Rail & Trail: A 3.1 Km Easy Walking Loop in Downtown Canmore 

If you are seeking a remote walk surrounded by nature, this is not the walk for you. The Rail & Trail walk is by far the most developed of our Easy Walking Loops. If trains are your happy place, then this walk is for you. The downtown Canmore Museum is a few blocks away and provides an excellent history of the Canmore Coal Mine, and the importance of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The CPR Holiday Train, complete with dazzling lights, stops in Canmore each Christmas season.

The destination of the ‘Rail & Trail’ walk is the CPR mainline tracks that have run through Canmore since 1883. At the east and west ends of the walking loop, there are small exhibits with coal cars from the Canmore Coal Mine that operated between 1891 and 1979. The east side exhibit includes an ‘Iron Goat’ the nickname for the workhorse small steam powered engines that were used to move coal from deep in the mine to the surface.

From the Big Head, walk north along the east side of Policeman’s Creek to 10 Street, turn right at the soon-to-be-old fire station, proceed through the traffic lights, past the grocery store to the CPR tracks. You will see the pedestrian crossing of the CPR tracks. At this point you can decide to travel the walking loop either clockwise or counter clockwise around the tracks. You can even walk in a figure eight pattern using the pedestrian crossing of the CPR tracks as the mid-point.

We recommend you use the new and improved pathway beside Bow Valley Trail that runs parallel to the CPR tracks.

The Bow Valley Trail pathway connects to the Legacy Trail trailhead at the Travel Alberta Visitor Information Center, located one kilometer west of the Rail & Trail Loop at 17 Street. The Legacy Trail is the popular picturesque 26 km multi-use trail that connects Canmore and Banff town sites.

The ‘Iron Goat’ exhibit is located at the south end as shown on the map. Nearby is Elevation Place, a well used multi-purpose facility that features climbing walls, swimming pools, fitness facilities, a library, and a coffee shop. A visit is highly recommended.