May 24th to June 1st 2025
Prairie sprawl on one side, snow-capped giants on the other—the Grant MacEwan loop is a twisted mix of views and vert for mountain runners who crave something gnarlier. For challenge number two of the 2025 Queen and King of the Hill, we're flipping the script and sending you skyward up what you'd usually bomb down. From deceptively runnable false flats to steep, scrappy, hands-in-the-dirt climbs, this one demands every trick you've got.
Getting There
Park at the Acephale trailhead or at the Quaite Valley trailhead. Both are located Eastbound on Highway #1 across the Bow River from the Exshaw Graymont plant.
Follow the approach trail towards acephale until the split with the Heart Mountain Circuit.
The sign that marks the intersection of Acephale and Heart Mountain is the start of the challenge. As soon as you turn left away from Acephale you are on the segment.
The Route
Start your watch as soon as you turn left at the junction towards "Heart Mountain Trail".If there’s one word for the Grant MacEwan sub-peak ascent, it's "rollercoaster." The route kicks off deceptively mellow with an almost-flat 300m gain—just runnable enough to mock you when your legs refuse to move faster. But don't get comfy: soon the trail pitches upward sharply, views exploding open just as your vision narrows. Your lungs scream, your taste buds tinged metallic, it's a full-body effort to reach the summit.
Stop your watch when you reach the summit cairn of the subpeak. Going pas the summit cairn will force you to descent along the summit ridge, if you run downhill you've gone too far.
- Distance: 2.9 km one way
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Elevation Gain: 760 meters
- Where to Park: Acephale trailhead or Quaite Valley Gate (Highway 1 Eastbound)
- Surface: Technical Trail
- Challenge GPX Track
- Approach GPX Track
- Strava Segment