Jura Canyon

Elevation: 1360 m
Elevation Gain: 50 m
Jura Creek drains into the Bow River near Exshaw, AB. Where the creek funnels between Exshaw Mountain and Door Jamb Mountain, it has carved an impressive slot canyon which makes for an interesting hike year-round. Jura Creek was officially named in 1967 for fossils that were mistakenly thought to be from the Jurassic period. While the fossils were later shown to be from the Paleozoic, the creek (and canyon) have remained “Jura.”
My Ascents:
May 22 2021
Trailhead: Jura Creek Trailhead
GPS Track: Jura Canyon

Day 2 of our 2021 May Long Weekend camping trip dawned much clearer than Day 1 had, prompting ambitious plans to bag a small summit with our kids. Alas, the long weekend’s characteristically cool weather proved inadequate to melt the previous day’s snowfall (which persisted all the way down to valley bottom). In lieu of more grandiose elevation gains, we, therefore, set out to explore nearby Jura Canyon as a family.

A clear (but still very cool) night sky over our trailer at 3 am. Views like this one of the Milky Way over Yates Mountain made it tempting to while away the night outdoors, but the sub-zero temperatures (and recent bear sighting nearby) soon chased me back to the warmth and security of our camping trailer!

After a lazy morning at the campsite, we eventually got our butts in gear and made our way to the nearby Jura Creek trailhead. I’d last visited Jura Creek in 2015 and the parking, at that time, consisted of a small roadside dirt area. Fortunately (since both of our kids needed to "potty"), the infrastructure has improved in the past 6 years.

LEFT: Penny meanders along one of the many different trails that all lead to Jura Creek sooner or later.
RIGHT: No pictures allowed (apparently).

While the recent snowfall spoiled our chances of bagging a family summit, Crux didn’t mind one bit!

Upon entering Jura Creek’s massive rubble field, we were greeted by pleasant views towards Exshaw Mountain (left) and Door Jamb Mountain (right). Click to see larger.

Mom supervises while the girls make their way up the dry creek bed towards the hike’s main attraction: a spectacular slot canyon.

LEFT: Penny displays her unique ability to find unnecessary obstacles…
RIGHT: Mom, Mera and Crux prepare to venture into the canyon.

LEFT: Mera balances precariously on a series of wet logs that allowed her to keep her feet dry (for now). When I’d visited the canyon in 2015, this area was bone-dry, however, this year it featured 2 – 3 inches of flowing water.
RIGHT: Crux supervises from the creek while I assist Penny along the canyon’s first significant obstacle. While Penny and Mera easily made it up this pair of wet, rising logs, poor arthritic Crux had a much harder time.

LEFT: Having explored a cave the day prior, Mera was thrilled to be spending today in a canyon.
RIGHT: Penny looks for a good place to bonk her head.

LEFT: After navigating the canyon’s first obstacles, we decided that continuing up along its many smooth, wet rocks was likely to end up with someone in the creek and a retreat was declared.
RIGHT: The gang retreats. While it would have been nice to explore further, we decided that we’d return on a drier day to do so. After all, everyone’s feet were still dry and no one was crying. Always best to quit while you’re ahead!

So much for the dry feet… 🤣

After warming up a certain someone’s feet, we continued down the dry creek bed, admiring views of Heart Mountain (left) and Mount McGillivray (right) as we made our way back towards the trailhead. It was a good thing that we turned around where we did (a mere 1 km from the car) – the girls already had to “potty” again…