Sometimes I really don’t feel like making the hour-long plus trip into the mountains to hike and soak up some nature. It’s a good thing then that Calgary and its immediate surrounding area are jam-packed with world-class city parks. Glenbow Ranch is one of them, located a cool 20-minute drive from my front door to the Eastern border of neighbouring Cochrane.
Glenbow Ranch, formerly an actual functioning ranch, was sold to the government of Alberta and officially opened its doors in 2011. Many remnants of the former ranch still exist, such as old cattle corrals and barn houses, that add to the charm and sense of the historical value of the location. This park mainly consists of rolling prairie hills interwoven with several kilometres of pedestrian and bike paths. Besides the occasional train passing by, this area really felt like a step back in time on the prairies, with sight of the city blocked by the hills and the view West to the mountains wide open. The local ecozone is one that I personally love, a mix of aspen groves and low-lying prairie brush such as sage and wild rose bushes. Cattle still frequent the area, as well as the occasional bear, bobcat, moose, deer, and even mountain lion apparently. I did not see any fauna during my time there, however, besides the occasional raven swooping overhead. The trail we took was laden with what I assume was bear scat though, who was probably there feasting on berries the night before.
We arrived at midday on a weekend and expectedly shared the trails with many other people. Parking was slim pickings, but we eventually squeezed into a spot off the side of the road (whether or not that was a legal place to park is not entirely known, but there were others there before me, so I took the chance). Like the rest of the crowds in attendance probably, the goal was to experience some of the great Fall colours, and we were not disappointed. The Aspen groves had all simultaneously turned a shimmering golden yellow. Various other plants blanketing the hills ranged from orange to red in colour. The sky was perfectly clear and the temperature was unseasonably warm, rising well above 20 degrees Celsius. It was reminiscent of a desert-like environment at times.
I need to revisit to experience some more of the trails in Glenbow Ranch, and given its proximity to the city, I will definitely have no problem doing that. This time around I took a trail that snaked through the hills and visited many of the wooded areas near the park’s entrance. Next time think I will take one of the paths that lead South down to the Bow River. As usual, parks are what you make of them, and even a simpler one like Glenbow Ranch can take many visits to completely discover.
