Kids on Wheels - How to Create Your Own Junior Biker Gang

Following on the success of my last biking story on our newly formed biker gang, I wanted to write a second piece with encouragement on how to form your own "gang."

Members of our Junior Biker Gang take to the Elbow Valley

I don't profess to be a cycling expert and truth be told I only bought my first adult bike last summer,  but our son LOVES his bike!  The confidence he's built riding his little Strider balance bike has spread into all other areas of his life and we are now able to go for longer walks, faster hikes, and have more enjoyable outings.

First Mountain Bike Trails

It really doesn't have to be that complicated.  Start with your child's classmates from school, Sunday School class at church, soccer team, gymnastics class...etc.  Send out some emails to the other parents, and plan a date, location, and time.  Even if only one family comes out the first time, you will still have friends to ride with.

Group bike ride with our Outdoor Playgroup

Another Outdoor Playgroup Bike Ride

Take lots of photos, share them with the other families and guaranteed you'll have more families next time!  I've had a lot of requests to join my "gang" since writing the story on our ride through Bow Valley.

The Bow Valley Biker Gang

A few notes on why the "gang" approach works:

Peer Pressure, Peer Pressure, Peer Pressure

If you want your child to learn how to ride a bike, how to balance on a run bike without pedals, and eventually how to pedal on his first big boy or girl bike there is nothing like peer pressure as a teacher.  Last year my son tried in vain to ride his balance bike and couldn't figure out the whole - sit on your bum, lean forward, and paddle your legs out to the sides - concept.  He would walk his bike up hills, down hills, and on the flats.  There was no gliding and his feet never left the ground.  One weekend camping with his friend Brody however was all it took to show him some proper technique - and he was off.  One weekend!  I had tried for months!!

Balance and Confidence

I heard the same thing on our Bow Valley bike ride too.  "My son picked his legs up and glided for the first time after watching the other kids doing it."

The girl in the photo below told her mom that she didn't like mountain biking.  One day with my son and she's a convert!  Kids just need to see other kids having fun.

Gentle Trail Riding in the Elbow Valley

But remember - Patience - and lots of patience as well!

It takes time so don't rush it.  If your son or daughter doesn't want to ride, let him or her hike along with the other kids.  Most preschoolers can ride and run at roughly the same speed so mixed outings of biking and hiking work quite well.

They may start off walking but they'll eventually want to ride

Bike and Run together

We do a lot of group walks and we see kids show up on foot, on pedal bikes with or without training wheels, on balance bikes, and even on tricycles.   As long as you are all outside together, it's all good.  Some kids may just need more time before they want to ride a bike.

Group ride with our Outdoor Playgroup

Another Group ride with our playgroup - Strollers, Training wheels, scooters...

I'll be posting two more stories on biking with kids over the next week so check back for information on how to make biking fun and a great informative post on bike hiking - with local trail suggestions!

Camping Your Way Across North America

A couple years ago we planned a camping trip across the border into Washington and I discovered how hard it was to choose campgrounds without any local knowledge on a given area.  I spent hours with my head buried in library books as I quickly tried to become familiar with Mount Rainer National Park and the Olympic Peninsula outside Seattle.  I scoured the internet for the "best campgrounds," the "secret spots" that everybody should visit, and the "top 5 hiking trails" in each area.  By the time we headed to Washington I knew as much about the area as most local outdoor enthusiasts and I had booked us into some pretty sweet campgrounds!  I also had a detailed itinerary planned out of the hikes we'd do, sights we had to see, and places we absolutely had to go while in Northern Washington.  But, it was a LOT of work.  And not everybody thrives on research and trip planning like I do.

Ohanapacosh Campground, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

 I know that eventually we will plan another camping trip south and it terrifies me when I think of the effort it will take to plan that trip to Yellowstone National Park or Southern California.  I know nothing about Oregon but dream of camping my way down the coast.  I could spend a year in Utah and never fully explore all of the great National Parks there, and Colorado has all those sweet 14000ers that I want to climb.  Then I have to add Arizona so I can hike in the Grand Canyon and Alaska so I can say that I actually travelled to Alaska - that's reason enough to take the journey up there.  I've only scratched the surface of places I want to visit but all the planning involved for these life trips gets a bit overwhelming.

