Afternoon weekend matinee at the Rosebud Theatre . . . . do the brunch, walk around the village a bit and then into the Opera House for the play.
Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller . . . . there's an abandoned coal mine out there and a suspension bridge across the river around there too.
Doesn't Pincher Creek have a kite festival coming up in August?
I think the High River chuckwagon races are coming up next weekend.
Go out to Kananaskis via Longview . . . . lots of picnic sites and trails thataway that aren't overcrowded. Beautiful day drive.
On the way to the summit via that route, there's a tough but rewarding walk up to Picklejar Lakes via Lantern Creek as per the picture below from a few weeks ago . . . .
For something easier, there's a nice and fairly short walk around the south side of Upper Kananaskis Lake to a waterfall if you're dragging a baby along.
Cut down the forestry trunk road from Kananaskis Lakes, via Shark Mountain and come out at Canmore. Lots of walks along that road as well, including Chester Lake.
The Bluerock area west of Turner Valley, also in Kananaskis, has some nice walking. There's a loop which I think is called "Furlan Trail" that goes up a ridge for some nice views, then down the other side onto the "Death Valley Trail," then you can walk back on the other side of the highway along the Sheep Trail with some nice canyon views.
Also, the Indian Oils parking lot out by Bluerock has nice trails - either Indian Oils itself - or go down to the river, cross a bridge and then through a gate on the south side of the Sheep River . . . . . about 30 or 40 minutes of fairly easy, undulating walking . . . . if you're ambitious, you really have to listen and work to get to a beautiful waterfall along the way. Watch out for the rampaging horses on the trail!!!
On Highway 549 west of Okotoks, at the Millarville Church, there's an obscure road that says "River Ford." Go down there and do some river walking if the water level is down. . . . or just take some lawn chairs and put them in the middle of the stream and sit awhile. Stay out of the way though as its a crossing point for vehicles, there's a concrete pad under the water. The water is up and pretty dirty right now but mid-summer its like a hot bath. Riverways are government property so you can walk a long ways right down the middle and take an occasional swim in a pool.
Brown-Lowery Park, on Plummer's Road southwest of Calgary. An obscure little gem you have to search for. A complete circumference takes about two hours of walking and that includes an impressive viewpoint. Nice place to go on a windy day as you're deep in the forest. There's moose and deer in there too.
That's all for now . . . . . the Picklejar Lakes via Lantern Creek route. The highway and parking lot are somewhere way, way down the valley:
Cowperson
Favourite Day Trips around Calgary?
