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Trailhead: 52 52’ 01.5”N 116 56’ 48.6”W
Distance:
To Ruby Falls: 19.5 km with an addition of 2.8km if the lake loop is added which is recommended.
To Ruby Lake: 14.5 km to the first lake.
Access to Ruby Falls trail is off of the Cardinal River road where there is some parking, although users camping often occupy much of this space. The Cardinal River road is accessed from the north by the town of Cadomin, south of Hinton, or from the south on the forestry trunk road (hwy 734) from Nordegg. If heading along the Cardinal River road from the west, the trailhead is 2.5km past the Grave Flats tower road, and from the east is 4km past the crossing of the Cardinal River.
It should be noted that there is a high amount of atv usage on this trail as it is one of the few trails in the area that remains open to this type of activity. At the trailhead, there is an immediate crossing of the Cardinal River that is not difficult and the main trail is easily visible. The trail for the first few kilometres follows a seismic line and there have been many improvements to the trail by off-road groups to corduroy the wet areas and minimize impact. Following this trail brings you to the open flats of Ruby Creek, where the trail basically follows an old bladed line and the creek bed. There are a few crossings of Ruby Creekthat are not all that difficult and the trail is quite easy to follow. An intersection will be encountered and the south branch will head towards the muskeg like Flapjack Lake, and the other towards the west basically following the Ruby Creek. This trail will be followed until a fork in the trail occurs. The right fork leads towards Ruby Lake, and the second bypasses the lakes and continues towards Ruby Falls.
There are not many options to take along this route and eventually one will arrive at the falls. The area around Ruby Falls and beyond is a Forest Land Use Zone and this is as far as motorized activity is permitted to go. At the falls is a group of fire pits and picnic tables, but there is no toilet facilities or stocked firewood piles. It's a very nice place to rest and enjoy a meal and listen to the falls. Access can be gained to the top of the falls by a well-defined trail and requires very little effort to get there, or one can stay down below and even walk in behind the falls. Ruby Falls is usually the last stop for most people and random camping likely occurs there. All access past this is by foot only. A select few individuals do not understand the regulations of the FLUZ area and still seem to believe that motorized access can be gained above the falls further into the Ruby headwaters. Hopefully these few individuals do not ruin it for everyone that would like to visit this area.
From Ruby Falls, several day hikes can be planned that visit one of several small lakes tucked away in the area, or simply just look at all of the alpine flowers and smaller waterfalls. Jasper National Park can be entered, but only if the individual is very physically fit and well adapted to technical scrambling and route finding. This Jasper route is a hike that is definitely not for the beginner but is rewarded with spectacular scenery that few see as it is tucked deep into the park’s wilderness.
Overall, the trip to Ruby Falls and Ruby Lake is an easy trip with rewarding views from the open creek valley and little noticeable elevation gain. This is what makes it a popular trail and the traffic on the trail can be very heavy at times. If you in the area, be sure to check out Cadomin Cave.
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