Kalaloch Campground, Olympic Peninsula, Washington

I know I'm not alone in making lists of all the great places I want to travel and visit, and I know I'm also not the only one out there wishing I could escape some of the work of preparing for these trips.  It was with this in mind that I decided to initiate a project with a great group of outdoor family bloggers to create a collection of our favourite campgrounds - across the whole of North America - and then share them with you!  It's my hope that you will bookmark and save this collection of campgrounds, and that it will inspire you to visit some of these awesome places across this beautiful continent of ours.  We've made sure Canada is represented as well so please head North and visit us too.

The Best Campgrounds Across North America

Canada

Alberta
The Best Provincial Park Campgrounds in Southern Alberta - Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies

Family Fun in Waterton Lakes National Park - Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies

Top 5 Backcountry Campgrounds in Banff National Park - The Campsite 

 British Columbia
The Best of West Coast Camping - Our Boler

Ontario
Camping in Ontario  - Active Kids Club

United States

Alaskans Share Their Favorite Campgrounds  - AK on the GO

Best Family Campgrounds of Washington - Odyssey Outdoors

Our Favorite Campgrounds in the Western US - Outside Mom

Sandflats Recreational Area, Moab, Utah - Kid Project

Classic Campsites: Murphy Hogback Campground, Canyonlands National Park, Utah  - Adventure Parents

My Top Favorite Campgrounds in the Moab Area, Utah - Adventure Tykes

Best Campgrounds in North America: Western Colorado Edition  - Brave Ski Mom

Camping at the City of Rocks, Idaho - Climb Run Lift Mom

Yellowstone Campground Review, Wyoming - Traveling Mel

West Coast Campground Review - Sweet Summer Spots to Relax & Recharge! - Mommy Hiker

San Elijo Sate Beach Camping, California - Walk Simply 

North America's Best Campgrounds - Dolly Copp Campground in Gorham, NH - Adventurous Moms 

North America's Best Campgrounds - Elkmont, Tennessee - Val in Real Life

North America's Best Campgrounds - Cloudland Canyon, Georgia - GA Family Camping

Click on the following link to find this collection on Pinterest. 

Are you a blogger with a great campground to share and tell us all about?  Let me know if you would like to be included in this project and I will add your link above.  This is only the beginning!

The Camping Project - 40+ Nights Baby!

Yes, you read that title correctly.  We are going to be camping over 40 nights this season between tonight and the end of September.  40 nights!!  That's a LOT of camping.  Thankfully, we bought a small trailer this winter and will transition to becoming a trailer-camping family starting this weekend.  I am not saying we will be doing RV camping because the word RV makes me think of a motor-home/tour bus large enough for Bon Jovi, his band, and their family members.  I guess I just don't like the word. 

What I want my summer to look like

I also want to be clear that this die-hard tenting family will still be seeking out natural campgrounds with outhouses, grass, and plenty of trees.  I've booked us into one RV Park in the Okanagan but that's only because it is so incredibly crazy and hard to find a campsite there at a provincial park that I gave up and went the easy route. 

We will also be doing two backcountry trips this summer so we will not be selling our tent and will always make it a priority to include pure and true "sleep on the ground"style camping in our life. We haven't completely sold out to comfort or glamping.

Backpacking will always have a spot in our schedule

 So, why am I calling this a camping project?  For a few reasons.  First, because I actually didn't really like camping until last summer.  Sad  but true.  To read about my transformation read the story I wrote last summer about Finding Your Camping Style.  Second,  because our family has never, I repeat never, camped this much in one season!  I have no idea in all honesty how it will work out.  We found last year that between packing, unpacking, and planning for each weekend's upcoming camping trip, we only had precious one or two days in the week when we weren't thinking about the last or next weekend. We're seriously hoping the trailer helps with this!! We've already loaded it with many things that we would have had to pack up every Friday.

Moments like this make the packing and unpacking all worth it

Here's the Camping Project Schedule for this 2013 Season:

Mother's Day:  First Camping Trip to the Elbow Valley

It's looking like a glorious weekend with a predicted high of 25 degrees Celsius on Saturday!  Thank you God because all I wanted for Mother's Day was to go camping.  (and maybe get a new SUP paddle)

We plan on doing a lot of bike hiking in the Paddy's Flat area and since the campground there is still closed, we'll be able to freely ride our bikes through the empty campground in complete safety.  We'll also be able to bike the closed highway past Elbow Falls before it opens to traffic on the 15th.  Yay for early spring biking!

