C-Level Cirque Trail

This hike begins at the Upper Bankhead trailhead and follows a relatively moderate incline through mixed evergreen and larch forest - not to mention some old coal mineshafts - to the base of the eastern cirque directly below the peak of Cascade Mountain (with a very small, but deep, cerulean-colored pond just off the main trail - look left). Beyond this point, roughly 2.5 mi (4km) in, you'll begin a steeper and more exposed ascent the the base of a rock outcrop directly NE of Cascade's Peak. With each step upward, you'll have an expanding view of the sights to the north, east, and south - the Cascade River Valley, Lake Minnewanka, Two Jack Lake, and the Bow River Valley all the way to Canmore.