Rae Glacier Hike

Where:

• Rae Glacier

 

When:

• August 16, 2025

 

Where:

• Ed, Neil, Dave

 

Trailhead:

• on Highway 40, drive south from the Trans-Canada Highway for 62 km (50 minutes)
• the parking lot is on the left hand side of the road
• the trail starts behind the outhouse

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• 10 km (we went into both upper valleys)
• 450 meters
• 2.5 hours total time on the trail
• it is a steady climb out of the parking lot for 1.6 km to Elbow Lake
• as you reach Elbow Lake, turn right and walk through the campground
• continue to an intersection with a very obvious unsigned trail departing eastward from the NE part of the lake
• there is no official trail, but it’s fairly obvious with lots of flagging tape and cairns along the way
• overall it’s a gentle climb with some tricky footing in the upper cirques

 

 

Interesting notes:

• it was a rainy and cloudy day, so we had limited views for most of our time in the upper valleys, but the glacier seemed almost non existent

• the naming of Rae Glacier is after Dr. John Rae, a Scottish explorer who played a crucial role in mapping the Canadian Arctic and he was the the first European to survive an Arctic winter by living off he land, and he played a key role in completing the search for the Northern Passage
• the trail can be quite busy up to Elbow Lake
• Elbow Lake is the source of the Elbow River, which supplies 40% of Calgary’s drinking water

• there are beautiful views of Mt. Rae, Elpoca Mountain, and Tower