Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Fullerton Loop is a Good Early Season Hike in Kananaskis' Elbow Valley

Figuring out where to go hiking in the spring or fall can be a challenge, with or without kids. In the Calgary area, the Elbow Valley trails west of Bragg Creek on Highway 66 are usually a good bet. At the eastern edge of the Rockies/western edge of the foothills, these trails are often clear enough of snow to hike as early as April and as late as November.

Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies. 

Following the pathway along the Elbow River

Last April we checked out the Fullerton Loop with a group of parents and kids. Starting at the far east end of the parking area at Allen Bill Pond, we turned left and followed the north bank of the Elbow River under the highway. At the sign marking where the Fullerton Loop path leaves the Elbow River path, we turned left again on a well worn path until we reached the Y-intersection of the loop. Here we chose the less steep path to hiker's right and did the loop counterclockwise. From there, the 6.5 km trail is straightforward, winding up through the trees for 200 m before dropping back down.

A break from the trees

This isn't a trail I'd recommend in the summer
when you have much more interesting trails to choose from. Around the halfway point you start to get some nice views of the Elbow Valley, but it's mainly a nice stroll through the forest. Not exactly the "fun" hiking experience I look for when selecting a trail for kids. Luckily, we had enough kids that spontaneous adventure broke out shortly after the first "How much further?" was uttered. But if it's spring or fall and you want to get out to the mountains on an avalanche risk-free trail, Fullerton Loop is fine. If you go with a group of kids who can entertain each other, I'd even say it's great.

Distance: About 6.5 km return
Elevation gain: About 200 meters
Hiking/Exploring Time: 1.5 to 4 hours
Driving Directions: Heading south on Highway 22 from the Trans-Canada, go straight through the traffic circle. At Bragg Creek, turn left at the four-way stop. You'll come to a T-intersection. Turn right onto Highway 66. Follow this until you reach the Allen Bill Pond day use area on the left.

The view of the Elbow Valley

Calgary Climbing Walls for Kids: Belays and Basketballs at Mount Royal University

It may lack the atmosphere and cred of a standalone climbing center, and it may not be as big in terms of number of walls, but the climbing center at Mount Royal University makes up for this with access to the climbing wall, recreation center gyms, the swimming pool and more at no additional cost.

Like most recreation centers, the climbing wall at Mount Royal is definitely family-friendly. If you aren't a regular climbers and just want to have a couple hours of fun climbing with your kids, but find most climbing centers intimidating, Mount Royal is for you. The Saturday afternoon we were there, we shared the 40-foot walls with a 7-year-old's birthday part and a handful of "serious" (but friendly) climbers who were more than happy to give us advice on which walls were easiest. Mount Royal also offers a number of child/youth climbing courses and other programs, as well as an introductory course for adults that will teach you everything you need to know to belay your kids.

On this Saturday, we chose the climbing center at Mount Royal because our sons had climbed the there at summer camps the year before. Michael, now 8, has even said that he wants to go to Mount Royal when he's older because they a climbing wall. (Note to self: take boys climbing at the University of Calgary to expand their educational horizons.) New climbing walls mean passing new belay tests, so while we were demonstrating our ability to keep our kids and each other from hitting the floor, Michael and Mack got a head start with a little bouldering. Once our test passed, the boys tied themselves in, we checked their knots, they checked our belay set ups, and we spent two hours top roping various routes before Mack and Michael said they'd had enough.

But we weren't done for day. As we were gathering up our stuff, Michael announced he wanted to do more sports. At Mount Royal the drop-in fee includes use of the entire facility, not just the climbing wall. Had we known this, we would have packed a little differently. The only footwear I had were my day hikers, and Mack was wearing his winter boots. Undeterred, we checked out a basketball (no charge!) and we spent an hour in the main gym playing a game called bumps that Mack taught us. Next time we'll bring our swim suits and maybe racket ball rackets. Or a soccer ball and play a little indoor soccer. And running shoes for everyone.

Happy World Water Day from the Canadian Rocky Mountains: What's your favorite mountain water photo?

What do the mountains have to do with the oceans? As Jean-Michel Cousteau pointed out over dinner one evening at the Jean-Michel Cousteau family camp on Catalina Island, many mighty rivers that flow into the ocean begin as drops of melt water on glaciers. So in order to save the oceans, we also have to save the mountains.

Here are my top 5 mountain water photos. What are yours?

Tryst Lake in Kananaskis: On a kids hike we discovered fairy shrimp in a frigid alpine lake.

Heart Creek in Kananaskis

Athabasca Glacier in Banff, Alberta

The natural Lussier Hot Springs in Whiteswan Provincial Park, British Columbia

The Point Backcountry Campsite on Upper Kananaskis Lake

Raising Outdoor Kids: Teach them to pick up one piece of litter every day

Before

After

With spring comes many changes in Calgary. The days are longer, the weather is warmer and you can enjoy both by getting outside and having fun after supper. It's also the time of year when the snow  begins its final melt, revealing a winter's worth of litter on the ground underneath.

Imagine how much less litter there would be if everyone picked up just one piece of litter every day. With a population of over a million people, that would translate to 365 million fewer pieces of garbage on the ground. Now extend that across Canada...

Growing up, I learned to do this by watching my father. Whether we were running errands in the city or out for a walk in the woods, he would pick up pretty much every piece of garbage he came across. It's not that he was a rabid environmentalist, either. A conservative with a small C, taking care of your environment and being a good citizen were just the right things to do. (Seems to me Alberta's and Canada's big C Conservatives could learn a thing or too from my dad, but that's a post for a different blog.)

I'm somewhat less diligent in this regard than he was, but hopefully my kids are still learning to pick up garbage by watching me. Just in case they aren't, when they get home from school today I'll have "the talk" with them--and then we'll go outside and put those words into action as we play.

Youth bodsleigh test athlete narrowly averts calamity in demonstration run

Unless you're part of the extreme sport community, you probably aren't aware of the risks athletes take in the development of new sports. On a recent demonstration of one of our newest sports at Lake Louise ski resort, a videographer from the Big Grey Rocks New Sport Development Lab (B5L) caught test athlete Mack brush with disaster when he had a gear malfunction. However, thanks to Mack's training, skill and quick thinking, he walked away from the incident unharmed.