Elbow Falls

Elbow Falls
Elbow Falls is located in Alberta
Elbow Falls
Location in Alberta
Map
LocationKananaskis Improvement District, Alberta
Coordinates50°52′4″N 114°46′44″W / 50.86778°N 114.77889°W / 50.86778; -114.77889 (Elbow Falls)
Total height3 m (9.8 ft)
WatercourseElbow River
Elbow Falls is popular with kayakers

Elbow Falls is a small set of waterfalls along the Elbow River, west of the hamlet of Bragg Creek within Kananaskis Improvement District, Alberta. They are located along Highway 66, 20 km (12 mi) west of the Bragg Creek turnoff on Highway 22.

In the dry season, the falls reach a height of six metres (20 ft), while in June, during high discharges, the river fills up and the waterfall is only three metres (9.8 ft) high.[1]

A day use area (i.e. picnics) is maintained at the falls site, and also serves as the start/finish of a short one kilometre (0.62 mi) long hiking trail.[2] Overnight camping is available at several nearby campgrounds.[3]

After the 2013 Alberta floods, the day use area was destroyed. The Elbow River overflowed its banks and destroyed all of the picnicking area and most of the paved trails. The riverbed itself also suffered major destruction, now being replaced by mounds of rock, rather than soil and trees.

  1. ^ Hamlet of Bragg Creek (September 2005). "Elbow Falls". Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  2. ^ Hike Alberta - Elbow Falls Trail
  3. ^ Elbow Valley Campgrounds - Elbow River Valley - Stairway to the Mountains