How to hike Vision Quest – Nordegg

If you’re looking for a short hike near Nordegg with amazing views then Vision Quest is only a 30 minute drive from the city of Nordegg. Vision Quest is one of the best hikes in Alberta and an awesome hike to see the well known Abraham Lake. It’s a hike we would absolutely recommend to anyone wanting a bit of a challenge with rewarding views. It’s a fairly short hike as the full trip is just over 6km but the uphill makes it an absolute battle the whole way up!

There aren’t many flat parts on this hike near Abraham Lake which can make it quite difficult but you’ll be rewarded with the most breathtaking views at the top. Luckily, the whole way up you are never really in any dense bush or forest so whenever you take a break, you will be able to enjoy the views of Abraham Lake the entire way to the top.

After about 30-45 minutes of hiking (depending on your level of fitness), you will be able to see what looks like the summit. This actually isn’t the summit but what is called “the false summit”.

You won’t be able to see the real summit till you’re almost at the fake summit but once you get to that part of the hike the real summit isn’t far at all.

Right near the false summit of this Abraham Lake Hike, you will see a red ribbon on a tree (easily visible). From there you just keep continuing up along the ridgeline until you find the summit register (little metal box) which is essentially the “false summit” for Vision Quest. 

Practical information about Vision Quest

Distance: 6.3 km return / 3.9 miles return
Elevation: 851 m / 2792 ft. elevation gain
Type: Out and back
Length: 4-6 hours return
Difficulty: Hard (!) 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Other related posts

• 3 Hikes Near Bragg Creek That Make an Epic Day Trip
• How to hike Tombstone Campground – Alpine Lake in Kananaskis
• How to hike Chester Lake Trail – Kananaskis
• How to hike Jumpingpound Summit Trail – Bragg Creek
• How to hike Wasootch Ridge – Kananaskis

Vision Quest is an adventurous day hike near Nordegg

Many people choose to stop at the false summit (including Jo), but if you are an experienced hiker/scrambler you can continue up the buckle which will give you a fantastic panoramic view over Abraham Lake. We do not recommend going up unless you truly are an experienced hiker and feel confident in your abilities!

Even if you don’t make it to the real summit the views from the ridgeline are amazing and totally worth all the pain it takes to get there. This is the best hike for Abraham Lake. It’s such a unique body of water and seeing it from above is an amazing experience! All of our pictures from this blog post are from the fake summit. You really appreciate it once you’re up there. It left us and our two friends absolutely speechless.

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Here’s a map of the beginning of Vision Quest hike

Here’s a picture of the Vision Quest Trailhead overlooking Abraham Lake

As we mentioned before, Vision Quest hike near Nordegg is not an easy hike. Even though it is only a 6 km return hike, it is a highly inclined climb to the summit. Back down is likewise very steep, which can be very hard on your knees. So be prepared to get your butt kicked and be exhausted by the time you finish one of the best hikes in Alberta. And feel the pain for a few days after while admiring all the photos you’ve taken.

Regardless of how hard we say this hike was and how much pain we were in don’t let our moaning stop you from conquering this mountain!

As long as you stay on the close side which is next to Abraham Lake you will get views like this the whole way up and down. Unfortunately we ended up bush waking for parts of the trip on the way and had to cut back to get back on the right part.

So as long as you don’t do what we did you will be perfectly fine! 😉 This was our first time hiking in Nordegg and we’re definitely going to try and climb some more mountains in the area.

Camping in Nordegg

There are a few options if you’re planning to hike before or after hiking up Vision Quest. You can drive back to Nordegg and hike there which isn’t very far or you can hike at Abraham Lake which is amazing.

We have two awesome options in Fish Lake and Preachers Point which are both quite close to Vision Quest so you can decide on which one would work better for you.

Fish Lake campground

Fish Lake is the perfect place to camp near Nordegg, especially if you’re doing Vision Quest since it’s so close. It’s a really clean and affordable campsite with a bunch of amenities. A non service site costs $26 CAD a night and is on a first come first serve basis.

