A scenic paved road to Mount Norquay in Canada
Mount Norquay is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 1.720m (5,643ft) above the sea level, located in Canada’s Alberta province.
Located in Banff National Park, the road to the summit is paved. It’s called Mt Norquay Scenic Drive. It’s a winding km mountain road leading you up to Norquay Ski resort, where you take sightseeing chairlift in summer. It is steep and has tight switchbacks, which sometimes have loose gravel on them. The mountain was named in 1904 after John Norquay, premier of Manitoba from 1878 to 1887.
Nestled in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains, the journey offers superb views. It’s definitely worth it. A drive not to be missed! Don't forget your camera with lots of film/memory, fully charged batteries and an empty memory card! There is a simply superb view of the town of Banff and its surrounds from the viewpoint near the top of the long and winding road. If there is fog about though, the view is mostly of fog. Early in the morning or evenings, you might see some alpenglow in the sky. Along this drive, you are likely to see mule deer and bighorn sheep. Although there are several great lookouts, the best in Mountain Mans opinion is from the meadow area at the end of the road.
The road to the summit is pretty steep. Starting from the Trans-Canada Highway, the ascent is 5.8 km (3.60miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 318 meters. The average gradient is 5.48%. This is active grizzly country. A chairlift service road, totally unpaved and very steep, starting north of the resort, climbs up to 1.988m (6,522ft) above the sea level. It’s one of the highest roads of the country.