From Highway 40, turn south onto the road leading to Hinton Nordic Centre (sign) 13 kilometres west of the junction with Highway 16 or 125 kilometres east of Grande Cache.  Ignore all side roads and drive 4.6 kilometres to the trailhead parking lot just before a locked gate.

Although it is possible to continue past the locked gate to reach the lookout along the continuation of the road, Zosia and I opted to take the signed hiking trail which climbs roughly parallel to a nearby luge track.  On this day, the trail was snow-covered but well-trodden, and we had few difficulties climbing up to a viewpoint just north of the lookout site.  This viewpoint also happens to be the high point of the ridge on which the lookout sits.  After snapping a few photos at the high point, we wandered over to the lookout site and poked around the outside of the fancy cabin there.  It is sobering to realize that this was where lookout custodian Stephanie Stewart disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2006.

Satisfied with visiting Athabasca Lookout, Zosia and I hiked back over the high point and visited another viewpoint further north just above the top of the luge track.  Although my GPS unit's topographical map shows a higher contour line at this second viewpoint, it is clearly lower than the first viewpoint we visited.  In any case, the views from this second viewpoint are almost identical to those from the first viewpoint, and as such, we did not linger here for long.  On our way down, we visited another cabin just below the top of the luge track.  This cabin appears to be the club house for the Hinton Luge Association (HLA) which is possibly defunct now.  Although the interior of the cabin looked quite tidy, we noticed a year-old standing order from Alberta Parks demanding that the HLA remove all of its infrastructure.  As Zosia and I hiked back down to the trailhead along the luge track, it was evident that most of the HLA's infrastructure was still there although much of it appeared to be neglected.  Just like the whereabouts of Stephanie Stewart, the fate of the HLA and its luge track is a bit of a mystery.

Zosia hikes up a snow-covered trail leading to Athabasca Lookout.

The mountains of Jasper National Park are visible to the west from this viewpoint which is also the high point (1582 metres) of the hike.

 

	Sonny and Zosia share a celebratory New Year's Day kiss on the high point.
	As Zosia passes by some telecommunication structures, the tower at Athabasca Lookout is visible just beyond the trees at centre.
	Zosia visits Athabasca Lookout.
	Near Athabasca Lookout are the remnants of some luge infrastructure.  Zosia tries out the luge launch gate.
	Another viewpoint further north grants pretty much the same views as the high point.
	Zosia checks out a club house supposedly belonging to the Hinton Luge Association which might not be in existence anymore.
	Sonny tries to slide down the luge track on his butt. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Stephanie Stewart was a lookout custodian who mysteriously disappeared while working at Athabasca Lookout in 2006.  To date, her disappearance remains unsolved.
	Total Distance:  2.9 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  1 hour 34 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  134 metres GPX Data