All the information you need on Fish Lake Campground can be found here.

We also set up the directions from Fish Lake to the Vision Quest hike to make it easier for you to navigate and not miss the turnoff to the hike like we did the first time.

Preachers Point campground

Preachers Point is actually a free campsite. You will basically just be boon-docking right off the David Thompson Highway and right next to Abraham Lake. It’s honestly the most beautiful spot to camp near Nordegg if you’re up for this kind of camping.

Here is a little bit of information about Preachers Point and the directions from Preachers Point to Vision Quest can be found here. Again, hoping you guys don’t miss the turn to the hike. It truly isn’t hard to find, we just didn’t have the right directions when we went.

How to get to Vision Quest

From anywhere in Calgary

• It’s a 3.5 hour drive from Calgary to the Vision Quest trailhead.
• The directions can be found here.
• You can also go towards Red Deer and then west from there. But we prefer driving towards the mountains first and then up to Nordegg so that’s why we chose those directions.

From anywhere in Red Deer

• It’s just over 2 hours to get to Vision Quest from Red Deer.
• The directions can be found here.

From anywhere in Edmonton

• It’s a 3.5 hour drive from Edmonton to Vision Quest.
• The directions can be found here.

About Abraham Lake

Abraham is definitely one of the iconic landmarks in Alberta, Canada. You can go hiking and camping near Abraham Lake in the summer and you can go see the famous “ice bubbles” the lake produces in the winter.

We’ve only visited Abraham Lake in the summer when we went and hiked Vision Quest so we didn’t actually get to see the “ice bubbles” if you want some more information about the bubbles then give this a read.

But we absolutely recommend going hiking around Nordegg especially near Abraham Lake to take in all these stunning views. It’s one of the main reasons we chose to do this hike. The views are simply breathtaking.

Before you go

The first thing you should do before you go is to check if the trail is open and if there are any warnings on it. We actually spoke with someone who saw cougar tracks on Vision Quest last year. So it’s definitely worth checking the trail updates beforehand. You definitely don’t want to run into a cougar if you can avoid it!

We would also recommend you to tell someone about your plans, just in case something were to happen. Make sure they know you’re doing Vision Quest, how long it will take, and what other plans you might have. Better safe than sorry! Especially since there may be no reception while you’re out on the hike.

You can check the recent comments about Vision Quest trail out. If people see wildlife on the path they will likely put an update in the comment section.

What to bring

Vision Quest is a tough hike so try to bring enough of what you need and limit what you don’t need. Jo brought two sweaters and it was totally unnecessary since it was 25 degrees Celsius and the trail is very open (which means NO SHADE) and only has a small section through trees.

So bring:

• Lots of water! We brought 1.5 liters each and that definitely wasn’t enough. The hike is exhausting and the heat dehydrates you quickly.
• A camelbak is a great option too if you’re looking for something to hold a lot of water.
• Food and lots of it.
• Sunscreen if it’s sunny out! Or even if it’s just warm and cloudy bring some.
• Bear spray. And make sure you know how to use it!
• Warm clothes if it’s cold! Remember that the weather can change quickly in Nordegg.
• Walking sticks might also be a good idea (they could save your knees).
• Also this is a great list of hiking gear that you may need on a hike!

Other related posts

• 3 Hikes Near Bragg Creek That Make an Epic Day Trip
• How to hike Chester Lake Trail – Kananaskis
• How to hike Grizzly Peak – Kananaskis
• How to hike Black Rock Mountain – Ghost River
• Hiking Checklist

Other useful info

• You can go camping on the hike. There are two campsites which are already set up about 1/3rd of the way up the hike. If you’re really adventurous. Otherwise we would just stay at one of the other places we recommended.
• Wildlife is often spotted in this area so be on the lookout.
• There are no restrooms or water stations at the trailhead. So make sure you stop in Nordegg beforehand.

We hope you enjoy this hike as much as we did! Enjoy and stay safe out there!

Where was the last hike you went on? Let us know in the comment section below!

Have fun!

Dom & Jo

Red White Adventures

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