Little Lougheed

Nice short trail which I tried to do in winter but turned back at the big boulder viewpoint because of deep snow.

It was perfect this time. If you take 742 from Canmore, U-turn and park your car on the left side of the road, the trailhead is right there.

Once you reach the fork with 2 bridges, cross the one on the left (the right bridge leads to Lougheed).

Steady ascent through the forest for about 1.3 km, then you reach a boulder field which you pass on the right and after which the trail gets a bit steeper. From the big boulder you can see Spray Lakes,

then breathtaking view of the cirque formed by Lougheed, Wind Mountain, Sparrowhawk and Read’s Tower opens up.

You continue ascending through the forest, then hike a short ridge (some people may call this part “scrambling” but in fact it’s not, it’s just rocky and simply watch your step), on the top of which there is another nice viewpoint on the Spray Lakes 

Here you actually can see the Little Lougheed (your target), and you deep in the forest again:

The trail goes on the cliff

and you always see the Sparrowhawk and Read’s Tower on your right.

Final push to the summit is steep and may be not easy because of lose rocks, but switchbacks make it totally doable. If you don’t like to scramble, simply have hiking poles. Nothing technical, and the views from the summit totally pay off. See Spray Lakes with Nestor and Goat Mountains across:

Rimwall, West Wind Pass and Wind Tower:

Traverse to Lougheeds:

Sparrowhawk and Read’s Tower were hiding in clouds this time, but still pretty intimidating:

More photos from the hike here:

Photos of Little Lougheed mountain from different angles are here.

More information in blog:
Bob Spirko