Manystick Peak

Manystick Peak
Oldman River Area, Alberta
October 3, 2026
Distance: 9.1 km (5.7 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 808 m (2651 ft)

Manystick Peak is many kilometres south of Calgary, but despite the long drive, it’s worth climbing. It’s not an area I have visited often, and I welcomed the change in scenery. The peak sits at the south end of Cabin Ridge, and having viewed it from Old Dutchman Peak, I was familiar with it. I hadn’t given serious thought to climbing it until Sonny and Zosia invited me to join them.

With a route from Peakery in hand, we parked next to Manystick Creek and started up a wooded slope. In a short time, we reached a trail on the southwest spur that runs to Cabin Ridge. We followed the trail as it climbed a meadow before eventually disappearing in the woods. However, we hiked easily through thin trees. When we encountered a rocky spine, we naturally gravitated to it. While the rocks can be easily avoided – and we did so for a fast descent – they were fun to explore, and they offered fine viewpoints.

We continued up the spur to Cabin Ridge. We crossed rough, decommissioned roads and briefly followed intact roads. But mostly we bushwhacked, and that became easier as the vegetation grew sparser the higher we climbed. When we reached Cabin Ridge, the terrain levelled out, and we walked 500 m to the summit, a bald knob at the north end of the ridge.

After lingering on top, we returned down the spur. But near the bottom, we veered right and found a trail. We followed it down to the road, leaving us to walk 200 m back to the car. While we had no trouble reaching the spur directly, the trail makes routefinding easy at the start and should be considered.

KML and GPX Tracks
Sonny's Trip Report

We parked next to Manystick Creek and proceeded into the forest behind us