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Urban Adventures

Calgary’s Best Urban Hikes Series: Inglewood, Harvie Passage, The Bird Sanctuary and The Blackfoot Diner

May 13, 2013
lori
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The Blackfoot Diner milkshake is

“Like sucking cake through a straw”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am having a lot of fun researching my new book, a brand new version of my book Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks. On Mother’s Day, my family joined me to test a new route for the book in the Inglewood, SE area. We started at 15 St, SE and followed the Bow River Pathway to Pearce Estate Park and the new Harvie Passage Whitewater Park on the Bow River. Harvie Passage water park replaces the deadly weir, the drowning machine as it used to be known.

 

 

 

 

The Harvie Passage website explains the benefits that will come out of the new weir project.

 

“Countless benefits will flow from this project – for people, fish, birds and wildlife, and the environment itself. This new park will provide a central connection node for numerous public amenities in the area, including the Calgary Zoo, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetland, Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery, East Village and the future site of the Calgary Science Centre. A reconfiguration of the river-bed will result in an aesthetically attractive passage through the centre of the city, while respecting fisheries and the aquatic ecosystem. Naturalization of the area will improve local habitat, movement corridors and riparian functions, allowing all kinds of wildlife to pass freely up and down the river. Perhaps most importantly, the hydraulic roller known as the “drowning machine” will be eliminated, giving safe and unrestricted access to emergency safety patrols, recreational paddlers and fish.”

 

Harvie Passage is across from Pearce Estate Park and the Livingston Fish Hatchery. The park is home to many trails for walkers, abundant bird life that flock to the wetlands, picnic tables, the Fish Hatchery, and the Bow Habitat Station, where kids can learn to fish in stocked bonds. YOu can also get a tour of  the Fish Hatchery.

Continuing east along the Bow River Pathway, we passed wetlands full of the sounds of red-winged blackbirds and we saw an impressive beaver house with significant square footage! We continued past new and beautifully renovated older homes in a hidden neighbourhood along the Bow River; a neighourhood tucked away behind the industrial area off Blackfoot and 17 Ave., SE .

 

 

 

We arrived at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and the start of the train yards. My son loves trains so we did did a photo shoot beside a parked rail car before strolling the pathways of the bird Sanctuary. My son reminded me of the time he and his friends got “kicked out” of the Bird Sanctuary for some enthusiastic owl discoveries that they had at a friends birthday party. Too loud, too much running.  Enthusiastic boys in nature, lets put a stop to that says the naturalist.

 

 

 

 

 

The kids were set on a burger for lunch, and it was lunchtime so we started the search. Within minutes we arrived at the infamous Blackfoot Diner Truck Stop. I had heard of it but had never eaten there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s legit. It’s a truck stop and it was the perfect stop for our Mother’s Day lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

The kids ordered the burgers and a milkshake (and people wonder how we get them to walk so far…) My daughter summed up the milkshake experience in a way that I never had, “it’s like sucking cake through a straw”. And it was! They were chocolatey, creamy and sweet. Yum. The bugers were tasty too, topped with “crappy cheese” (when my daughter was little she thought that Kraft slices were called “crap” slices and hence the name crappy cheese). She likes the cheese slices. They are just another “treat” that she can’t get at home.

 

 

 

 

 

We continued west on 9 Avenue past some industial areas but soon were back into the newly developed part of 9 Avenue. A turn north on 15 St and we were back in the neighbourhood, soaking up the smells of poplar buds and enjoying the sights of flowering fruit trees. Inglewood is the hot spot in Calgary, and not just because it is a micro climate of warmth. Gardens are fuller and pear trees live strong. Inglewood is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods to walk in Calgary. You never know what might be around the next corner and that is what makes for a fantastic urban hike.

 

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Kids winter biking to school video! Self-propelled, independent kids in Calgary

March 18, 2013
lori
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My son and his biking pals made the Calgary Herald newspaper in the fall of 2012 after being spotted biking to school in a snowstorm. And they have made the Calgary Herald again in March 2013 due to their cycling habit.

They bike year round, on their own, no overseeing parents. This used to be commonplace, but nowadays, parents don’t let their kids enjoy the independence that they so love and crave.

The kids were asked to present at the Safe and Smooth Symposium on March 21, 2013. I produced this video for the presentation. Check it out!

