Heart Mountain Loop (hard)

Hard
13km (heart creek parking lot full loop)
4-6 hours
Elevation Gain: 1090m
Summer, Spring, Fall (with good weather minimal snow!)

This is a great hike!!!! I absolutely loved it! And it was windy and cold! But the views, the terrain, the scramble!! All amazing. Would definitely do this again!

This hike is completed by a full loop. Started by parking at the Heart Creek parking lot off Lac Du Arc by Exshaw. If you feel like cutting some time off and feel confident in where your going, I would suggest parking along the highway (there should be other cars parks its a popular route) and follow the path west until you hit the trail head sign and begin your hike. Although the walk back to the car is easy and fairly flat, its an extra 1-2km back to the car that could be avoided!

You can hike the beginning of this trail and just going to the beginning of the scramble and come back down if your not feeling ambitious or do not feel comfortable with some exposure. The views are still excellent, it will take about 2.5 hours, 700m elevation over 4km or so! That being said, up the the false summit is the hardest part. The rest is easy! A very beautiful walk, well defined trail with a gradual incline. So if you have the time and energy I recommend going the whole way!

There were two dogs, and 4 kids doing the hike the same day as us. It is pretty dog friendly I’d say. But the rocks and little scramble section is a little tricky and you might have to help them up in a couple sections. But the rest is ok, so as long as your comfortable in there abilities and endurance it would be a good one to try!

Overall, I absolutely loved this hike! It was a great day, with excellent views, good friends and a wide variety of terrain to keep it interesting! I would definitely do it again!