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Blackshale Suspension Bridge via Black Prince

Distance: 6.24 KM
Elevation Gain: 342 M
Moving Time: 1:43:10
Average Pace: 16:31/KM
Difficulty: Easier
Popularity: Moderate
My Recording (AllTrails): Click here
Directions (from Calgary): Click here
Overall: 4

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A view over the highway from the trail
A view over the highway from the trail
 

A word to the wise before you consider doing this trail: the road is terrible. It's gravel and due to the quantity of traffic it is extremely bumpy. I popped a strut on this road and lost all the fluid in my right front strut, causing damage to my hood. Car is still drivable, but still. You have been warned. You know you are getting close to the Black Prince parking lot when you come across a bunch of cars parked on the right side of the road. These people skip the trail and walk up to the suspension bridge. Cheaters!

From the Black Prince parking lot walk up the hill and to the exit of the parking lot so you can cross the highway to the start of the actual trail. We did this trail on July 28, 2020 and the horseflies were atrocious. Make sure you wear bug spray, and even then expect to be harassed.

The trail itself is a constant rolling hill inside the forest with little to look at. There a couple of spots where you see some water, and a couple of spots where you can look out at the horizon. The views over the horizon are the same you see on the highway driving to the trailhead, so it's a bit of a letdown. The trail is friendly for mountain bikers, though, and we encountered a few of those on our outing. It's possible because it was mid-day and extremely hot that it put a damper on our experience on the trail, but I'm not sure.

At the end when you arrive at the bridge, it's fairly busy. This is because of the vehicles that pull over at the side of the road and bypass the trail just to see the bridge. It's a neat experience walking on the bridge, but it's challenging to get that right Insta' shot without getting others in the shot. All in all I am happy we took the trail to the bridge and got to experience a larger suspension bridge, but I don't think it is a trail I would want to do again.

All material provided and created by Dave Boyle unless otherwise noted.
Nothing may be copied without permission.