Bill Allen Pond to West Bragg Trail

Posted April 12th, 2007 by Chris

Distance:

17.2 km

Difficulty:

Easy

Elev. gain:

120 meters

Time required:

4 - 7 hours

Bikes permitted:

Yes

Dogs permitted:

Yes

Horses permitted:

Yes

Download GPX

Directions to trail head

There are two options for the start of this hike. The easiest to find starts at the trail head for <a Fullerton Loop. The Fullerton Loop trail head is west of Bragg Creek along highway 66. The parking area is 9.7 kilometers west of the intersection of highways 22 and 66. It starts at the far east end of the parking area at Bill Allen Pond. This is waypoint #173. The second option is to start in West Bragg. I would suggest you use your Gps and tell it to take you to waypoint #184.The directions are as follows: Drive to Bragg Creek, turn into the town heading north on Range Road 50 for a short distance. Turn left on Balsam Road and left again onto Center Avenue. Center Avenue turns into Township Road 232 which as you head west turns into Township Road 231a after approximately 7.5 kilometers. Continue on and park in the parking lot for the West Bragg X-Country Ski Trails.

Hike Description

I started this hike at the Bill Allen Pond. I was looking for a hike that was well sheltered and relatively long. This hike delivered. I wanted to put in a few kilometers and get some exercise. On a previous occasion when I walked Fullerton Loop, the trail sign indicated that approximately 800 meters from the parking lot that there is a single trail to West Bragg that is 7 kilometers in length. The west Bragg trails separates from Fullerton Loop at waypoint #174. After a short distance, maybe 1.5 kilometers I find the first trail sign that is part of the West Bragg X-Country Ski Trails. According to this sign, rather than a single trail to West Bragg, there are a series of loops between the point at which the trail separates from the Fullerton Loop and reaches West Bragg. I am going to save the GPS track as one file. This file contains the track from Bill Allen Pond to West Bragg via the Elbow Trail and west portion of the Sundog Loop. This section is approximately 7.5 kilometers in length. The return trip is from the parking lot in West Bragg back to the Bill Allen Pond. This starts on the eastern portion of the Sundog Loop and continues onto the Iron Springs Trail. This section is roughly 8 kilometers.

While the total elevation gain is approximately 120 meters the total climbing over the 17 kilometers is 671 meters as demonstrated by the elevation profile. This is not the most scenic hike but I would suggest that you do it now before it is destroyed by the clear cut logging proposed for the area. The trail would be a great trail for mountain biking if you are not looking for a very technical trail but want to put on some miles. There are several additional loops that could be used to add some additional distance. A larger version of the topographical map showing the Fullerton Loop and the trails from Bill Allen Pond to West Bragg can be viewed via flickr.