Scenic Trails Tap Into Some of Calgary's Natural Resources

Scenic Trails Tap Into Some of Calgary's Natural Resources

Calgary is a city of trails. Anyway, that's what they call them out here in the Big Country: the Barlow, the Glenmore, the Macleod, the Deerfoot, the Crowchild, Blackfoot and Peigan Trails. Most of them are four-lane highways that take you around and out of the city. Then there is the Weaselhead Trail. It brings you back to nature.

Weaselhead Flats is an area in the park around the Glenmore reservoir in southwest Calgary that has been left in a natural resource state for hikers and cyclists. From the moment you turn your back on the city where 37th Street stops just past the Sarcee military barracks, you enter a miniature world of prairie parkland.

The trail begins on a bluff high above the Elbow River. In the distance, puffy clouds soar above a serrated horizon where the Rocky Mountains cut across a summer-blue sky. Tawny-colored gophers lurk in the dried grass beside the trail or stand alert beside their holes, whistling sweetly. Cocky magpies strut about and cheerful robins confidently go about their affairs. There are always other people, cyclists, hikers, dog- walkers and young mothers or fathers with baby strollers on the trail, but never many.

The paved pathway leads down a steep hill, across a bridge over the river and into a thicket that is home to a multitude of sharp-eyed chickadees. At the end of this long straightaway a sharp curve leads into a series of delightful scene changes.

A dappled path winds through a glade of trembling aspen to a marshy flatland. Frogs croak, then stop, and start again when you have passed by. Despite the heat of the day, the air is cool in the shade.

A short steep grade, down which reckless youngsters on bicycles hurtle with their hand brakes screeching, turns into a long, winding climb through willow and poplar groves edged in splashy color where clumps of yellow buffalo beans and violet vetches bloom.

At the top of the hill a wide field opens out on one side and the distant mountains once more become part of the picture. The wind sweeps across the field smelling of hay and prairie sage. Banks of evergreens along the Glenmore Reservoir add their clean scent and the sailboats on the water come into view.

Beyond this are the towers of commerce in the city centre. You can turn your back on the city again or continue for hours.

The Weaselhead Trail, which becomes a lovely cross-country ski trail in winters when there is snow, links up to a 16-kilometre pathway around the reservoir, which join a number of other pathways including the Elbow River, Bow River and Nose Creek routes. Calgary's bicycle-hiking trail system runs from one end of the city to the other and covers roughly 130 kilometres through parks, along rivers and on city streets, where most crossings are protected.

An excellent map, which includes a summary of traffic laws for cyclists, safety tips and a list of facilities to be found in the various parks and natural resource areas, is available from the City of Calgary Parks and Recreation Department.