Spring Hiking in the Elbow Valley at Paddy's Flat

Second Annual Spring Camping Trip to Dinosaur Provincial Park

We are super excited about this trip because we had so much fun last year!!  Follow the link above to read the story from last May when we went.  We have booked the exact same string of sites this year and are expecting 10+ families to be camping with us.

Dinosaur Provincial Park (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

First ever family bikepacking trip to Quaite Valley, Kananaskis

There are four other families joining us for this trip - all with kids under the age of 6!  And while we adults won't be riding our bikes, the kids will all be on bikes for the 4km journey into the campground.  It's going to be so much fun and we can't wait!

I'm really hoping the Quaite Valley Trail is flat like this!

Canada Day - Waterton Lakes National Park

This is our second annual trip to Waterton for the July long weekend.  This time we will be camping with
5-6 other families and we will again be staying at the Waterton Springs Campground.  For information on the campground and to see photos from last year, follow the link above to the story from last July.  This year we are hoping to tackle the Bear's Hump hike with no child carrier, are hoping our son will be biking on his own without the Chariot, and we'll be planning a paddling trip on Cameron Lake with my SUP and our canoe or soon to be purchased kayak.

Waterton Lakes from the summit of the Bear's Hump

July Group Camping Trip - Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Kananaskis

I know, all of our trips look like group trips but we've actually booked the whole Lower Lakes Group Campground for this one and have 13 families signed up so far to come.  We are very excited to do lots of biking on the paved trails in PLPP, to do some bike hiking on the ski trails within the park, and to do some paddling on Lower Kananaskis Lake.  If you see a crazy chick on the Lower Lake on a SUP, that will be me so wave and say hi. For more information about the park and what you can do there with kids, follow the link above to the story I wrote last summer.

Lower Kananaskis Lake

Canadian Rockies National Parks Camping Week - Jasper and Banff

We haven't camped much in the National Parks here so we are going to remedy that with a week long camping trip in Banff and Jasper.  We want to camp at Two Jack Lake in Banff, Waterfowl Lakes in Banff, and at Wapiti Campground in Jasper.  The big goal - to SUP and paddle as many lakes as we can in a week from Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Two Jack Lake, Lake Minnewanka, Cascade Ponds, Johnson Lake, Bow Lake, and Waterfowl Lakes in Banff to Patricia Lake, Pyramid Lake, and Maligne Lake in Jasper.  I have no idea if we'll actually get that all in but we're going to try. 

We are also excited to work with Travel Alberta to help promote First Summits with kids.  We will be taking Noah up the Jasper tramway so that he can do his first hike to the top of Whistler's Summit.  You'll hear lots about First Summits this summer as we tackle a handful of them to follow up Noah's success with Tunnel Mountain in Banff. 

I plan to spend a LOT of time on my SUP this summer (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

Backcountry Family Paddling Trip - Jewel Bay Backcountry Campground, Kananaskis

Last summer we did our first family overnight paddling trip and it was awesome!  We could go backpacking without having to carry anything.  Why did we not think of this before?  This year we are doing a very easy trip to Jewel Bay on the other side of Barrier Lake.  We'll paddle across Barrier Lake to our campground and take over camp!  Yes, take over the whole camp!  I have booked the whole campground for us and 6 other families coming with us.  So excited!! And Mama is going to SUP to camp.  (This is where I say that if anybody wants to sponsor me with a pretty new pink board for this summer, send me a note - very interested and I'll get you a ton of amazing mountain SUP photos.) 

To read the story from last year's trip to the Point on Upper Kananaskis Lake, follow the link above on "Backcountry Family Paddling Trip".

Paddling on Upper Kananaskis Lake last summer

August Long Weekend - Writing on Stone Provincial Park

We've never visited this campground or provincial park but I hear that it's similar to Dinosaur Provincial Park so we are excited for more opportunities to hike around hoodoos and camp in the Badlands of Alberta.  We also hope to paddle the Milk River while there which is a spectacular opportunity for paddlers!  We have another group campground booked for this one and 8 families coming with us. 

