Smith-Dorrien / Spray Lakes Trail

A wild gravel run through the heart of Kananaskis, hugging the Spray Lakes reservoir between Canmore and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.

Highway 742, the Smith-Dorrien / Spray Lakes Trail, is a 60km gravel road linking Canmore over a high shoulder to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, running the length of the Spray Lakes reservoir under a wall of Rockies peaks. It is unpaved the whole way, often dusty and washboarded in summer, but it is one of the most scenic and wildlife-rich drives in Kananaskis Country, with moose, bears, bighorn sheep and goats regularly seen along it. The grades are gentle and the corners broad; the challenge is the loose surface and the remoteness rather than technical difficulty. Mind the loose washboard gravel and flying stones, the lack of services or reliable signal, and wildlife on the road.