 

 

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Self-propelled kids in Calgary, cycling to school, even at -30!

November 27, 2012
lori
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Journalist Tom Babin at the Calgary Herald  just did a fantastic story on some cycle commuting kids in Calgary. One of them, my son, was part of that gang. Like I said in my previous post when I critiqued the Alberta Walkability Project, the built environment plays a minor role in getting people to be more active on a day to day basis. What makes these kids bike instead of taking the warm school bus is that it’s fun to bike!! It’s fun to bike on any day and especially through the snow and ice. It’s also fun to do it with your friends. Simple really. Let’s all get active because it is fun and feels great!

Take a look at the Calgary Herald story here!

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Here are the Elboya School Grade 5-7, cycling kids!


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Why I love an urban hike

June 11, 2012
lori
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This is a piece I wrote for the Calgary Herald. They were asking readers about their favourite urban hikes and also wanted to know what the difference is between a hike and a walk.

 

Why I love an urban hike

What is the difference between a walk and a hike? Good question.

Most people think of hiking as something you do in nature, in the parks, the wilderness. You pack a lunch and head out for an active adventure.  Walking is something you can do anywhere, like walking around the block for exercise or walking to the corner store for some milk or walking to your a neighbourhood pub. Urban hiking in Calgary is the perfect mix of walking and hiking; an outdoor adventure that dips into green spaces, parks and nature and ends with a good cup of coffee.  And while most Calgarians head to the Rocky Mountains for adventure, they need not. Calgary is a top notch outdoor destination in itself.  For intrepid urban hikers, Calgary’s concrete jungle is more than office towers, SUVs and suburbia. It’s parks like Fish Creek and the Weaslehead, Edworthy, Nose Hill and Bowmont Natural Environment Park, a park with its very own waterfall.

Pockets of nature are scattered throughout the city. When I head out on foot, I step off the sidewalk and onto the dirt and paved pathways at every opportunity. Scenic Acres Ravines, Erlton Bluffs, Britannia Slopes, McHugh Bluffs are just a handful of green spaces that add a taste of nature to a city trek.  Urban hiking is a diverse adventure; a mix of funky shopping districts, architecturally-interesting neighbourhoods and tasty local eateries. It’s the vast range of treasures in a small, easily navigated space that makes exploring the city on foot so appealing.

And if you are one of those time-crunched urbanites that are over-booked and under-vacationed, urban hiking is your ticket to being a tourist in your own city. Self-propelled urban mini-vacations keep your body fit and your mind intrigued. And there’s no better time than the long days of summer to start your walking habit. You’ll get landscaping and gardening ideas en route, soak up the smells of wild roses and barbecued steak, shade yourself under the canopy of full grown poplars that line inner-city streets, and enjoy a picnic lunch on the top of Nose Hill Park, Calgary’s highest point.

Inglewood and Ramsay is my suggestion for an eclectic urban hike. Calgary’s oldest neighbourbood is a mix of trendy and gritty. Its character results from the wide variety of housing styles, people, and the independent shops that line 9th Avenue. From Scotsmans Hill you can soak up the awe-inspiring views of Stampede Park, the Rocky Mountains on the western horizon and the downtown core prominently reaching out of the concrete.  Descend in an easterly direction towards 9th Avenue and the Bow River. Roads go this way and that, and street names like Bison Path give a hint of Calgary’s earliest days. The back streets and alleys of Ramsay are home to war-time bungalows with car sheds and clotheslines. Enjoy the feel of a multi-generational neighbourhood; homes here date back to the late 1800s and the community feel is strong.

If you’d like to do a bit of shopping on your trek then detour along the commercial core on 9th Avenue.  Rejuvenated historic buildings are home to the city’s largest collection of antique and home decorating shops, a scattering of cafés and ethnic eateries and an eclectic mix of independent shops.  Walk closer to the Bow River, along 8th Avenue, to view homes with bay windows and verandahs; decorative widow’s walks on rooftops, and fine woodwork. Head to the Bow River Pathway and go east to explore Pearce Estate Park, the Fish Hatchery, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary or the new Bow River Weir Project called Harvie Passage; anatural water park that replaces the hazardous weir.

