Glenbow Ranch

Sat. 13 August:  Glenbow Ranch

This brand new Provincial Park only opened up last Tuesday.  But word gets around fast, and having visited it today, it’s no surprise it is already wildly popular.

Glenbow Ranch sits alongside the Bow River west of Calgary, and east of Cochrane.  It has remained totally unspoiled, as up until recently it was a working ranch under private ownership.  To east and to west, large homes have sprung up on the prairie, but here, apart from the Canadian Pacific railway running through the property, there has been no development on the land.

You have to know it’s here, as there are no signs on the highway yet, but a gravel road - Glenbow Road -   takes you off the high prairies halfway down to the Bow Valley.  From the car park, various trail systems head west and east into the hills and down into the valley.  Today I walked over fourteen kilometers from one end of the park to the other:  beside the railway – with freight trains passing by about every half hour – then up into the open grassy hills, back down into the valley, across the railway to the edge of the Bow River, and back again.

At the start, I had the place to myself.  By the end, it was a busy summer’s afternoon and the car park was full.  I saw deer, buzzards, cattle standing by the edge of the wide river, and a duck happily swimming around a small pond.  

It is the views which take one’s breath away.  Below the rounded grassy hillsides, the green Bow Valley gives way to open prairies, with the line of mountains on the western horizon.  To the east, the valley narrows as it passes between steep hillsides, while the tall skyscrapers of the city rise above the rolling landscape.

There is a large visitor centre where a friendly warden was directing people to different areas of the park, as a constant stream of visitors came down the hill from their cars.  Driving back up the hill, I saw a cat perched on the top of a tall power pole. Some kind person had called for help, and I soon passed the fire engine carefully making its way down the hillside to rescue the marooned animal.

With its paved bike paths, gravel trails, and its views, Glenbow Ranch will quickly become a favourite outing for Calgarians. It deserves the popularity it will very quickly gain.

Statistics
Glenbow Ranch
Sat. 13 August
Total Dist.	14.4 km (hike)
Height Gain	400 ft.
Max. Elev.	3,970 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 51 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:       7.37 am Ret. to car:    11.28 am	Temp:+12 to +23 deg.C Sunny, light W. breeze