Sheep River Details

Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
Riding Area

Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park
Kananaskis Village, Alberta
AKA

Misty Range
Difficulty Rating

Black Diamond rate
Hiking SAC Scale

T2 Mountain Hiking
Trail Type

Mixed
Bike Type

AM, XC
Direction

Both Directions
Climb Difficulty

Black Diamond
Physical Rating

Hard
Season

July - Oct
Dogs Allowed

Yes
eBike Allowed

Yes
Local Popularity
45 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 5 in Trail Running
- 40 in Hiking
Land Owner

Alberta Parks

*WARNING*
Trail users are currently prohibited from using Sheep Trail as a means of travelling between the Sheep and Elbow valleys, thus cutting off access to Rickert’s Pass.

More info: http://kananaskisblog.com/sheep-trail/2016/

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Arduous. That is how Doug Eastcott describes this ride in "Backcountry Biking in the Canadian Rockies". This ride is great - the views alone should put it on your "must ride" list. The descents are old-school - rocks, roots, creeks, more rocks - no buff stuff here. The trails are largely unmaintained, so keep your eyes open.

The route is Elbow Pass trail [fairly easy riding, wide trail] to Sheep Pass trail [mostly a fast descent through babyhead rocks with many stream crossings], then TURN RIGHT AT THE COAL PILE and push/carry/drag your bike up to the top of Rickert's Pass. From the top of the Pass, the usual route is to bomb down the other side on singletrack to the Mist Creek trailhead, but there is a route along the ridge that some have taken with success.

Cellphone reception is largely non-existent, so if anything goes wrong, you will likely have to self-extract. Not really a good ride to do solo. First aid kit, bear spray, etc. Don't go past the coal pile unless you intend to get to Bluerock and/or Sandy McNabb.

Access Info

The start and finish of this ride are on Hwy 40. Two options:
1. Leave a vehicle at the Mist Creek trailhead and shuttle up to the Elbow Pass trailhead.
2. HTFU and ride from Mist Creek up and over Highwood Pass to the start of the ride.

Local Trail Association

IMBA Canada
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Traditionally Indigenous Territory

More Stats for Sheep River mountain bike trail trail

Altitude change

-559 ft
Altitude min

5,980 ft
Altitude max

6,918 ft
Altitude start

6,540 ft
Altitude end

5,981 ft
Grade

-1.4%
Grade max

-24.4%
Grade min

18.5%
Distance climb

2 miles
Distance down

6 miles
Avg time

02:42:51
Avg reverse time

06:36:53
view trail stats

status	date	description
	Aug 1, 2019 @ 10:29am Aug 1, 2019	The unofficial word is that the owners have no objection to people using the trails. Their spat is with the Alberts Government. Having said that,...
	Jan 31, 2017 @ 8:50am Jan 31, 2017	Trail users are currently prohibited from using Sheep Trail as a means of travelling between the Sheep and Elbow valleys, thus cutting off access...
	Sep 26, 2016 @ 11:59am Sep 26, 2016	Major erosion since the 2013 floods. Mist Creek Trail is in really rough shape. Too many horses on the trail in wet conditions = destroyed...

Sheep River

Sheep River Details

Access Info

Local Trail Association

Traditionally Indigenous Territory

More Stats for Sheep River mountain bike trail trail

Sheep River Trail Reports

Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

Technical Trail Features (TTF)

Photos

Routes with this trail

10 Reviews & Comments

Videos

Nearby Trails

Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park