Cascade Fire Road Skiing in Banff National Park

Cross-country skiing on the Banff Fire Road

One of the best places for cross-country skiing in the Banff area is the Cascade Fire Road. It’s an easy to moderate out and back ski so it’s a good one for younger families.

Many people cross-country ski to the Cascade Bridge spanning the Cascade River, approximately 6.3 km from the Lake Minnewanka parking lot. For those that want a longer day, you can continue on track-set trails all the way to the Stoney Creek ranger cabin –  a further 8.8 km from the Cascade Bridge.

All told that makes it 15.8 km one way to the ranger cabin from the parking lot. There are no big hills to climb like you’d find on the Skogan Pass trail, but there is definitely some elevation gain as you ski north up the Cascade Valley.

The Cascade Fire Road is a wonderful trail for cross-country skiing. It offers occasional mountain and meadow views plus easy entrance to the back-country. This is a popular trail, but the further you go the more likely you are to lose people. Only a small fraction of skiers seem to continue past the bridge

The trailhead is accessed via the Lake Minnewanka Road. And it’s perfect for an hour or a day – because it’s an out and back ski, so you can turn around at any time.

I have always skied the Cascade Fire Road when there’s been a perfect combination of safe driving conditions, blue skies, sunshine, and great snow. But if it’s such a day, go early, so parking isn’t an issue.

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Cascade Fire Road skiing
Cascade Fire Road skiing

Useful information for cross-country skiing the Cascade Fire Road

Distance: 6.3 km one way to Cascade River Bridge and 15.1 km one way to the Stoney Creek Cabin.

Elevation gain/loss to Cascade Bridge: +135 m/-60m

Elevation gain/loss to Stoney Creek Cabin: +250m/-85m

Time needed: 2 – 3 hours to the bridge; 5 – 6.5 hours to the cabin

Permit: Parking and cross-country skiing are free but you do need a Parks Canada pass to stop in Banff National Park. It’s $10.50 per adult though you can buy a family pass good for a year for $145.25 – and that gets you into 27 National Parks and 77 National Historic Sites.

Trail reports: Check the trail reports on the Banff National Park website before you go. I would also suggest looking at the Skier Roger site as it gets updated daily by cross-country skiers.

Map: Take the Gem Trek Banff and Mt. Assiniboine map so you can figure out where you are on the trail. I also recommend Organic Maps – an offline app.

Trailhead: Lake Minnewanka Day-use parking lot.

Weather: Check the Banff weather forecast before you head out.

Dogs: Not permitted.

Common sense: Please follow Leave No Trace principles and let someone know where you are going and when you’re due back.

Glorious Cascade Fire Road skiing
Glorious skiing on the Cascade Fire Road with heaps of snow

Description of cross-country skiing the Cascade Fire Road

The Cascade Fire Road is exactly that – a fire road from the Lake Minnewanka parking lot that is double track with a skate skiing lane as far as the Cascade River Bridge. It’s single track-set to Stoney Creek Cabin.

The Cascade Fire Road gets great early season snow and it’s one of the first in the area to be track set, often by sometime in late November.

A couple of happy skiers enjoying the Cascade Fire Road skiing
A couple of happy skiers

The Cascade Fire Road is an easy cross-country ski unless you elect to ski out and back to the warden’s cabin – and that’s 15.8 km up the road one way. Then you’ve got a long day on your hands. 

Otherwise there is only one major hill near the beginning of the trail, but it’s gradual and swiftly dispatched. The rest of the trail on the Cascade Fire Road is either flat or on gently rolling hills. 

The trail is skied by both classic cross-country skiers and those on skate skis. There were one heck of a lot of fit bodies that blew by me when I was out.

The bridge over the Cascade River
The bridge over the Cascade River
Beautiful mountain river
Beautiful turquoise-coloured Cascade River from the bridge
Small loop right after the bridge
Small loop right after the Cascade Bridge

Cascade Fire Road from the bridge to Stoney Creek Ranger Cabin

Total mileage from the Cascade River Bridge to Stoney Creek: 17.6 km return!!!

