History and hiking go hand-in-hand at Bankhead. Bankhead was a coal mine and town established in the early 1900s by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. This easy 1.1 km loop trail – an easy 45-minute walk - leads through the ruins of the coal mining operation.

Read the informative plaques placed beside some of the foundations to learn about the buildings that once stood there. A few ruins of the residential area of Bankhead are also located in the Upper Bankhead picnic area.

If you choose, a hiking trail follows the abandoned Bankhead railway line to the Cascade ponds day use area. In 1903, the CPR established Bankhead coalmine and town on the lower slopes of Cascade Mountain.

At its peak, the mine employed three hundred men and produced half a million tons of coal a year. The town considered to be the most modern in Alberta, had more amenities and was busier then Banff.

By 1922, production and profits were down, the miners were on strike and the CPR shut the mine down. Bankhead trail is open year-round. It is located on Lake Minnewanka Road, just a short 7 minute drive from Banff.