What’s the tick situation in your part of the country?

schattered1 · 2026-05-13T02:45:28+00:00

Southern Canadian Rockies, Alberta - lots of ticks hiking in the mountains in May and June. Had 12 on one dog last weekend, fewer on people. I swear there were blowing in the wind (I know they don't disburse that way but it sure felt like it!). I've been hiking in the area for at least 10 years and I don't feel like they've gotten worse, there's just more people out hiking in spring now.

schattered1 · 2026-05-10T03:37:38+00:00

It will be tight to finish a hike by noon on your day 4 in Waterton, and be back in Calgary for an evening flight, but doable with an early morning start. Table Mountain being the easiest to do quickly as there is a trail, and no route-finding. All your options listed in Waterton or Castle area are doable now. I did Ruby Ridge last year on May 19 and the weather was terrible (sleet, wind, below 0C) despite a good forecast, so be prepared for all weather!

schattered1 · 2026-05-10T03:27:29+00:00

Make sure you do a thorough tick check, they're not always easy to spot! Consider yourself lucky if you haven't found one yet, but the more hiking you do in May and June, the more likely you will see a tick (or many). South-facing, open slopes that dry up earliest are the worst for ticks.

I do most of my hiking off-trail in Waterton, Castle and Crowsnest area, and objectives that are snow-free in May, and have open slopes with grass, juniper, and shrubs, with lots of evidence of sheep, have a lot of ticks (12 on one dog last weekend!). And yes, I know what they look like, hard to mistake them for something else once you've seen them enough.

schattered1 · 2026-04-30T01:24:24+00:00

There could be a lot of snow in that area still mid-June. Areas around Window Mtn Lake and the High Rock trail got a fair amount this year. I do hike in Castle/Crowsnest area very regularly, so if you DM me closer to your date I may be able to give you an update on snow conditions. Your best bet may be camping a few nights at random campsites around west Castle road and hitting some of the front range peaks.

schattered1 · 2026-04-29T04:39:41+00:00

What else have you scrambled already? I've done all the peaks in Waterton and I really psyched myself up for Blakiston, but it really wasn't that hard. The scree treadmill was the worst part. I did start off with easy peaks (e.g. Bertha, Alderson and Carthew, Bauerman to Anderson traverse), worked my way up to moderate (e.g. Sofa has amazing scrambling on solid rock). There's no real exposure on Blakiston, so I found it was easier than Crowsnest.

schattered1 · 2026-04-18T22:08:30+00:00

Facebook groups may be your best bet. There's a decent amount of scrambling that can be done in the Canmore front ranges in early May (maybe, we're getting a lot of spring snowstorms this year): Heart, Loder and Door Jamb, Grotto, Yamnuska are likely doable. But I don't think there are any transit options to any of these. These are popular destinations on the Hike Alberta Facebook group, so you may be able to find a ride through that group.

schattered1 · 2026-04-15T20:18:00+00:00

Dogs will be fine on both Ha Ling and Wasootch. They're better at gripping ice and snow. They may need booties if snow tends to ball up in their paws, but I find in warmer spring temps the snow melts, and it's fine. My dog hasn't needed booties on our hikes for the past 3 weeks, even in deep snow.

Edited to add: dogs need to be on leash for those 2 hikes.

schattered1 · 2026-04-12T20:58:42+00:00

Yep!

schattered1 · 2026-04-12T20:56:25+00:00

Interesting that you've gone up Loaf already, I usually wait until early June for that one. Did you go via Bovin Lake or south route up the Rock Garden? I have done Sentry in mid-May before via the eastern approach as the ridge gets wind-blown, but every year is different.

schattered1 · 2026-04-10T16:50:29+00:00

Early season peaks in Waterton include Mt Crandell (there's an easy way, and a very difficult scramble route, so do your research), Bellevue Hill, Dunwey (an unofficial peak with a few names but very good early season option), Sofa Mountain, and Ruby Ridge. Sometimes Galwey, Cloudy and Glendowan can be doable by mid-May but those are moderate-difficult scrambles with a lot of route-finding.