The 8.8 km section of cross-country skiing from the bridge to the Stoney Creek Ranger Cabin is gently rolling and easy skiing – but it’s long. There are a couple of places with nice views along the way, but mostly its kilometre after kilometre of skiing through the trees.

There is an intersection about a half kilometre shy of the cabin. If you go left you can ski down a fairly steep narrow trail and be at the cabin in a few minutes. If you’re not good on narrow descents, continue up the road for about a kilometre. Look for a trail on your left and take it. After about half a kilometre you reach the gates marking the entrance to the cabin area. Carry on and in a few minutes you’ll be there. (Photos below show what that looks like.)

Someone has thoughtfully put a few logs in a sunny place that are ideal for sitting on at lunch time. There is also a picnic table. 

Retrace your steps to return to the parking lot at Lake Minnewanka.

A really pretty section along the Cascade Fire Road
A really pretty section along the Cascade Fire Road
Lots of skiing through the trees with little in the way of views
Lots of skiing through the trees with little in the way of views
At this intersection you can ski down 500 m to reach the Stoney Creek cabin
At this intersection you can ski down 500 m to reach the Stoney Creek cabin or ski north for about a km and then take a left and ski to the cabin
Pretty skiing on a side trail to the Stoney Creek cabin
Pretty skiing on a side trail to the Stoney Creek cabin
Entrance to the Stoney Creek Cabin area from the north
Entrance to the Stoney Creek Cabin area from the north
The Stoney Creek Cabin in Banff National Park
The Stoney Creek Cabin in Banff National Park
The home of the Carletons
The home of the Carletons – a park ranger and his young family who lived here from 1949-1953
Looking south from the Stoney Creek Cabin
Looking south from the Stoney Creek Cabin
The view north from the cabin
The view north from the cabin – and the perfect place to enjoy lunch
Skiing up the narrow trail from the cabin
Skiing up the narrow trail from the cabin to meet the Cascade Fire Road
View on the return from the Cascade Fire Road
View on the return on the Cascade Fire Road
Heading south through a woodsy section
Heading south through a woodsy section – with more needles on the trail than anywhere else
By early afternoon the shadows are lengthening
By early afternoon the shadows are lengthening
Such pretty skiing on the Cascade Fire Road when you're heading towards Lake Minnewanka
Such pretty skiing on the Cascade Fire Road when you’re heading towards Lake Minnewanka

What to take cross-country skiing on the Cascade Fire Road

It was -24 °C on one occasion that I cross-country skied the Cascade Fire Road. You don’t want to have anything go wrong when it’s like that – especially if you’re skiing to the Stoney Creek Cabin. Be sure to pack the following in addition to the 10 essentials. I’d also recommend a Garmin InReach Mini 2 in case you ever had an emergency.

Winter gear: 

Clothing

Spot wildlife on the road to the trailhead

On the access road to the Cascade Fire Road trailhead you almost always spot wildlife. The day we visited was no exception. We saw elk and big-horned sheep going in and coming out.

Big horned sheep licking the cars
Big-horned sheep licking the cars
You almost always see elk on the drive in to Lake Minnewanka
You almost always see elk on the drive in to Lake Minnewanka
Lake Minnewanka before its frozen
Lake Minnewanka before its frozen – the trailhead for the skiing the Cascade Fire Road is steps away

Getting to the Cascade Fire Road trailhead

To reach the Lake Minnewanka Road drive east from Banff under the Trans-Canada Highway. Continue approximately 10 km up a winding road to reach the Lake Minnewanka Day-use area. I would consider snow tires a necessity.

Location map of the Cascade Fire Road cross-country skiing

                                   

Further reading on winter adventures in Alberta

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Cross-country skiing the Cascade Fire Road in Banff National Park

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