Kent Ridge West Outlier Hike

Where:

• Kent Ridge West Outlier

 

When:

• September 13, 2025

 

Who:

• Ed, Craig, Neil, Erin, Janet, Dave

 

Trailhead:

• the trailhead is 48 km south of Canmore on Highway 742 (Smith Dorrien, Spray Lakes Road)
• the parking lot is on the left (east) side of the road at the Sawmill day use area, about 5 km past the Chester and Burstall parking lots
• the trailhead is to the left of the washroom, and head straight uphill until you reach the logging road, where you turn right
• the trail is well defined, but it’s a bit tricky to find the route from the Sawmill Snowshoe area, so it’s best to load All Trails, as that worked better than some of my fellow hikers who had different apps

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• 6 km
• 720 meters of elevation
• it’s a steady and mostly steep climb all the way to the top
• the hike took us just over three hours

 

 

Interesting notes:

• Kent Ridge is named after the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Kent, which played a role in the Battle of Falkland Islands during WW1, with the ridge itself being named by the explorers of Kananaskis Country in 1917

• the ridge offers some of the best panoramic views of Mount Assiniboine, Sir Douglas, Joffre, King George, James Walker, and Mt. Inflexible
• Kent Ridge western outlier is more interesting than Kent Ridge, but combining them is an option
• North Kent is one of the best examples of an anticlinal mountain in the Rockies