray Valley Provincial Park, and Peter Loughheed Provincial Park; and at times crosses into Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park. All of this area is at the edges of the Rocky Mountains, and is very scenic. It certainly makes for a beautiful ride.
| At Goat Pond |
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The road is certainly not challenging, but it's fun to ride. The weather couldn't have been much better - blue skies, a few wispy clouds, and temps in the '70's. Surprisingly nice was that there was very little traffic (and it stayed that way for the entire day).
Spray Lake itself is really another reservoir that stretches for about 55 miles, providing recreational opportunities (fishing, boating, etc.) as well as hydro-electric power.
| Along Spray Lake |
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At the south end the Spray Lakes Road, it meets up with the Kananaskis Lakes Trail (about a mile or so west of Hwy 40). I decided to take the Kananaskis Lakes Trail south where it end between the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. It also allowed me to stock up on water at the Boulton Creek Campground.
| The Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes |
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From the Kananaskis Lakes, I turned around and headed back north to Hwy 40, and followed it north towards Fortress Junction where I stopped for gas. While getting gas, I saw two other riders (one on a new KLR 650 and the other on a V-Strom) out for a day's ride. These were the first biker's I'd seen since leaving Canmore in the morning.
After getting gas, I continued north on Hwy 40 to Hwy 68, which is another gravel road heading east. I only rode a few miles on Hwy 68, and then cut south again on the Powderface Trail Road. This is another excellent dual-sport road which traverses the Elbow Valley between Hwys 68 and 66.
From the junction with Hwy 66, the Powderface Trail Road starts in a flat prairie area but the road soon starts to gain some elevation. The Powderface Trail Road has a lot more elevation changes, and is more challenging and fun than the Spray Lakes Road. Again, I saw very little traffic.
| The Powderface Trail Road |
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Near the end of the Powderface Trail, I saw a small monument and stopped for a quick look. The monument was erected in remembrance of a training flight crew that crashed nearby during World War II.
| Monument along the Powderface Trail Road |
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Just after stopping at this monument, I saw three bikes stopped by the side of the road and I pulled over to talk to them. An 1100GS, a KLR (riding 2-up), and a Yamaha street bike, they were on a day ride out of Calgary, and had stopped for lunch. They were heading north on the Powderface trail, and then were going to loop back to Calgary.
I continued south to Hwy 66, and then headed east to Hwy 22 to Bragg's Creek - time for a late lunch and a beer. After eating, I continued north on Hwy 22 to Cochrane, and then took Hwy 1A west back to Canmore and found a hotel for the night. Just after I got to the hotel, a light rain began. It would rain on and off during the night.