Alberta Badlands

Annual Summer Vacation  - Beaches, Lakes, and more Beaches in British Columbia

We always take a road trip to BC in the summer but we have never spent the whole two weeks camping before.  Usually we stay in motels or do a combo trip of motels and camping.  This year it is 100% camping for 16 nights!  That's a long time.  I hope there are showers in some of the campgrounds!

We plan to head first to a new destination for us - Champion Lakes, in the Selkirk mountains.  We chose this location because of the paddling opportunities on lakes that do not allow motor boats.  Yay - no motor boats to create waves to knock me off my board!  We follow that up with 5 nights in the Okanagan based out of Peachland.  We plan to spend tons of time on the beaches of Skaha and Okanagan Lake and we will have a blissfully content child!  That's as far as is currently booked but we hope to end the trip with some time in the Shuswap region of BC.  Let me know if you have a favourite campground there. 

Okanagan Lake, Kelowna BC

September Long Weekend - Kootenay National Park

We'll round out the camping season with a trip to one of our favourite valleys -  the Columbia Valley so that we can do a family friendly paddling trip on the Columbia River.  We also want to explore some natural hotsprings, do some hiking, and tour around on our bikes.  We haven't stayed at the Red Streak Campground in years so we have decided to make that our home base in Radium Hotsprings, conveniently located up the hill from the actual hotsprings.

Paddling on the Columbia River in Invermere, BC

I'm sure there'll  be another camping trip in September but we haven't quite figured out the details.  One can only plan so much before their brain hurts...

I hope you'll follow us on our camping adventures this season and wish us luck with our Camping Project.  If you would like to sponsor the Camping Project with a camping-themed giveaway or review please contact me.  I am pleased to announce that we will be working with ENO hammocks this summer - and there's a hammock giveaway coming your way soon so keep tuned for that!  You know you want a super sweet and light hammock that you can take backpacking with you!

And so, I leave you  because Camping Season begins in 2 hours!  And I still have packing to do.
Happy Mother's Day everybody!


Special thanks to Dad Camp for inspiration in writing about my Camping Project Schedule.  

The Bow Valley Biker Gang

Last weekend we met up in Bow Valley Provincial Park with 9 other families for a preschool bike-hike. With the Bow Valley Campground still closed for winter, we knew we'd see nothing but pedestrian traffic past Middle Lake and would be able to fully enjoy the wide open roads.  There were no cars, no campers, no RVs - just us, and our junior bike gang.

5 Members of the Bow Valley Biker Gang

We turned off Hwy 1 just past the Hwy 40 turnoff for Kananaskis and headed for the Bow Valley Provincial Park Information Centre and Headquarters for the park.  We then parked at the winter gate closure by the Middle Lake Day Use Area and gathered the troops.  Some of the younger ones showed up in diapers or training pants and some showed up with a stroller or bicycle seat mounted on the  back of mom or dad's bike, but every child above the age of 2 showed up with their own bicycle.  The majority of kids were between the ages of 3 and 4 and not one of them had pedals or training wheels on their bike.  We had 10 preschoolers on balance bikes and they were ready to hit the open pavement and take over the park!

Middle Lake - the start of our journey

Many people take this opportunity in spring to bike the closed highways around Highwood Pass or down in the Sheep River area of Kananaskis but we've never considered this as a family because of the steep hills involved that would be much too challenging for a novice cyclist such as our son.  Even parents pulling children in bike trailers would struggle on some of the hills.  Bow Valley Provincial Park on the other hand is the perfect place for a beginner rider to get out and even those on little run bikes will excel here.  While there are a few hills as you make your way to the Many Springs Trailhead and the Whitefish Day Use Area, our children never had to get off their bikes and just had to exercise a bit of caution.  (It helped to have a few parents on bikes who could keep up with the ring leaders and encourage a slower pace on the steeper hills.)

Even a 2 year old can ride a bike in Bow Valley with Daddy at his side

As you can see from the photos, the kids had a rare opportunity to ride on a wide paved road, side by side, and on whichever side of the yellow line they chose.  (So far this hasn't been a problem now that we are back in the city.)  Us adults loved the fact that we didn't have to worry about the kids getting hit or run over.  The only concern we really had was over wildlife but we stayed as a fairly tight group in the front so I'm sure every bear in Bow valley was LONG gone after hearing us coming! 

