The Karst Spring Trail is one of our favourite Kananaskis hiking trails, in fact, it’s one of the few Kananaskis hikes we try to make time for each and every year. We love Kananaskis hikes with a payoff, and the Karst Spring hike delivers big-time!
The Karst Spring hike culminates at a small viewing platform against the side of a rock wall along the north face of Mt. Shark. Here you will witness first-hand the incredible power of nature as a huge stream of water appears out of nowhere, gushing from the Mt. Shark rockface at tremendous force. We’ve been to the Karst Spring platform countless times and it never ceases to impress.
This mountain spring flows rapidly downhill next to the trail, creating one of the most beautiful and dramatic cascading waterfalls we’ve seen in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (or anywhere else in the world for that matter).
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Karst Spring Trail Explained
Before we begin, you should know that you can’t drive right to the Karst Spring trailhead. To get to the Karst Spring Trail, you need to start your hike along the Watridge Lake Trail, which is one of the easy hiking trails in Kananaskis.
The one-way distance to Watridge Lake and the the Karst Spring trailhead is approximately 4 km (2.5 miles). When we use the term “Karst Spring Trail”, we are including the first leg along Watridge Lake trail and the second leg on Karst Spring Trail.
Karst Spring Trail Highlights
Watridge Lake Trail Highlights:
Traditional Banff and Kananaskis hiking trails are narrow, forcing groups of people to walk single file, but the best part of the Watridge Lake Trail is how wide and open it is, making it an excellent hike for groups. This makes Karst Spring a great family hike, team building hike, hike for a stagette party, etc.
The wide-open Watridge Lake trail allows for excellent views of the surrounding mountain peaks.
The small mountain creek running alongside Watridge Lake trail makes it a magnet for Rocky Mountain wildlife. Seeing the larger mammals is rare but watch and you’ll see evidence of them along the trail. On our most recent hike we saw a pile of wolf scat!
Karst Spring Trail Highlights
The first part of the Karst Spring trail leg is super-fun for kids of all ages. The Karst Spring hiking trail transitions into a narrow single-file wooden walkway through a marsh. Keep your eyes open, this is prime moose habitat!
The marsh is created by the runoff from Karst Spring. The area is noticeably more humid and the forest becomes very lush, with lichen covered trees and a carpet of brilliant-green moss along the ground.
The Karst Spring trail soon meets a fast-running stream, and the trail begins to climb steeply beside it. The cascading water is incredibly picturesque. In fact, it’s up there with some of the most beautiful waterfalls we’ve seen anywhere in the world!
And of course, the experience at the top of the Karst Spring hike where the spring water gushes out from the side of Mt. Shark is simply incredible!
Karst Spring Hiking Trail Stats
How Long is the Karst Spring Trail?
The one-way distance of the Karst Spring Trail is 3.2 miles / 5.1 km.
How Steep is the Karst Spring Hike?
The first 2.2 miles / 3.5 km of the Karst Spring hike is very flat. In fact, this part of the trail is very wide, so if hiking with a group you’ll likely be too busy socializing to notice any of the gentle inclines along the way.
It’s really only in the final 0.3 miles / 0.5 km, just before you reach the end of the Karst Spring trail, that you’ll notice any sustained uphill effort. This very short section is quite steep, but trust us, it’s worth the effort! The elevation gain over this short stretch is 340 feet / 103 m.
How Hard is the Karst Spring Trail?
If it weren’t for the final 0.3 miles, we would rate this hike as “easy”. Karst Spring Trail is a reasonably short hike and it’s flat almost the whole way.
The last 0.3 miles is pretty steep and you’ll likely find yourself breathing hard. It’s for this reason we ultimately give this hike a “moderate Kananaskis hike” rating.
How Long Will the Karst Spring Hike Take?
It should take a typical adult about 2 hours to hike the round-trip distance of the Karst Spring trail.
We did the Karst Spring hike with our 3 & 5-year old kids, so we were a bit slower, completing the full round-trip distance in about 3.5 hours.
How to Get to Karst Spring Trail
The Watridge Lake / Karst Spring Trailhead is found in the Mt. Shark Day Use area in the Spray Valley Provincial Park part of Kananaskis Country.
To get there from Banff, you’ll need to take the Smith-Dorrien Highway to the Mount Engadine Lodge, then follow the access road to the Karst Spring trailhead. From Calgary, you’ll also need to drive the Smith-Dorrien Highway, but you can choose to either drive it from Canmore or from the Kananaskis Lakes; the driving time is usually indifferent.
As the Mt. Shark Day Use area is in Kananaskis Country, you will need a Kananaskis Conservation Pass to park here.