Or venture north across the Bow River and follow paved paths past the zoo, over the wooded St. Patrick Island and then east to the new East Village Development. With any luck, the food trucks will be parked in the East Village and you’ll have lunch on one of the new comfy lounge chairs overlooking the Bow River. Take the Elbow River Pathway south and walk south towards the Saddledome. Watch for Great Horned owls perched in the Poplar trees. A set of stairs, across from the second bridge that leads to Stampede Park (marked by an area enclosed by a chain-link fence), is your secret passage back to the top of Scotsman’s Hill.

Walking goes against the grain of our multi-tasking car culture. The purpose of an urban hike is observation and exploration. Your walking pace enables you to change your route mid-stride, investigate a side-street, stop for a coffee or appreciate a view. Walking is also a wonderful time to go solo and think, to visit with friends, and to improve your fitness level. It’s this change of pace from your jam-packed city life that makes urban hiking potentially habit forming. So the next time you need a break, a mini-getaway from the routine of life, a new perspective, just step out in your own city. You won’t believe what you’ll find in your own backyard!

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Urban Hike and Bike, Douglas Fir Trail, Bow River to Elbow River Pathways

June 11, 2012
lori
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On a beautiful June day I headed out on my bike from my home in Marda Loop area, through South Calgary, Bankview and Scarboro to the Bow River Pathway. My destination was Edworthy Park to hike the Douglas Fir Trail. Urban hikes are one of my favourite pastime and the Douglas Fir Trail is a top notch wilderness trek in the heart of the city. Above the Bow River Pathway and the train tracks is a hill of stairs hidden amongst a stand of Douglas Fir trees. This challenging hike is a good spot to train for upcoming mountain hikes or multi-day wilderness adventures. It’s also an ideal summer hiking location since it is shaded throughout.

 

 

 

 

 

The vegetation is lush, by Calgary standards, due partly to the springs that trickle through the soil from the community of Wildwood above. These springs have also made the escarpment trail somewhat unstable. Mudslides have occurred and part of the trail is closed but it is easy to divert around the closed area, past the frog ponds and continue on your trek. Signage is clear and route options are easy to follow.

 

 

 

For an optimal fitness outing, head back up and over the Douglas Fir Trail on your return to your bike or for a relaxing flat return, follow the paved Bow River Pathway. Above the Edworthy Park parking lot of the south side of the river is a favourite training hill for all those people who are planning to hike the West Coast Trail or Nepal or for cross-country skiers in the Fall. Climb this hill and enjoy a fantastic view of the downtown core and the Bow River.

 

 

 


Back on my bike, I cycled to the north side of the Bow River. If you need a snack break, stop at Angel’s coffee shop for breakfast, lunch or a homemade muffin and coffee.  Post snack break it’s eastbound along the Bow, past downtown to the East Village near Inglewood. Head south along the Elbow River Pathway, past the Stampede Grounds, through Lindsay Park, back to Elbow Park and home.Another successful active urban adventure!

The combination of cycling and hiking is a great way to get a 3 or more hour active outing in Calgary. When you don’t have the time to head out of the city for a full day of wilderness adventure, or you don’t feel like driving, why not fill your morning or evening with an active urban adventure? You won’t believe what you’ll find in your own backyard!

 

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Northbound Family Cycle /Calgary transit combo adventure

May 25, 2012
lori
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Active Urban Adventure Series

Mount Royal – Sunnyside LRT- Crowfoot LRT- Scenic Acres- Bowmont Park- Edworthy Park- home

This northbound cycle/transit is the second instalment in my active urban adventure series. These self-propelled urban adventures are a way to travel the city without your car. I am an advocate of choosing a lifestyle, not a gym; of integrating physical fitness into everyday. I hope you will be inspired to create your own self-propelled urban adventures with friends and family. Join me now as my family and I travel from Mount Royal, SW on bike to the Sunnyside LRT. We’ll travel the train to the Crowfoot LRT and then cycle home through suburbia side-streets, treed ravines to Rocky Mountain viewpoints and a picnic lunch in Bowmont Natural Environment Park. Self-propelled living; start ’em young and they’ll enjoy the health benefits for life.



