Moderate - 2.4 km return - 1 1/2 hours - steep rutted road and flume way
This historic surface beside the Granby River leads right to the heritage dam site. Most of the trail is on city land and includes the best beach in the city – Slag Beach. Turn left off the Granby Road just past the Shooting Range on the right. The road all the way down is not recommended unless you have 4 wheel drive. Park near the top and walk down a steep twisted rutted surface to the first fork in the ‘road’. The fork to the right is the old CPR rail bed which takes you 700 m to a precipice above the dam site. The ‘road’ to the left takes you steeply down to another fork in the ‘road’. To the left it is a short distance to the beach which is sometimes called ‘Nudie Cove’ as many locals enjoy swimming here with any attire. The trail on the right is the flat surface that held the wooden flume from Granby Dam to the turbines at the smelter. Follow along the river and appreciate the perfect Class 2/3 water for kayakers. Indeed, local kayakers have played between the dam site and Slag Beach each spring for years. In the summer, a much different flotation device is seen bumping along the rocky shallows by countless tubers. The dam site contains the old penstock chamber and the metal ring that channeled the water into the flumeway. The pillars of the CPR and GN trestles stand above. If the waters are low, look for the remains of the earthen dam and the two trestles in the depths below. Don’t be tempted to climb up to the old CPR rail bed above as the slope is steep and hazardous. Try taking that trail next time especially in the spring when the Saskatoons fill the air with their white scented blossoms.