Alberta Parks lists the closure plainly: Highway 40 from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to Highwood House Junction, closed 1 December to 14 June. Highwood Pass, which Alberta Parks calls the highest paved pass in Canada, sits in that stretch, and so does the Ptarmigan Cirque trailhead.
What stays open
The closure starts far to the south. The road from the hotel's junction past Barrier Lake to Kananaskis Village and into Peter Lougheed is outside it. Nakiska is 25.7 km from the hotel by my calc. Barrier Lake's visitor centre is 7.1 km. The winter question is less about roads and more about ice.
The ice warning
Alberta Parks attaches the same warning to Heart Creek, Troll Falls and the Grassi Lakes trail: they may be icy any time during the colder months, even when other trails are not, because snow packs down underfoot and freezes and thaws. Its advice is proper footwear, microspikes and poles. The lower Grassi Lakes route closes in winter altogether because water flows over it and freezes.
A winter stay that works
- Ask for a Junior Suite for the electric fireplace.
- Pack microspikes and poles even for short walks.
- Plan around light rather than distance; shorter days make a 1.4 km waterfall walk a good outing.
- Keep the hot tub and pool, open until 11 pm, at the end of every day.
- Watch the resort's December events: Muay Thai World Cup 15 on 12 December and a Beatles tribute with a Christmas buffet on 19 December 2026.
And in June
The gate opens on 15 June. That is also when several of the higher trails dry out after their own closures: Chester Lake reopens after 29 June, Galatea Creek in late June. The full calendar is on seasons and closures.
Last checked against the linked sources: 31 October 2026.