Hoodoos Trail is a 1.8 mile trail that overlooks the Bow River and Mount Rundle near the Tunnel Mountain Campground in Banff, Alberta, Canada. As the name implies, the trail winds to an overlook of a handful of hoodoos and a beautiful view of the river below.
Hoodoos with Mount Rundle and Bow River in the background
Here’s a little more on hoodoos from Wikipedia: hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations.
This was a very nice hike in the late evening, although mosquito repellent is strongly advised. I hiked over to the overlook to see if I could see the sunset, but the view point faces basically Southeast. Despite that, there was some pretty nice light on the mountains later in the hike.
Sunset glow on Hoodoo Trail
Along the hike I met a really interesting young German man named Stefan who was visiting Canada on a work visa. I was impressed with his attitude and his story. He had graduated university with a degree in agriculture science. After working in Germany for a few years he decided to combine his desire to travel with broadening his knowledge of agriculture, and found a job to move to in Canada. He was finding the farming very interesting, as the soil, climate, crops, and techniques were all very different from those in Germany. Even though he was working very long days farming, he still found time to hike and explore the Canadian National Parks, and write a personal journal every night.
Hoodoos trail is a great short trail for a short hike in Banff. We’re just getting started here. But so far we are amazed at the beauty and diversity of the outdoor attractions here in Banff, and are looking forward to futher explorations!
