Alberta trails · Clearwater River

Clearwater River

A 17.9-mile out-and-back in Alberta, with 1,915 ft of climbing. Reaches Clearwater Pass and other lake/pass destinations. Managed by Parks Canada.

Open in the interactive map →

Length

17.9 mi

Elevation gain

1,915 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

46%

Steepest mile

+610 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

2.0 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

Natural

Horses

yes

Managed by

Parks Canada

Elevation profile

Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 58% of the ascent, between mile 11.9 and mile 17.9.

3-D terrain

NRCAN MRDEM ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Clearwater Pass (pass)
Clearwater Lake (lake)
Devon Lakes (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Sections reported faint or hard to follow — carry a map or download this area offline.

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:32 a.m., the sun rises at 8:06 a.m. and sets at 6:52 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:26 p.m. (MDT) — 10 h 46 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 35.8-mile round trip works out to roughly 15 h 10 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.