Bow Valley Provincial Park, less than an hour's drive west of Calgary, is a great year-round destination. The park is blessed with a varied landscape that includes a section along the glacier-fed Bow River at the confluence of the Kananaskis River, grasslands, boreal forest and a bit of the front range of the Canadian Rockies. In summer Bow Valley Provincial Park is a wonderful place to go camping (though be prepared for some highway and…
The Headwall Lakes hike in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is a wonderful choice if you want a wilder, slightly more challenging hike than nearby Chester Lake. While the trailhead shares the same parking lot as the Chester Lake hike, the two hikes feel completely different. On the Headwall Lakes hike you won't see many people, perhaps 10% of what you'd see on a typical day on the Chester Lake hike. The trail to Headwall Lakes…
It's larch season in Alberta. What that means is seemingly sane people do insane things. Take myself for example. Yesterday, I rose at 3:15 AM and was in the car driving towards Lake Louise by 3:30 AM. I had been closely monitoring the weather forecasts across three stations and was keen on picking a clear day in the mountains. Even though the forecast wasn't ideal, the weather looked to be worsening over the week so…
The Canadian Badlands cover a large swath of south central Alberta, equivalent to an area slightly larger than Hungary. From northeast of Red Deer south to the United States border and east to Saskatchewan, you'll find Canada's finest badland scenery. But that's not all. The Canadian Badlands are home to one of the greatest collections of dinosaur bones in the world, loads of super-cool geologic formations including hoodoos along with 35 provincial parks and natural…
I discovered the Sunset Pass and Sunset Lookout hike accessed from the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park completely by chance. I was researching campgrounds to stay in that are a short hike in from the trailhead. Without looking into the details too much, the Norman Lake Campground on the way to Sunshine Pass seemed like a good choice as it is approximately 4 km from the parking lot. But to get there you have…
Maybe you had traditional late summer travel destinations you frequented each year, or you had to cancel plans for new locations to explore - but your adventures aren’t completely lost this year. We’ve got you covered with 11 road trips from Calgary you can do in a day (sometimes a long day!) that will stir your soul. These 11 adventures will have you socially distant, enjoying fresh air, lake-time, sand play, challenging yourself, filling your…
The Chester Lake hike is one of the classics you must do in Kananaskis Country. It's been called the most popular trail in Kananaskis Country - and yet on the summer weekend I hiked it, the parking lot was far less busy than the one that offers access to Black Prince Cirque and Galatea Lakes. That may be a function of the distance from Calgary but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Chester…
If you live in the Calgary - Canmore corridor or you're on your way to Banff National Park, I highly recommend a stop at Dead Man's Flats to hike the Wind Ridge Trail. It's a fantastic day hike - though steep - with superlative views the minute you're out of the trees. The Wind Ridge Trail hike is easy to confuse with the West Wind Pass hike. Wind Ridge Trail is accessed from the Trans-Canada…
If you're on the search for new places to explore why not take a break from the mountains and head out on a road-trip to Lethbridge, a former coal mining city of just over 100,000 people, located on the scenic Oldman River in southern Alberta. Lethbridge Alberta is an undiscovered gem when it comes to its outdoor spaces. Reconnect with nature here via a network of hiking and biking trails - or a paddle/SUP experience…