Last summer Blake and I went hiking at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. This new Alberta park near Cochrane sits on the site of the old Cochrane Ranch, Glenbow town and sandstone quarry. It features a visitor centre, picnic tables and washrooms, paved biking trails along with gravel hiking paths, all with interpretive signage. The trails meander over prairie and through aspen groves, and several parallel the Bow River, although a couple trails remained closed from the flooding that happened in June.
The views are pretty and the hiking is not difficult, so I took the kids for a hike there mid-week. We walked the Yodel Loop, a trail that park staff estimated was “a couple of kilometres.”
Looking down at the Bow River from a viewpoint at Glenbow Ranch.
We set out down the main paved pathway, then cut left onto a gravel trail that ascended up a switchback to a ridge overlooking the river, with fields of canola — and the Rocky Mountains — in the distance. This should’ve been my first clue to take it easy as the children were already guzzling water and walking slowly as if in a heat-induced trance. Indeed, that’s the problem with hiking on bald-ass prairie = no shade (we did wander through a small aspen grove half way through the hike and enjoyed respite from the sun).
The park would also benefit from identifying its trails, as well as marking exact distances — nowhere along the route did we see a sign that said “Yodel Loop” or any indication of how much farther we had to go. The hike was closer to three kilometres (or slightly more) and I may have reconsidered walking it with kids on such a hot day had I known the actual length beforehand. Fortunately I had taken a picture of the park trail system on my iPhone and referred to it periodically to figure out where we were:
Make sure you have a trail map to navigate the park, as paths are not marked.
Some hike highlights: Avery caught a grasshopper, I loved all the wildflowers adjacent to the path, and Bennett liked it when I poured the contents of my water bottle over his head to cool him down.
The low point? When Bennett declared, “I’m tired Mommy… and I’m hot,” then plopped down in the middle of the trail when we were still more than a kilometre from the car. After a bribe of apple slices and more cold water he rallied and completed the hike under his own power. Next time we’ll bring even more water and perhaps a parasol for shade.
Bennett forges ahead on the Yodel Loop hike at Glenbow Ranch.
Cool activities for kids at Glenbow Park
If you’re looking for summer camps or even half day activities for children, the park has a full schedule of programs for kids. We live too far from Glenbow Ranch to consider them, but for families in Calgary’s northwest the Little Naturalists camp running July 22-26 for kids aged 7-9 sounds pretty awesome.
Drink - Play - Love 