Category: Alberta
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Hiking Deer Ridge Trail Near Calgary
Deer Ridge Trail offers great bang for buck. This lightly trafficked trail that is accessible from the Sibbald Lake day use area and campground. It is a good half day hike, and takes less than an hour to get to the trailhead from Calgary. This trail can be made into a nice loop using part…
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Hiking Jumpingpound Trail Near Calgary
Jumpingpound Loop is an easy, mostly flat hike that is under an hour away from Calgary. It is at a relatively low elevation. This means it is usually accessible in the early spring, and sometimes throughout the winter. This is a good hike to consider if you want to stay below the tree line. You…
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Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park: Hiking Bow River Loop
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park is an historical cattle ranch that is only about 14 kilometers away from Calgary’s northwest edge. The ranch runs along the Bow River, and on a clear day there are wide panoramic views of the Canadian Rockies. There is a mix of paved and dirt trails throughout Glenbow Ranch. Glenbow Ranch…
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Hiking Fullerton Loop Near Calgary
Fullerton Loop Fullerton Loop is a half day hike hike just west of the town of Bragg Creek. The trails are easy to follow, and there are signs at all of the trail intersections to make sure you don’t get lost. This hike takes about 2 hours to complete. Distance: 6.9 km Elevation gain: 240 m /…
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Early Season Hikes Near Calgary
These early season hikes near Calgary are my tried and true early season warm-ups, and are all between 5-10 kilometers. They are close to Calgary and easy enough to give your legs and lungs a chance to get back into shape before tackling bigger summer excursions. Ole Buck Loop, Sibbald Area Distance: approx. 5.4 kmElevation…
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Arethusa Cirque: Fall Hiking the Golden Larches
Arethusa Cirque is the perfect way to experience the mountains in September. Along the western edge of Treaty 7 territory, on the traditional lands of the Niitsitapi, Ktunaxa, Iyahe Nakoda, and Tsuut’inna, there is a secret season between summer and fall called larch season. Driving west on Highway 1 between Banff and Lake Louise, it…
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Hiking at Eagle Hill Near Calgary
Eagle Hill is a great hike for getting back into the swing of things. You get pretty good distance and elevation gain, but without any real punishment. It’s south-facing, and in the lower foothills, so trails are usually doable pretty early. We went out this year on April 17. There was slush and mud, but…
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Hiking through Fossils in Dinosaur Provincial Park
Fourth Time’s a Charm It wasn’t until my fourth visit to Dinosaur Provincial Park that I finally booked a guided hike. The Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is packed with dinosaur fossils. Most of it is off limits without a guide. There are a couple of cool but short walking paths…
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How to Spend a Day in Banff
You can definitely get a solid overview of Banff in a day, but you have to have a pretty good game plan going in to make it all happen. If you are tight on time, and want to visit this world class Canadian National Park, here is how to spend a day in Banff. Hike…
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Alberta’s Best Campgrounds – Dinosaur Provincial Park
I am usually more of a “variety is the spice of life” kind of girl, but the campground at Dinosaur Provincial Park is one of those places I just can’t get enough of. The scenery is like something from another planet. Wildlife is everywhere. Plus, the desert weather is reliably warmer there compared to the…