Gliding down one of the gentle hills in Bow Valley

We reached the Elk Flats Playground and met to regroup.  It was a great destination for the kids at maybe 1.5km one way from Middle Lake and snacks were definitely appreciated at this point.  A couple families decided to turn back but the rest of us continued on towards the Many Springs Trailhead for a short 1km loop hike.  The total bike and hike distance for the day was about 5km which was ambitious, but we knew the older children would be able to make it.  The younger kids would jump into their Chariots or hop on the back of a parent's bike when they tired out.

The trail started to get much wetter past this point

The Many Springs hike is always a spring favourite for us and it's become an annual family tradition.  This was the first year we slightly "cheated" and allowed the kids to take their balance bikes on the trail if they wanted.  While there is a "no bikes" sign at the trailhead, we knew nobody would object to a family pushing small children in a stroller or Chariot.  Therefore, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume that hopefully a kid without pedals could take a very small pre-bike on the trail as well.  (They do have one less wheel after all and a smaller footprint than a Chariot).  If I'm wrong, then I stand to be corrected but the kids had a blast, the hike was very bike-friendly for little riders, and we definitely didn't have to worry about knocking out any pedestrians on the trail.  We met one other hiking group on the trail but our children were moving slowly enough that nobody was at risk of a collision. We left all adult bikes at the trailhead and many of the children continued on foot as well.

Riding on the Many Springs Trail

The biggest challenge of the hike was navigating the boardwalk section over the small pond that the trail circles.  The water level was higher than I've ever seen it, causing the boardwalk to sink as we walked across it.  We learned rather quickly that we had to spread out and take turns getting across.  The first group I was in was bunched up tightly together and I was walking through ankle deep water.  We also learned that if you are carrying rubber boots in your backpack - just in case - that this would be an excellent place to put them on!  Before crossing the pond and not after!

Trying to get to the boardwalk - in sandals

Crossing the boardwalk - again in sandals

Taking a Chariot across the boardwalk that is normally well above the water level!

We got separated out a bit on the hike and had planned to meet up again at the viewing platform on the far end of the pond.  As you can see from the next photo however, there wasn't much of a platform to stand on at this time of year.  Wow!

Unsafe Parenting Since 2009 (my husband's joke)

Fortunately the rest of the hike was uneventful and drier.  Much drier!  The kids were able to enjoy some easy riding or hiking and we all reconvened back at the trailhead for the ride back up to the parking lot at Middle Lake. 

My son having the time of his life on the Best.Trail.Ever!

Most of the families made their way back up the paved road to Middle Lake.  We couldn't resist trying out one more hiking trail though that paralleled the road en route to our final destination.  Worst case scenario, we'd end up carrying our son's light weight Strider bike and just hiking the trail.   (Have I mentioned that these amazing bikes weigh so little you can easily carry them for miles?) Fun scenario, we'd introduce our son and a couple of his preschool friends to single track mountain biking.  No breaks, no pedals - how hard could it be?

Navigating a flat easy section of the Elk Flats Trail

The trail soon became quite rocky, rooty, and steep in sections (by 4 year old standards) as we made our way from the Elk Flats Group Campground to Middle Lake on the Elk Flats Hiking Trail.  Bikes were carried, pushed, lifted over a fallen tree - and ridden!  The kids really did want to ride them as much as possible and thanks to the no-pedal concept, walking their bikes up the hills while straddled over them, was relatively easy.  Getting down steep twisty sections was also do-able with some feet-dragging action to slow down.  Convincing Noah's friend that she should slow down was another issue however!

Noah tackling one of the bigger hills

This truly shows how light a Strider bike is!

No Fear!

It was a fabulous day and I was left on a huge high after watching the kids come down the final hill - in one piece, and with no blood.  We watched one minor fall but overall it was a very successful first attempt at single track riding.  We can't wait to continue with our bike-hikes over the next few months and you can expect many stories to follow on the best local trails and our adventures trying them all out.

