Moose Mountain and Prairie Mountain Summits
The Elbow Valley has lots of great trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. You can wander the foothills and scramble up to the alpine region above treeline. The eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains begin at the end of highway 66, at the Little Elbow Recreation Area. More experienced climbers and backcountry hikers prefer to summit Cornwall, Glasgow and Banded Peaks that are circumscribed by the Elbow Loop trail. But, most people can get to the summit of Moose Mountain, and those who are prepared for a more strenuous ascent, can attempt Prairie Mountain. Prairie isn’t as high, but you have to climb further in a shorter distance, to get to the summit. In other words, it’s a grunt. Whether you try Moose or Prairie summits, both are accessible and relatively easy to climb. A comfortable walk to the lookout on Moose Mountain and back takes about 6 hours. You can get to the top of Prairie Mountain and back in an hour, but a more leisurely climb will take 2 1/2 hours.
Map of trails to the summit of Moose and Prairie Mountains