Marda Loop to Crowfoot LRT and back:
Another 25 km cycle and transit day 

With our panniers full of food, we headed our bikes northward, along the side streets of Bankview and into Scarboro, SW. Traveling on roads can be challenging with children, so we stick to the least busy side streets we can find. I repeat my urban biking mantra, “pay attention and watch for cars pulling out, opening doors and basically not seeing you”. Brainwashing my kids to be extra vigilant while on a bike is my goal. We cycled our way t0 the 14 Street sidewalk and stayed on the sidewalk while traveling under the CP rail train tracks. Soon we were travelling east on the Bow River Pathway; destination Sunnyside LRT!

Last week our LRT experience at Erlton was an uncomfortable lesson in mental illness. Sunnyside LRT has many more people on the platform that Erlton did at the same time of day and most of them seem to be SAIT and the U of C students. A group of drama students sported crazy wigs, nutty hats and clown-like outfits. No electronic device can compete with live, adult silliness; the kids were mesmerized.

 

Arrival Crowfoot LRT; beautiful and clean but not set up for bikes

The LRT stations are almost ready for cyclists but not quite. Each train car allows two bikes and the bikes must enter at the end of the car (not in the centre). There are signs that tell cyclists where they can enter. This is a great set-up and it is easy to navigate. It’s when you arrive at a station, such as Crowfoot, that you may need to be creative. We used the escalator to move our bikes up to the pedestrian overpass and then into the suburban neighbourhood of Scenic Acres. At this point we cracked open the bike path map. Small print warning: the fonts on the bike path map are EXTREMELY small (at least for this mum). I suggest that you travel with a city map booklet to cross-reference your route or if you have your iPhone handy,try the Calgary bike path app.

We made our way to Scenic Acres Blvd. and then found the bike path that traveled through a natural ravine park tucked in amongst the homes. This treed suburban oasis soon opened up to Scenic Acres Park; a sports park with soccer fields, tennis courts and some top notch public basketball courts. I wished I had packed a basketball amongst all the food so we could shoot some hoops.

 

Bowmont Natural Environment Park

Soon we were whizzing downhill on the pathway that runs parallel to Nose Hill Drive and into Bowmont Natural Environment Park (Map link). Bowmont is a mixed use park with a paved pathway running thoughout and many narrow dirt trails that skirt the escarpments and drop into the ravines. These off trail routes are popular with hikers and mountain bikers alike. We stuck to the main trail and climbed the short, steep paved path trail to a lookout where LUNCH WAS SERVED!! Leftover pizza, pb and j sandwiches, almonds, fruit, cookies and chocolate. Energy food is critical!

 

 

Views from our lunch spot included Canada Olympic Park, the Rockies to the west, the Bow River below and the tip-tops of Calgary’s downtown towers reaching out of the concrete.

Back on the bikes we continued high up overlooking the ravine trails, past the Waterfall Valley boardwalk. This is a great spot to jump off the bike, lock it up and hike down the boardwalk to the mini waterfall flowing over a calcium carbonate deposit called tufa. Want to know more about tufa and the geology and natural history of Bowmont park? Click here.

 

 

 

Home Road bike lanes to Shouldice and Edworthy Parks: picnic central

 

The bike lanes on Home Road are fantastic and I sure hope the city will continue to bring more dedicated bike lanes, preferably with barriers between the bikes and cars, to more areas. A downhill coast on Home Road lead us to the Bow River Pathway. Soon we were soaking up smells of barbecue sausages and the sounds of families having fun in the great outdoors. Shouldice Park (Map link) is a picturesque spot along the Bow River and has lots of picnic tables making is a favourite spot for family gatherings on sunny summer evenings and weekends.

Onward along the Bow River Pathway to Edworthy Park, another picnic mecca. Angels Cafe, the only cafe in Edworthy Park, was doing a brisk business and the line-up was long so we didn’t stop for an ice-cream, but decided to peddle on with the plan of having a treat at home. We crossed to the south side of the Bow River and traveled east on the Bow River Pathway. Roller bladders, walkers and cyclists were out in full force. We cycled past one of my favourite urban hikes, the Douglas Fir Trail in Edworthy Park. It’s a trail of stairs tucked in a stand of Douglas Fir Trees below the community of Wildwood. It’s a perfect shady hiking route on a hot summer day.

 

Homeward bound: the Pumphouse Theatre, Scarboro, Bankview and home
4 hours later

 

The Bow River Pathway on the south side is a windy ride through the poplars. We got stopped by one train and watched many more chugg on by. We climbed through the community of Scarboro and then in to Bankview. The final climbs of the day were followed by a big ice cream cone at home. Another successful self-propelled Calgary adventure!