Noah making his way down the final hill on the Elk  Flats Trail

An excellent photo that demonstrates the balance learned on a Strider bike

Do you have a favourite trail in the Canadian Rockies that we should try out with our Strider balance bike?  Ideas for bike-hiking in the area?  We'd love to hear them.


End Notes:  This story was not sponsored by Strider Sports but we LOVE our Strider pre-bike and can't say enough about how much confidence it has given our son.  We hope to move on to pedals soon but for the moment, we are loving the freedom this little bike gives us.  Children as young as 2 can learn to ride one and children often transition to their first pedal bike without ever knowing a set of training wheels - our goal!  I also love that we can go for bike-hikes with our Strider.  Whenever the trail gets too difficult to ride, I just pick the bike up and carry it.  This is something you can not do with a steel-framed bike, pedals or no pedals.  We are planning our first overnight bikepacking trip this summer and the kids will all be on bikes.  We are excited to see how it turns out and you can expect a great trip report from it. For more information on the Strider bikes, check out their website at http://striderbikes.com/. Canadians can find out more about Strider bikes on the Canadian website for Strider Sports. 

Also, please note that if you are heading to Bow Valley Provincial Park this weekend, the roads are now open so be careful on them and stick to the right hand side.  The water level on the Many Springs Trail will also still be very high.

Spring Energy Shot in Banff

If you're like us, this shoulder season is getting really OLD and you want spring to arrive with green grass, buds on the trees, and running water.  Ok, so maybe the last part was just me as I watch my paddleboard collect dust in the garage.  But seriously, I'm tried of ice and snow.  And so with Spring on our minds, we went in search of a change of scenery in Banff last weekend, hoping to find dry ground for hiking and biking.

Tunnel Mountain Summit, Banff

What we found was a mixture of fresh snow, compact snow and ice, mud, and dry forest trails.  Not perfect but certainly something we could work with!  In two days we logged approximately 10km as a family and came home refreshed, recharged, and alive.  We were outside, we were in the mountains, and it was glorious!

Spring Trail Conditions in Banff at Lake Minnewanka

Our goal for the overnight trip was to launch into spring with new experiences that would build self confidence and remind little legs what hiking and biking were all about after a long winter of riding in sleds.  We succeeded with a first time hike to Stewart Canyon at Lake Minnewanka, preschool-friendly mountain biking on the Fenland Trail in the Banff townsite, and the beginning of our journey towards first summits this summer as we reached the top of Tunnel Mountain on Earth Day.  

A Little Bouldering on the Stewart Canyon Trail

Stewart Canyon was our first stop Sunday morning and while the trail was blanketed in fresh snow, it didn't make the hike difficult in any way.  We were warned of icy sections by descending hikers but they have obviously never hiked much in spring before because the trail was fine.  Absolutely fine!  Our 4 year old did the whole 2km hike to the  bridge over Stewart Canyon by himself with the occasional hand holding period on a steep hill.  

Stewart Canyon

This was one of those rare first hikes where you ask yourself why you haven't done it before.  I was seriously baffled as to why we had never discovered this trail before.  It's Chariot friendly, balance bike friendly in many sections (you'd just have to carry it up one rocky hill and along a narrow-ish traverse over the lake that's less than 0.5 km), and would be awesome on snowshoes with a sled for younger children.  It was such a delightful little trail.  And, there was a clear destination!  We were hiking to a bridge!  I find it very important to give children a bit of motivation in terms of knowing where they are going, what they will see, and how they will know they've reached their goal.  In total I believe the trail was between 3-4km return from the parking lot at Lake Minnewanka to the bridge over Stewart Canyon and back.  We plan to return with the balance bike this summer and then bring snowshoes next winter.  

The road you'll hike or ride through the Lake Minnewanka Day Use Area

Maybe not so balance bike friendly through this section

Most people would have called a 3-4km hike with a preschooler a success and packed up to head home.  We certainly were glad that our son was still capable of walking that far after a winter of being carried and pulled far too much!  But yet, we still wanted to go for a bike ride and hadn't brought the balance bike on the hike with us.  We drove into the town of Banff and parked downtown at Central Park.  From there, we enjoyed a very pleasant (and dry) walk along the Bow River Pathway trail and our son got to ride his bike.  We headed towards the Fenland Trail to see how muddy it would be and to perhaps reconnaissance it for a future trip on the balance bike.  In the end, we hiked/rode the entire 2km Fenland loop for a grand total of 4km of bike riding.  

