Calgary walk - Bow River Pathway Calgary

Route: Calgary

Area: Alberta, Canada

Date of walk: 4th October 2024

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 2.5 miles

Ascent: 100 feet

Weather: Mostly sunny

Our time in British Columbia ended today with a flight from Vancouver to Calgary, Alberta. With several hours to spare before our connecting flight to Edinburgh there was sufficient time to squeeze in a final walk by visiting Calgary. Calgary owes its rapid growth to its status as the centre of Canada’s oil industry and has a population of about 1.3 million. From Calgary International Airport we caught the 300 bus, which runs every 15 minutes or so, and after a journey of about 40 minutes we alighted in Chinatown, Downtown Calgary. We didn’t have a fixed route planned, but I’d previously heard about the Bow River Pathway and we decided to explore that as far as we could, given the time constraints of having to get back to the airport in time for our flight to Edinburgh

From the bus stop we walked through part of Chinatown towards to Bow River, where we joined the Pathway. The Bow River Pathway follows both the banks of the Bow River and consists of pedestrian and bicycle paths connecting parks on both sides of the river. It is used for cycling, hiking, jogging, as well as rollerblading and skateboarding. The paths are connected with a system that extends along the Elbow River and other areas of the city. Our walk would only cover a small section of the entire 30 mile length

We turned left at Centre Street Bridge, guarded by four lion sculptures, and followed the Pathway for a short distance before crossing a footbridge onto Prince’s Island Park

We followed a circular track around a wildlife area before joining a path which took us across the island to a bridge at its western end. We crossed over here and joined the Bow River Pathway again, which we followed under Centre Street Bridge for a short distance before heading south into nearby Downtown Calgary. The soaring skyscrapers in the downtown area were a spectacular sight and we particularly enjoyed the ‘Wonderland’ bent wire structure in front of the Bow Building. We ended the walk near the Calgary Tower

I wish we’d had time to visit the top of the tower to enjoy the spectacular view, but we were nervous about missing our flight so we caught the nearby 300 bus back to the airport. This had been an unplanned walk following an improvised route, but I hope it will show a few of the highlights which Calgary has to offer

Farewell Canada. We’ve enjoyed fifteen fabulous walks here in as many days with a huge amount of variety, including snow clad mountains, azure lakes, pristine salmon rivers, grizzly bears and whales, ancient woodland, skyscrapers, parks and much more besides

Click on the icon below for the route map