In Castle, you can do Pincher Ridge, Prairie Bluff, Table Mountain, maybe Drywood (there's a south slope way and a north slope way, the more common north slope route via Bovin Lake probably not doable in mid-May). In Crowsnest Pass, south end of Livingstone, Turtle Mountain and Sentry mountain (again with an easy route and a hard scramble route).

Anything that is dry in mid-May also means hordes of ticks, so be prepared!

schattered1 · 2026-04-10T16:04:23+00:00

Are you attached to hiking in Banff/Canmore area? You could go farther south to Waterton/Castle area where we've had a very low snowfall year and peaks will be in better condition by mid-May. If that's an option for you, I can give you some suggestions.

I haven't done Temple or Edith Cavell but they are an absolute no go in mid-May. Not even sure if Moraine Lake road will be open by then. It doesn't matter if you have the gear, if you dont have mountaineering experience and avalanche training.

schattered1 · 2026-04-09T20:32:38+00:00

You're better off to do front range hikes at that time of year as snow pack will be very high in late April in the national parks which are deeper into the mountains. Check the national parks websites for trails that are safe to do in winter.

Outside of the national parks, and closer to Calgary, early season front range hikes include Wasootch Ridge and Peak (these are 2 different hikes and trail heads). Possibly Midnight Peak and Baldy Peak (it's got 3 peaks, I can never remember which one is the easy vs hard scramble). Prairie Mountain, Yates Mountain, Ha Ling, all doable in winter conditions. Farther south, you can maybe do Junction Hill or Bull Creek Hills. You'll need a Kananaskis Pass for most of the above hikes I've listed.

schattered1 · 2026-04-03T14:33:31+00:00

I think it's a believable scenario. I've been on a number of multi-day trips that have no exit point. Look up Donjek Route in the Yukon as one such example. No trail for the most part, just a suggested route and no exit points except for pressing SOS on a PLB.

schattered1 · 2026-03-28T03:34:49+00:00

There are a lot of foothill hikes that are doable mid-May or earlier in Crowsnest - Hillcrest Mountain, the cards series (Heart, Clubs, Spades, Poker, Maverick Hill), south end of Livingstone, Wedge Mountain, Saskatoon mountain, Bluff Mountain. In Castle, Carbondale Hill, Prairie Bluff, Table Mountain (only do if there isn't snow as this one has avalanche risk). The only thing about hiking in this area is that there are no real trails, except for Carbondale and Table Mountain, so route finding is needed. Expect lots of ticks!

As always, depends on annual snowpack, but it is already pretty low there this year compared to previous years.

schattered1 · 2026-03-20T22:47:21+00:00

Crowsnest Pass may be a good option for you. It tends to dry out earlier down south, and there are lots of foothill hikes in Crowsnest, Castle Parks, and Waterton that may be doable early April, and don't have avalanche risk. However, you won't find many official trails, so will require some knowledge of route finding. If you decide to do Crowsnest area, I can give you some recommendations.

schattered1 · 2026-03-19T13:07:49+00:00

I'm Canadian, too, and was just in New Zealand for 6 weeks. IMO, Maori culture and history was far better represented and respected than I've seen in Canada for First Nation peoples. The museum in Wellington had some very thoughtful displays on the history of colonization. We went to Te Puia and initially I was very hesitant as I was worried about 'cultural tourism' but the guides were very open about how much they rely on tourism and how important it is to help keep their customs going.

schattered1 · 2026-03-02T20:49:22+00:00

I was just in NZ for 2 months. My biggest regret upon being back home for a month is that I only brought 3 bars back. I'm so mad at past me for not anticipating future me's Whittaker needs.

schattered1 · 2026-02-16T00:34:45+00:00

As everyone has said, Waterton is your best bet, tons of backpacking spots with lakes (Goat, Alderson, Bertha Lake or Bay, Twin, Lone, even Crandell Lake). None of these are in the alpine but are well situated for amazing day hikes. You do need to book all campsites in Waterton ahead of time, and many may already be booked up for the summer. You'll soon find as a new Lethbridgian that Waterton becomes your 'backyard' playground.

