Alberta trails · Southfork Mountain Route

Southfork Mountain Route

A 4.5-mile out-and-back in Alberta, with 3,508 ft of climbing. Reaches Southfork Mountain and other lake/summit destinations.

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Length

4.5 mi

Elevation gain

3,508 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

54%

Steepest mile

+1,461 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

2.4 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.

3-D terrain

NRCAN MRDEM ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Southfork Mountain (summit)
Barnaby Lake (lake)
Southfork Lakes (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Castle WPP access — parking nearby. 49.34897, -114.41158 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:24 a.m., the sun rises at 7:56 a.m. and sets at 6:49 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:21 p.m. (MDT) — 10 h 53 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 9.0-mile round trip takes roughly 6 h 51 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:48 p.m. — 4 h 01 min before sunset.

Nearby trails

St. Eloi Mountain Route — 0.3 mi
A03: Sage Pass to Castle Mtn Ski Resort — 2.2 mi
Mount McCarty Route — 5.8 mi
Barnaby Ridge Trail — 11.1 mi