Ptarmigan Cirque is the cirque

Cirque (landform)

thumb|250 px|Two cirques with semi-permanent snowpatches in [[Abisko National Park]], [[Sweden]].A cirque or corrie is an amphitheatre-like valley head, formed at the head of a valley glacier by erosion...

 between Mount Arethusa

Mount Arethusa

Mount Arethusa is a mountain in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.It is located alongside Highway 40, immediately east of the Highwood Pass parking lot in Kananaskis Country, and is a part of the Misty Range of the Southern Continental Ranges.Mt...

 and Mount Rae

Mount Rae

Mount Rae is a mountain located on the east side of Highway 40 between Elbow Pass and the Ptarmigan Cirque in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta. Mount Rae was named after John Rae, explorer of Northern Canada, in 1859....

 at the Highwood Pass

Highwood Pass

Highwood Pass is a mountain pass in Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada. It lies west of Mount Rae and Mount Arethusa of the Misty Range, south of the Elbow Pass.It lies within the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park...

 in Kananaskis Country, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The Ptarmigan Cirque hiking trail is a short loop in the cirque. After an easy climb up from the Highwood Pass parking lot on Highway 40 the hike proceeds around the bottom of the valley counter clock wise. There are 10 or more interpretive signs to stop at. The back of the loop contains a small waterfall and the start of the Mount Rae scramble.