As we move past the midway point of May, more trails continue to become available for riding. Now the snow is gone, we have to deal with rain and soft trails – use good judgement when you’re heading out. Check out this website with precipitation data for all of K-Country, Canmore and Banff. It’s pretty accurate, and is a great reminder that just because it’s dry in one area doesn’t mean that it’s dry everywhere. 
Station Flats area got hit with rain and hail today, so expect some mud if you head out that way…
- Calgary Trails – should be good pretty much everywhere in town, except for the odd shadowy, north-facing gully
- Ridgeback – Good
- Pneuma – Good, some snow in the trees at the summit, one bit of blowdown that needs to be removed
- Sulphur Springs – Good
- Elbow Valley – Good
- Powderface Short – Good Read more ›
Starting from the Barrier Dam trailhead [off Hwy 40 - if you drove west past Nakiska, you went too far], ride along Barrier Lake and up the very wide Prairie View trail. This trail gets a LOT of hikers, so please be polite and don’t expect everyone to jump out of your way. You’ll pass under some power lines at the top of a short climb, but keep going up. You’ll climb a gravelly trail that leads to a 4-way intersection, which is where PV meets Stoney Trail. Go up! The PV trail is quite wide, allowing you to pass slower moving folks [or be passed yourself]. There are 9 switchbacks on PV, and at the 9th you have a choice between ducking off into the trees on your right to do the Camp Chief Hector descent, or continuing up and to the left to go over the top and on to Jewell Pass. 