 

 

 

 

Next Adventure: Head south and cycle east! Fish Creek Park, Carburn Park, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and continue along the Bow River Pathway through the East Village until we find ice cream or food trucks!

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Family Cycle /Calgary transit combo adventure

May 14, 2012
lori
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Active Urban Adventure Series

Do you want to be more active with your family? Perhaps you are motivated to bike and walk for the exercise or as a alternate way to get to know Calgary. Or maybe you’d like a local vacation, a “stay cation”, this summer; much cheaper than heading out of town and paying for hotels and meals and activities for the family. I enjoy active urban adventuring for all of those reasons and also, in order to get my kids hooked on self-propelled transport. Our 7 year old can bike up to 30km and our 10 year old is a cycle commuter, 8 km return to school every day, all year. So we decided to do some transit / bike ride combo adventures as a family. Start ’em young and they’ll enjoy the health benefits for life.

 

Marda Loop to Fish Creek Park and back:
Our 25 km cycle and transit day 

 

It’s 9am on a Saturday and we’re heading south, first on bikes, followed by the train and then back on our bikes.  We cycled from our house near the Marda Loop area, along the Elbow River Pathway, through Lindsay Park to the Erlton LRT. Erlton LRT is not the best set-up for bikes however, and although we could enter the platform from the south end, we still had to go inside the transit building and up the stairs to purchase tickets.

 

Calgary cycle/transit adventure lesson 1: Know where the Help button is located and don’t be afraid to use it.

Self-propelled urban adventures offer many teachable moments, some more enjoyable than others. We were able to teach our kids that cities are full of all types of people. On Saturday morning at 9:30 at Erlton LRT, we shared the platform with a mentally ill man.  He threatened to push me onto the tracks and ranted and yelled while our kids watched. After he left we had a good chat about what to do when someone is scary. Good to know, but not a great start. We followed that lesson by another sad lesson in Lysterine consumption and straphanger acrobatics; impressive back flips using the straps that hang from the ceiling. These folks did not threaten in any way, but my 10 year old son watched the help button closely. These unexpected urban lessons will stick with our kids and they will be more aware because of them.

 

Calgary cycle/transit adventure lesson 2: Fish Creek Park is a a cycling, hiking mecca!

We exited the train at the Fish Creek station and cycled into the park. Fish Creek Provincial Park is one of Canada’s largest urban provincial parks. The park extends from the Tsuu Tina Nation reserve in the west more than 20 kilometres to the Bow River in the east. We cycled west from Macleod Trail along tree lined pathways, criss-crossing Fish Creek to the picnic tables at the Shannon Terrace trailhead. We had been gone from home for two hours and it was time for lunch! The post lunch pathway ride to the Glenmore Reservoir was a net downhill and we zipped along without effort. We opted to head east around the the reservoir in order to avoid the hill climb to North Glenmore Park, out at the Weaslehead. The kayaks, sailboats and Inland Gulls were enjoying Calgary’s largest body of water. The pathway was in full use by walkers and joggers, strollers and cyclists. We continued past Heritage Park and heard the train disguised as Thomas the Tank Engine. Soon we were enjoying Reservoir and Rocky Mountains camera worthy views from the path alongside the Rocky View Hospital. And this is when my daughter asked, “Are we almost at My Favourite Ice Cream Shop”?

 

Calgary cycle/transit adventure lesson 3: Ice cream is a motivator!

We all know it is true, ice cream (beer) motivates. Have fun with your outing and make sure to reward your kids along the way and after a good long cycle with a tasty treat, or popcorn and a movie or a bonfire and roasted hotdogs; whatever your family enjoys. The great thing about urban adventures is that there are many pitstop options along the way. We continued across the Glenmore Dam and into Altadore for the promised ice cream cone. And yes, the kids slept very well that night.

 

Next Adventure: Head north on the Long Weekend! We’ll cycle to Kensington LRT and ride the rails north to Crowfoot station. We’ll peddle through Bowmont Park, Bowness, Edworthy Park, along the Bow River Pathway past the East Village to Inglewood and take the Elbow River Pathway all the way home.

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