Shell Hill

Shell Hill
Kananaskis, Alberta
October 15, 2022
Distance: 7.0 km
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 375 m

Shell Hill is an outlier of Cox Hill with most of its elevation gained on the shared trail. We expected Shell Hill to be a dull hike, but outcrops and the scenery we caught through the trees made this a pleasant hike. Shell Hill isn't inspiring, but there is enough variety to keep it interesting.

From Dawson trailhead, Dinah and I followed the broad trail that runs to the top of Cox Hill. After passing a couple of small glades, we looked for and found flagging that marks the narrow path leading to Shell Hill. We followed the path as it traverses a concave slope, curving around to meet the saddle connected to Shell Hill. The trail disappears on the saddle, but we easily continued through light forest and around outcrops. The saddle, with its few trees and plenty of rocks, offered a place to take my panorama, although the low elevation limits far-ranging views. After the saddle, we hiked up the ridge and looked for breaks in the trees but found only narrow views, even on the summit. With little to see, we soon turned around. It was a warm, fall day, and we lingered on some rocks before completing our descent.

We enjoyed Shell Hill, but it can’t compete with the views on Cox Hill which we did 12 years ago. We'll probably never return to Shell Hill, but someday we'll hike Cox Hill again.

KML and GPX Tracks

Dinah starts down the trail