Shortly after hiking the Douglas Fir Trail I revisited the area to wander the much easier terrain of the Bow River Pathway. It was a super hot day and I’d walked a lot so I didn’t get all the way downtown as intended but I did get a couple of cool photos.
This is a nice easy walk for me to complete when the skeeters die off by at least 75% as they are currently at a 15/1 ratio to humans after all the rain we’ve been having. Sigh.
Okay so Christmas is my favourite holiday and I’m a smidge obsessed with the lights. I’m quite possibly the type to have an apartment or house that looks like the nicer side of a Stranger Things episode all year round. Sparkly, colourful celebrations in the snow…what’s not to love?
I have visited Confederation Park only once and was very impressed with the Park. It seems to go on almost endlessly so I will have to return and explore the parts of the park I missed during my last visit.
Bowness Park is one of my favourite parks in the city alongside Edworthy and Baker directly across the Bow River. I typically end up in the area around sunset and it offers a lot of photography opportunities as the park is surrounded by water and trees. During the holidays and sometimes at night they light up the trees in white Christmas lights which adds a romantic element to the evening. They rent out canoes, paddle boats etc during the day to putter around the park which makes this park fairly unique.
The Varsity neighbourhood is very picturesque. It’s home to established Calgarians and students alike. It’s close to the river, has lots of greenery and feels like a typical higher end suburb. One of my favourite local coffee shops and book chains are in the area so I wander up in that direction fairly often.
Vancouver is my favourite Canadian city after travelling across the country and seeing all the beauty in this country. The environment is picturesque in British Columbia and there is lots to do, see and eat in Vancouver. I’ve been to the city a number of times both on vacation and with work and it never gets old to me.
Some places I would suggest you check out if you visit the Vancouver area:
Edworthy Park is one of my favourite parks in the city but I frequently visit and needed some new challenge when we stumbled upon the entrance to an amazing inner city hiking trail. The trail entrance forks between the Bow River Pathway and the Douglas Fir Trail. The Bow River pathway looks to be flat and not very challenging whereas the Douglas Fir Trail had a quaint little warning about how it’s not maintained, not suitable for pets and small children and is one of those enter at your own risk types.
I feel like I have the fitness level of a 300 lb man who’s diet consists of double cheeseburgers and smokes at least a pack a day so why not take this on as a challenge? People speak of this moderation thing where you start gradually and build up to bigger challenges. I’m stubborn, determined and unaware of the concept of moderation. I’m also addicted to forests and trees so this seemed like a good time to throw some caution to the wind.
That day we travelled all the way downtown from Edworthy Park. My feet started a separatist movement to depart from my body in protest afterwards. 15 KM was an accomplishment and a cure for any quarantine boredom while social distancing like a pro. If you’re looking for an inner city wilderness challenge this is a great place to wander.
During this Covid-19 quarantine I’ve taken a lot of walks around the city to get a break from the inside of the four walls of my apartment. One of my favourite areas to explore was the Bowness trails along the Bow river. Bowness has now become one of my favourite neighbourhoods in the NW to wander. It has everything I love..trees, riverside pathways and a number of old bridges that used to transport trains back before Bowness was absorbed by the Calgary city limits.
I’ve also added a few shots from last year taken during one of the two glorious days of autumn that Calgary gets to bear witness to. The colour of these trees was the closest I’ve seen in Calgary to what I experienced and miss from Southern Ontario or coastal cities such as Vancouver, BC or Portland, OR.
