Blackrock Trail at Bow Valley

more stats

2.9 miles

Distance

87 ft

Climb

-2,650 ft

Descent

01:33:33

Avg time

-2,563 ft

Altitude change

5,161 ft

Altitude min

7,724 ft

Altitude max

7,724 ft

Altitude start

5,161 ft

Altitude end

-16.589%

Grade

-63.745%

Grade max

45.714%

Grade min

855 ft

Distance climb

3 miles

Distance down

458 ft

Distance flat

01:33:33

Avg time

Blackrock Details

Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
Riding Area

Bow Valley
Alberta
AKA

Black Rock
Difficulty Rating

Black Diamond Rate
Voted Difficulty

Double Black Diamond (2 votes)
Global Ranking
#125425 in Mountain Biking [+]
- #130022 in Trail Running
- #122506 in Hiking
Trail Type

Singletrack
Bike Type

AM
Direction

Both Directions
Climb Difficulty

Double Black Diamond
Physical Rating

Hard
Alpine Trail

Yes
Dogs Allowed

Yes
eBike Allowed

No
TTFs on Trail

Rock Garden
Year Opened

1990
Land Owner

Alberta Parks

This ride will blow your mind. Depending on the bike of choice, the climb is mostly rideable to tree-line, but becomes a hike up through steeper and looser rocks. Keep pushing through the crux of the trail and climb up through the weakness in the cliffband. The trail snakes its way up to the upper plateau to the base of the summit block. Point your bike down and enjoy surfing the scree, and enjoying the flow of the trail.

TL;DR: This is a well-established hiking trail that leads up to an abandoned fire lookout. Cool views.

Access Info

From the 1A highway west of Cochrane, follow the #40 Forestry Trunk road north for approximately 25.5km’s. Turn west on the Ghost River TransAlta dirt road, continue on another 15.5km. The 2013 floods wiped out all roads and trail markers used for reference to find the trail. The trail starts by heading up the bank to a lower point along the outer bend of the river, and then heading West up a short steep hill to find the trail.

Traditionally Indigenous Territory

Recent Activity on Trail

Past Week

0 rides

6 Months

0 rides

All

20 rides
Last: Jun 20, 2026

c1	c2	c3	c4
January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
September	October	November	December

update trails status or condition

Blackrock Trail Reports

status	date	description
	Sep 3, 2023 @ 11:46am Sep 3, 2023	Great conditions. I didn’t realize a forest fire had gone through the area in 2030, so the forest is dead and there is no shade. The scree...
	Jun 10, 2023 @ 3:13am Jun 10, 2023	Found fireball, condoms and butt plus at the hut. So expect to party once you get to the top.
	Sep 17, 2022 @ 1:40pm Sep 17, 2022	tree down can go around west side of roots, no need to remove, anyone riding down this trail will be able to hop over
	Jun 1, 2022 @ 9:41am Jun 1, 2022	Snow free and dry all the way to the summit.
	Apr 4, 2022 @ 3:26pm Apr 4, 2022	Still lots of snow below the alpine but very hike-able.