Riding on the Bow River Pathway in Banff

The Fenland loop was a mixture of dry dirt and path mixed with compact snow and ice, and a lot of mud in a couple of places.  Noah only fell once though off his bike so I'd call that a success.  I also got a photo of the mud-covered child so that was MY success.  We had a lovely bike ride and I was able to check the first mountain biking trail off my summer list that I've created for this year.  Fenland was actually at the top of the list because I know it to be a very easy trail and knew my son would have zero problems on the flat dirt path.  There are a few roots but mountain biking doesn't get any easier than this!  Even I could do it.

Biking the Fenland Trail in Banff

Biking along 40 Mile Creek on the Fenland Trail

Wipe Out!

The trail eventually got quite snowy but nothing we couldn't work with

The bridge over 40 Mile Creek

7-8km logged for Sunday and the boy should have been exhausted!  We still had one final adventure planned for him though - a surprise adventure.  We hadn't told him that we'd actually planned to stay overnight in Banff and had booked a hotel room for the night.  A hotel with a swimming pool! 

Rundlestone Lodge Swimming Pool in Banff

Our sweet hotel room

We never get to actually stay overnight in Banff when we go out for weekend adventures so this was a huge blessing and we are extremely grateful to the Rundlestone Lodge for putting us up in an awesome loft suite.  We swam, we ate in the new Bumper's Steakhouse on site, we slept without having to drive home first, and then we woke up ready for more adventures! My husband had to rush off to work Monday morning but Noah and I stuck around because it was Earth Day and I had big plans for this little dude.  We were going to climb a mountain!

Along with my first mountain bike trails list, I've also started on a first summits list and Tunnel Mountain was at the top of the list for first peaks to bag.  At under 300m of height gain it's  the perfect climb for a four year old.  Noah's been up Tunnel twice before but had to be carried both times so this would be his first self propelled walk up the Banff landmark because Daddy wasn't here and this Mom wasn't carrying a 4 year old!  I feared that 300m would be a lot of height for a child who's been riding in sleds all winter but Noah rocked it and totally made it to the summit with little whining or complaining.  He started to show signs of tiredness by the time we reached the ridge but by then many adults are starting to get tired as well so I wasn't too upset about that!

A little off-trail rambling on the way up Tunnel

Making his way up Tunnel Mountain

Viewpoint on the way up

My friend Jackie tagged along with us and took on the roll of trip photographer for Noah and I which was awesome.  We enjoyed a short snack on the summit and then ran back down with the promise of pizza and french fries dangling in front of Noah.  And he must have really wanted those fries because he pretty much dragged me down the mountain running faster than I could keep up.  Good to know I have a trail runner on my hands because I also love to run down mountains.

Tunnel Mountain Summit

Very Happy Child!

We got one last  bike ride in as we walked/rode to Boston Pizza for lunch on the main street and then we headed back home with full bellies and happy hearts.  Noah was passed out in the car within 20 minutes and slept all the way home.  I successfully tired him out - and for that I am glad.  This, after-all is how Earth Day should be spent, running down mountains and looking out over the mountain town you love from the best little summit small feet can climb.

The Summit Shot with the Tunnel Mountain Cairn

Spring is on our doorstep and we are ready to jump into the season with many more first mountain bike rides, hikes, and summits.  What will you do this spring to give yourself an energy shot and fuel up for summer?

It's Spring!

For more information on the Rundlestone Lodge, please visit their website and check out the family-friendly suites they offer with lofts and kitchenettes.  The Lodge is conveniently located next door to a playground and offers a fabulous swimming pool and hot tub.  The pool also has a large shallow end that we appreciated.  Bumper's Steakhouse is on site with a children's menu and breakfast starting as early as 6am.  Dinner is also served early from 5pm which should appeal to most families.  While I haven't stayed in  Banff many times, I know that we will be using Rundlestone Lodge on our future trips and making it our adventure base camp when we return in November for the Banff Santa Claus Parade. 

Our hotel suite with wood burning fireplace