Karst Spring Trail Map
There are many hiking trails in the Mount Shark area, so it’s useful to have a trail map on your phone. We use AllTrails for all our hiking and biking in the Canadian Rockies and around the world. In addition to helping stay on the trails, we like the ability to track our stats (distance, elevation gain, etc.).
To find the Karst Spring trail map in AllTrails, simply click here for the Karst Spring Trail Map. Be sure to download the hiking map for offline use as you will not have a cell signal anywhere along the trail.
A recent App of the Year winner, AllTrails is also one of the best apps for visiting Banff! Enjoy map downloads and many more premium features with a 7-day free trial of AllTrails+!
Hiking Karst Spring with Kids
Karst Spring Trail is one of our favorite family-friendly hikes in Kananaskis Country. The wide-open trail at the start is great for family fun while you walk and the powerful waterfall and mountain spring at the end of the Karst Spring hike always impresses the kids!
There are lots of fun spots for kids to play along the Karst Spring hike, including balancing on fallen tree trunks, along the creek beds, and the wooden walkway. Just keep a close eye on little ones during the steep ascent to the spring; there are no handrails (except for the platform at the top) and the raging waterfall can be a little too close for comfort at times.
Hiking Karst Spring in Winter
With such an incredible cascading waterfall, it’s no surprise that hiking Karst Spring in winter is a special experience. The spring still flows from the side of Mt. Shark, but at a lower flow rate than in spring/summer. The lower water levels allow the huge fallen trees and rocks to get covered with ice formations and snow. It’s an incredible sight.
Note that the Watridge Lake Trail (which takes you to the Karst Spring trailhead) becomes a multi-sport trail in winter. Get all the details about Watridge Lake in winter to choose a fun winter sport to get you to the Karst Spring trailhead. This combination makes for a great winter day trip to Kananaskis!
Where to Stop for Lunch or a Break
There are a few good spots to stop for lunch or a break along the way. There are a few picnic tables at the trailhead, but we recommend skipping those due to the better options ahead.
About 75% of the way to Watridge Lake there is a slightly hidden bench in a clearing on the right-hand side of the trail. It’s a nice spot to stop and enjoy the surrounding views and to rest your legs before the steep climb to Karst Spring.
There are also a few benches along the steep hiking trail to the spring. The riverside / waterfall scenery makes it a pretty epic place to stop. It’s also much cooler here, making it a good place to stop on a hot summer day. These benches are pretty popular though, so you may not get one.
There are benches on the platform at the very top, but the platform is quite small and on a busy day it wouldn’t be a great spot to stop for lunch as it’d be too crowded.
Karst Spring Trail Safety
Kananaskis Country is bear country. We love bears and would hate for any harm to come to them or you, so please take the time to educate yourself on how to be bear smart before hitting the Kananaskis trails.
Wildlife Safety
When hiking in Kananaskis Country, you are responsible for your own safety. Before hitting the hiking trails, we highly recommend reading our Essential Kananaskis Hiking Tips for information about bear safety, trail conditions, wildlife warnings and possible closures.
Karst Spring Trail Logistics
There are port-a-potties at the trailhead.
There are no drinking water facilities, so fill your hydration packs before you leave.
Camping and fires are not allowed here. Instead, stay at one of these Kananaskis campgrounds.
Dogs are allowed on-leash.
Mountain bikes are allowed on Watridge Lake Trail, but not on the Karst Spring Trail. Many people ride their bikes to Watridge Lake, then lock them to a tree and hike the very last section of the Karst Spring trail to the spring.
Read More
For more info on biking to Karst Spring, read Kid-Friendly Bike Rides in Banff & Kananaskis.
What to Bring Hiking Karst Spring
Even though this is an easy Kananaskis hike, you should bring along basic hiking gear to ensure a safe and successful outing. Before hitting the Karst Spring Trail, be sure to check out our recommended hiking gear for Kananaskis Country.
One Karst Spring-specific tip: bring a jacket, even on a hot, sunny day. Once you turn onto the Karst Spring Trail you enter a dense, humid forest. It becomes a lot cooler there. We even saw snow on the ground in June!
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Dan Brewer, a life-long Alberta resident, calls Canmore home along with his wife and two kids. He is the co-owner of Travel Banff Canada, where he gets to share his passion for the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Dan, along with his family, love being outdoors doing one of the many activities they enjoy in the mountains: hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, skiing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
When he's not in Canmore enjoying one of his favourite local hikes, you can find him hopping on a plane to explore a new country with his family or working on one of their other two travel sites: Family Can Travel and Baby Can Travel.