9.3 miles
Distance
467 ft
Climb
-398 ft
Descent
01:45:14
Avg time

Minnewanka Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Banff National Park
    Alberta
  • AKA
    Major Wanker
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Blue (2 votes)
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat
  • Climb Difficulty
    Green
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Season
    Sept 15 - July 10
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Global Ranking
    #11660 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #4562 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    65 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 65 in Trail Running
    • 75 in Hiking
  • Land Owner
    Parks Canada

Out and back trail along Minnewanka lake. Usually opens up early in the season for riding. The hardest climb is near the beginning, the rest is up and down along the lake shore. The riding is not super-technical, but it is singletrack with roots and rocks. It's also fun in the winter, where you can ride on the frozen lake [studded tires recommended - make sure it's frozen - ride at your own risk].

Note that Minnewanka is one of the most popular trails in Banff. There can be HUGE crowds of hikers on weekends. Start and finish early on the weekends, or ride on weekdays to avoid the masses. If you are riding the trail, don't stop for a rest on the narrow exposed sections - keep moving until you can find a spot to stop where others can pass you.

Seasonal Restriction for bicycle is in effect from July 10 - September 15.

Access Info

Public Transit - Route 6

From the Minnewanka parking lot, the trail starts at the northeast end past the picnic tables.

Disclaimer

Seasonal Closure to bikes is from July 10 - September 15

Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Minnewanka multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    69 ft
  • Altitude min
    4,923 ft
  • Altitude max
    5,143 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,923 ft
  • Altitude end
    4,990 ft
  • Grade
    0.1%
  • Grade max
    -28.2%
  • Grade min
    25%
  • Distance climb
    3 miles
  • Distance down
    3 miles
  • Distance flat
    3 miles
  • Avg time
    01:45:14
  • Avg reverse time
    02:24:09
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jul 10, 2025
Avg: 4.09 (16 votes)
Your vote: 0

view (1,522)
close
  • BasemapMap 
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
cell carrier legend

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
x Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
      Directions to minnewanka trailhead (51.247730, -115.500600)
      update trails status or condition

      Minnewanka Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jul 10, 2025 @ 10:21am
      Jul 10, 2025
      Jul 10, 2025 @ 12:00am
      Jul 10, 2025
      May 23, 2025 @ 7:14am
      May 23, 2025
      		 BEAR WARNING: Lake Minnewanka Trail Special caution is recommended when travelling in this area due to the following bear related situation. A...
      May 16, 2025 @ 3:48pm
      May 16, 2025
      		 WARNING: Bears in the area Multiple bears have been seen in the area in recent days. Bear Safety: - Always carry bear spray in this trail and...
      Apr 27, 2025 @ 8:15am
      Apr 27, 2025
      		We rode as far as LM9 on 2025/04/26. A blowdown just before the campsite has been cleared from the trail, but there's a big one just after LM9. We...
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 8 rides
      • 19 miles avg distance
      All
      • 165 rides
      • Last: Jul 9, 2025

      Photos

      more »
      627 |
      Oct 27, 2017 @ 12:30pm
      Oct 27, 2017
      601 |
      Oct 14, 2014 @ 1:34pm
      Oct 14, 2014
      888 |
      Oct 27, 2012 @ 1:05am
      Oct 27, 2012
      716 |
      Aug 20, 2013 @ 8:25am
      Aug 20, 2013

      Trail Lists

      Routes with this trail

      titledistance
      Bow Valley Extreme162 miles

      Links

      15 Reviews & Comments


      We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

      Create a FREE account to view trail comments and much more.

      Create a Free Account

      Videos

      more »
      Places 2 MTB: Lake Minnewanka Trail
      14:21 | 302 | Mar 19, 2023 , My City
      Minnawanka Bankhead Mountain Bike
      6:38 | 935 | Sep 19, 2019 , My City
      Motorboat Cruisin’
      0:00 | 17 | Aug 20, 2022 , My City
      Lake Minnewanka
      10:51 | 854 | Nov 22, 2012 , My City

      Nearby Trails

      Banff National Park

      • By dannyTF Pro & contributors
      • #5946 - 33,517 views

      You must enter a description before submitting.