Don't be a troll...unless you're hiking to troll falls - Kananaskis

We don't usually do hikes this easy, but sometimes it's nice to go to the mountains and not have an epic climb in front of you. The trail to Troll Falls is wide, and well trodden...and it gets extremely busy on nice days because of how easy it is to access the falls. In and out it's about 3.5K, great for kids (but unfortunately dogs must be leashed.) Actually, I'd say for really small children this might be the best hike in the area and a good way to get them used to the reward of hiking.

I'm not really sure why it's called troll falls. I'd like to think that once upon a time a troll did live here, but then we stopped believing in magic.

This trail is open year round, and is good for snow shoes to hike up to the ice covered falls. Most of the hike you'll be in the trees, but every once in a while they open up to reveal some of the surrounding area. If you do the entire loop there are a couple of look outs that give you decent views.

As you get closer to the falls the path narrows and gets a little slippery if it's raining. Also, since the floods in Alberta a few years ago there's a lot of deadfall over the creek - however it's still fun to play in and around. As a kid I used to dream of finding a waterfall just like this to call my own. My own secret spot in the forest. Near Jasper my brother and I found a few small ones (nothing like this), but they at least had pools deep enough that on hot days we could go soak in the stream.

The falls are actually made up of 3 tiers (my other photos didn't turn out), the one shown here you can climb behind - which is pretty amazing. Maybe this is where the troll lived?

If you're ever in the area, and you're looking for something easy to do before lunch - this is the place. Since the hike is so short you can easily complete the hike, and then go into Canmore for lunch...and then have time for another hike if you're feeling ambitious.