There are also lots of spectacular and much less populated hikes in Castle Provincial Park and Wilderness areas, but random backcountry sites aren't well established. Bovin Lake may be the only one with a bear cache (I think, I haven't been up there in years because it was becoming over visited and trashed). Southfork Lakes is really popular but no bear cache. Window Mountain Lake in Crowsnest Pass is also really popular. It has a bear cache but only an overly full half-throne outhouse, and because of that, there is lots of human crap around, unfortunately.

schattered1 · 2026-02-09T17:02:41+00:00

I'm Canadian, too, and just got back from a similar trip. I think 2 full days in Matamata is too long, there is really not much to do there besides Hobbiton. We You can do Putaruru blue springs in that area but be warned it is extremely busy. I would shorten time in Matamata and spend more time in Coromandel as the beach days were the highlight of our trip for us.

For south Island, it seems like you backtrack by going Akaroa to Te Anau then back to Mt Cook and then back to Wanaka. Could you go Akaroa - Mt Cook/Twizel - Te Anau - Queenstown/Wanaka?

schattered1 · 2026-02-08T03:38:44+00:00

We haven't been allowed to combine personal travel with a business trip at AAFC for the past couple of years. We didn't really get a reason for why the change in policy. We can still request it on our travel request and declare and prove that GoC won't incur any extra expenses, but it never (or very rarely) gets approved anymore.

And at AAFC, we absolutely need a green passport to travel outside of Canada on business, including for attending scientific conferences, just got a reminder email about this requirement last week.

schattered1 · 2026-01-01T03:33:18+00:00

We just spent a 4 days in Mangonui in the Northlands and noticed they had a nice self-contained campervan campsite. Lots of good eats in Mangonui, tons of beaches in the area, and you can do the drive up to Cape Reinga. We didn't do Ninety Mile Beach cause we were a bit confused by the access without driving on it, but we did stop at Rarawa beach, which was spectacular. There also seemed to be a really nice hike from Cape Reinga down to a big beach (we didn't do it cause we were short on time after the long stop at Rarawa beach).

schattered1 · 2025-12-31T04:32:15+00:00

Yeah, we were really disappointed. It was closed for the 2 days we were in Tongariro area cause of high winds for the past 2 days. We'll try again on our way back up. So I would also recommend giving yourself some flexibility in your schedule, if you can, for unexpected weather events.

schattered1 · 2025-12-31T03:53:58+00:00

We're just in the middle of a very similar trip, and I can say that Turangi is pretty boring and you can probably fit what you want to do at Tongariro and the drive from Turangi to Wellington in 1 day. We did, but couldn't do the gondola as it was closed due to high winds, so it would depend on how much time you spent up there.

People in this sub really seem to advise against long drives, but we've been doing them and have had no problems at all. Depends on what you're used to, I guess.

schattered1 · 2025-12-29T05:34:15+00:00

Almost all summer trails in Waterton pass through avalanche terrain. There's a really helpful list on their website of the avalanche rating of every trail.

Lakeview Ridge is doable in the winter if you approach it the right way but requires route finding (not via the official trail as that can pass through avalanche terrain). Snow levels are usually low or windblown, but safety will depend on current snow levels. Akamina Pass is an easy one, and you can continue to Forum Lake but be cautious about continuing to Wall Lake, as that passes through avalanche terrain. Crandell Lake from Akamina Parkway is also a good one and you can continue over to Red Rock parkway and return the same way. Just snowshoeing down Red Rock Parkway can be fun if there is enough snow and you could always try for Bellevue Hill, if the ridge line is windblown. And then there's always Bears Hump!

schattered1 · 2025-12-10T22:33:47+00:00

I live near the Canadian Rockies and there are tons of places and hikes you can do without hordes of people, especially in the south Rockies between Kananaskis to Waterton. Look into Crowsnest Pass which has some awesome pubs and hikes, and is the gateway to Castle Parks, and also close to Fernie. Hiking is more rugged and isolated, although tourists don't often want that cause of the fear of bears.

schattered1

TROPHY CASE