Jumpingpound Ridge to Cox Hill

Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada

Jumpingpound Ridge Trail to Cox Hill Trail is an epic x-country ride with incredible 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. Located in the Sibbald Area of Kananaskis Country, this ride has it all; loads of switchbacks, amazing singletrack, awesome alpine ridge riding and some incredible descents. This route may be ridden as a loop or as a half loop, when setting up a retrieval vehicle. To set-up your retrieval, drop a vehicle at Dawson Recreational Area. Pile into a second vehicle and drive south on Powderface Trail about 17 kilometres to the Jumpingpound Ridge south trailhead. Begin your ride up Jumpingpound Ridge Trail returning to Dawnson Recreational Area via Cox Hill Trail. Once back at Dawson, send your drivers back down to Jumpingpound Ridge south trailhead to retrieve your vehicle(s).

Jumpingpound Ridge is an incredible alpine ridge ride that starts with a long and steady climb, consisting of switchbacks and some gnarly technical sections. Once you reach the top of the climb, you will pop out of the woods and ride the ridge over to the start of the Cox Hill Trail heading right (north) at the well-marked junction. The start of Cox Hill begins with a short and fast descent before you begin climbing. A few steep and narrow switchbacks take you back up to the alpine. Follow the ridge to the summit of Cox Hill. Enjoy the scenery once you reach the summit; grab a lunch, hydrate, and get ready to start the fast and technical descent back down to the Dawson parking lot.

bikepirate rating:

Trail Stats

Distance: 18.5 km
Time: 3 – 5 hrs
Elevation Gain: 823 m
Elevation Loss: 1,061 m
Min Elevation: 1,393 m
Max Elevation: 2,102 m
Technical Rating: Advanced
Physical Rating: Hard
Season: July - September
Permit Required: No

Trail Location

Trailhead: Begin this ride by parking at Dawson Recreation Area and riding 17 km south along Powderface Trail to Jumpingpound Ridge south trailhead. From there take Jumpingpound Ridge north over to Cox Hill, returning to Dawson Recreational Area via Cox Hill Trail.

GPS:
N50 54.915 W114 55.078 (Trailhead)
N51 01.387 W114 52.917 (Dawson)

Downloads

Map: click here
GPS Map (GPX): click here
Google Earth: click here
Kananaskis Country website: click here
Trail Report: click here

Google Earth trail view only works if you have the program; download it here (free)

Buy your Kananaskis trail guide:
Find the Hidden Treasures: A Guide to Mountain Bike Trails in Kananaskis Country

Options

There are several options to ride these trails. One can ride Jumpingpound Ridge Trail or Cox Hill Trail separately. Or, when combined, as indicated on this trail page, the two trails make for an epic ride. I’ve listed a few options for those looking to shorten their ride or try something new.

Option 1: Jumpingpound Ridge Trail to Cox Hill Trail is best ridden south to north, starting at the Jumpingpound Ridge trailhead. One can leave a retrieval vehicle at the Dawson Recreational Area or park at Dawson and pedal 17 km on the Powderface Trail dirt road to the trailhead. We prefer leaving a vehicle, but this is entirely your call. Ride Jumpingpound Ridge over to Cox Hill and descend down to the Dawson Recreation Area parking.

Option 2: Start at the south Jumpingpound Ridge trailhead, traverse the ridge, and instead of continuing on to Cox Hill, opt out by taking a left turn at the trail junction (well marked) down Jumpingpound Ridge Trail. If you plan on taking this option, I would recommend parking your vehicle at the Jumpingpound Ridge north trailhead – 7.5 km south of Dawson Rec Area.

Option 3: Start your ride at the Jumpingpound Summit Trail. The trailhead is around 14.5 km south of Dawson Recreational Area and is identified by a small pull out on the west side of Powderface Trail. The trailhead is on the eastside – you’ll see a faint trail heading into the woods. From there ride the trail to the Ridge and continue across to Cox Hill.

 
  • Dave

    rode this yesterday. wet in spots, and lot’s of snow at the top of the cox hill decent. Other than that it was awesome!!

  • Stephen Nelson

    Road this On Sept 16th and the trail is in great shape. This is a excellent ride. Nice long descents and great single track.

  • Ross mailloux

    Rode on sat the 18th of aug. In great shape for late season. No problems. Got to be one of the best xc trails in the area.

  • http://twitter.com/adelorenzo Anthony DeLorenzo

    Thanks for posting this information! This trail has been on my list for a while and finally got to ride it today, four of us from the Yukon went up there. We pedaled from Dawson campground on the road and then climbed via the south trailhead.

    Almost zero visibility for most of the ride so we didn’t see much but it was awesome. Cox Hill descent in the wet was soooo much fun. 

    There was no snow up there, everything was really wet but I’ve never ridden in the Rockies when it’s not muddy as hell and raining so I don’t know if that would be considered abnormal. 

  • AllanW

    Rode this classic last night after work using option 1 for a first day of summer ride.  There are large and deep patches of snow at the top of both Jumpingpound and Cox that you’ll have to walk through or around and there are many wet patches on the way.  Overall, the trial is rideable, but the snowpack will interfere with the flow…

    • http://www.bikepirate.com Peter Oprsal

      Thanks for the trail update Allan. If you would like, email me your mailing address to info@bikepirate.com and I’ll send you some bikepirate stickers. Cheers.

  • Pps247

    any idea what the snow situation is like up there??

    • http://www.bikepirate.com Peter Oprsal

      The latest report we have is from June 8th: Lingering snow along ridge top on both Cox Hill and Jumpingpound Ridge. The rest of the ride is wet and muddy.

      I don’t think it would have changed much from this based on all the rain we’ve been getting over the past few weeks. Please let us know what the conditions are doing if you decide to head up there.

  • Bikerider

    Take the Summit Trail as the Canyon Creek trail is sheer misery due to horses and erosion on the trail. The summit trail is forbidden for horses and is in fine shape. 



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