ALBERTA'S MOUNTAIN PLAYGROUNDS

Come on a trip and I will show you some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world if you are prepared to park the car and take to the hills. Situated just west of Calgary Alberta Canada these are the places I, and a number of friends, spend many hours.

     I am an ex Englishman who fell in love with Western Canada back in 1965. Having spent my youth with the Boy Scouts roaming the hills and dales of Yorkshire and the high peaks of the Lake District the mountains to the west of Calgary made me again long for my youth.   When my son reached the teenage stage he took up where I had left off and my youth returned with both of us going on hiking and camping trips away from the city noise and traffic. The inevitable happened and he and his friends outgrew the efforts of a slowed down dad and I lost my hiking companion to a group of boys with a love of the outdoors.

             When I retired from full time work I joined a group of seniors who showed me that you are not dead at 65 and they got me into a physical shape such that I can again enjoy the exercise and exhilaration of climbing a mountain.

    As a member of the one of many Seniors Outdoors Clubs in Calgary, I enjoy the weekly outings to the Rockies just west of town, for the glorious scenery, animals in their natural habitat and healthy (strenuous) exercise with some of the fittest grandparents you can find anywhere.

    The locations listed have been chosen for their close proximity to Calgary.   The hikes can be completed in a day and you can still be home in time for supper.

    If you come during December through March bring your x-country skis.   You can't do the mountain climbing but the Parks Staff compact the snow on a number of hiking and cycling trails. These trails in many cases go up some pretty steep slopes, so come and learn the "art of skiing up hill", and the exhilaration of coming down a twisting path with the trees less than 20ft apart.

    I have split the hikes into three groups shown at the top of this page, so click on each one to see the list of hikes in that area and details of each.

LUNCH WITH A FRIEND

Hike Schedule 2003.doc