Cowboy Trail

Highway 22 runs about seven hundred kilometres north to south along the eastern foothills, and it was branded the Cowboy Trail in 2001 because the country it crosses is still working ranch land rather than a theme: cattle, horses, grain elevators, small towns and the Rockies forming a wall to the west for the whole route. Longview, Black Diamond and Turner Valley string along the southern half, with Bar U Ranch and Chain Lakes on the way. Turner Valley was the site of Canada's first significant oil discovery in 1914. The southern section around Pincher Creek carries one of the largest wind farms in the country.

What you actually see

• The foothills ranch country - working cattle operations rather than a display.
• The mountain wall - the Rockies on the western horizon for the full route.
• The oil history - Turner Valley, where Canadian oil production began in 1914.
• The wind farms - turbine arrays on the windy southern foothills.

When to go

May to October; the road is open year-round but winter brings ground blizzards and chinook ice. Autumn colour in the aspen along the foothills is good. Spring is muddy and grey.

Honest expectations

It is a drive rather than a set of attractions, and the appeal is scenery and small towns. Services are spread out. Chinook winds can be strong enough to make driving high-sided vehicles difficult.

Nearby

Bar U Ranch is on the route; Kananaskis lies west.