Spring is here, the days are longer, and we’re all itching to spend more time outside in the evenings after school and work. Below, I’ve come up with five different ways your family can get more active together over the next couple of months while waiting for summer to arrive.
I’ve chosen activities that can be enjoyed altogether as a family, that won’t break the bank, and that can be done in an evening or over a sunny weekend afternoon, without leaving the city.
Try Geocaching in city parks around Calgary. Take a walk and search for treasure at the same time! Get started by loading the Geocaching app on your smartphone and bring a small kit with you that should include a few trinkets or toys that you will trade with other small items you find in the caches, a pencil for signing logbooks, and paper in case the logbook is full.
To get started, you won’t need to pay for the Geocaching app, but as you get more serious about the activity, you’ll want to purchase an annual subscription so that you’ll have access to a larger collection of caches to find around the city.
Drop in for a Foothills Orienteering Club event and develop some teamwork skills. The Foothills Orienteering Club welcomes newcomers to all of their events where you can walk, jog, or run as fast as you can to reach checkpoints on a detailed map. Tell the kids you’re training for The Amazing Race and skip the indoor treadmill for an evening.
Events always have options suitable for all ages and levels, and a volunteer will be on hand to explain the sport to your family. Find more information at orienteeringcalgary.ca.
Brush up on your cycling skills at one of Calgary’s asphalt pump tracks. Bike pump tracks are flowy circuits made up of rollers and rounded corners, and the asphalt ones take skateboard parks to a whole new level! Most people use bikes at a pump track, but I’ve seen skateboards, scooters and even in-line skates at the asphalt parks around Calgary.
Locations around Calgary:
South Glenmore Park. The closest parking lot is located at 3520 90 Avenue SW. The pump track can be found by heading slightly east on the Elbow River pathway.
Fairview Bike Park. Located at the southwest end of Flint Park at 7800 Flint Road SE. There is no parking on site, so you’ll have to park on a nearby street and walk/ride to the park.
Inglewood Bike Park. Located at the northeast end of the greenspace near 7 Avenue and 20 Street SE. We always follow the Bow River paved pathway to access this park, starting from the Pearce Estate Park. It’s a five minute bike ride heading north on the pathway.
West Confederation Park. Located on the southeast corner of West Confederation Park off 19 Street NW. There is parking on the street beside the bike park.
Learn to play disc golf at one of Calgary’s family-friendly courses. All you’ll need to get started is a flying disc for each person playing, or you can purchase a starter kit from any sports store, like Canadian Tire. The rules are generally the same as basic golf. Start at the tee-off area, throw your disc down the fairway, and aim for the basket on each hole.
Our favorite course is Baker Park in NW Calgary, located across the river from Bowness Park. We find it to be interesting with a lot of variety, and generally good for novice players. You can view all disc golf courses across Calgary here: calgarydiscgolf.com/courses.
Discover birdwatching as a family this spring. The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre is Calgary’s number one destination for birdwatching, and to date, 270 species of birds have been recorded at the sanctuary. The park is also a popular place to spot beavers swimming around in the Bow River.
Fish Creek Provincial Park is also a great place to go looking for birds and wildlife, with over 200 bird species observed here.
For families living in the north, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park is another birdwatching hot spot.
“Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park contains some of the last remaining foothills fescue grassland, as well as a scattered mosaic of wetlands and wooded areas. This diverse habitat provides home to a wide variety of bird species.” – Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation
Families can register for guided birding tours on the ranch where you’ll access remote corners of the park by golf cart. Expect to see or hear up to 50 different species of birds, including the Mountain Bluebird and possibly even a turkey vulture if you’re lucky. Visit the Ranch website for more information at grpf.ca.
Have fun exploring the parks and natural areas around Calgary with your family this spring!
Tanya loves hiking, camping, skiing and all things mountain-related. Tanya is the author of the blog, Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies, rockiesfamilyadventures.com, and the creator of the Calgary Family Adventure Community on Facebook.
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