The Best Family Bike Trails in Canmore

Canmore is only an hour away from Calgary and depending on where you live, it takes less time to drive to Canmore than it does to cross the city.  For that reason, we spend a lot of time biking the river pathways in this beautiful mountain town, and as soon as we can afford a house there, I'm moving.

Biking the Canmore Pathways Through Town

We like to drive out to Canmore mid-week when it's quiet and then we have the pathways and pump tracks to ourselves.  I expect the town to get busier once school is out but it's still a treat to spend a day out of the city and to dream about which house I'm going to buy near the big playground on the river.

My future backyard in Canmore from the West Canmore Playground

Without ever leaving the town limits, you can bike over 20km of beautiful maintained pathways and trails.  Most of them are gravel but there are a few paved sections here and there.  You don't have to worry about the trails being bumpy though, and they are very Chariot or stroller friendly.  The trails are very family-friendly and serve as a great introduction to mountain biking for children used to paved streets and sidewalks.

Biking along the Bow River in Canmore

Below are the favourite loops and trails that we usually bike in Canmore:

 

The Blue Activity Loop - 3.1km distance

Park near the river at the Mineside Trailhead.  (From main street downtown, turn left onto 8th avenue and drive toward the Canmore Nordic Centre.  Cross the river and pull into your first parking lot on your left.)  From the parking lot, cross the bridge you drove over to access the other side of the river and bike towards Engine Bridge.  (see map)

Engine Bridge

Cross Engine Bridge (which kids will LOVE) and bike around the hydro plant.  Bike down the other side of the river to get back to your car in a total distance of 3.1km.  The trail is flat easy gravel with no height gain. Park benches can be found along the way for rest stops. 

Easy Biking along the Bow River

The Green Activity Loop - 4.4km distance round trip from Engine Bridge

If the 3km blue loop isn't quite long enough for your family, consider extending your trip by doing a figure eight with the blue and green loops.  We just did the green loop the other day and it is definitely my new favourite trail in Canmore!!!

Biking Towards Larch  Island on the Green Activity Loop

This loop is narrower than the blue loop and resembles an easy mountain bike trail (probably why we liked it so much.)  Expect a few more roots, dirt with pine needles in spots, and some loose gravel.  Otherwise, it's pretty easy and most small children would have zero problems on it.  Just maybe take the training wheels off first.

Bridge to Larch Island (hiking only)

We biked the Blue Activity Loop the other day and stopped at a cute little playground along the way.  It is called the Larch Park Playground and it even had swings.  After that we followed Policeman's Creek until we got lost in a residential neighborhood and I had to pull out my map.  It wasn't too hard though with a map to find our way back to the river and Engine Bridge.  We crossed the bridge and biked back to our car in a total distance of 7.5km which took less than an hour at a very leisurely pace.

Larch Park Playground

Crossing Policeman's Creek on one of the many bridges

Millenium Park to the West Canmore Playground - 1.5km one way

This short bike ride connects the two greatest playgrounds in Canmore.  One of a more traditional nature, and one for bikes! 

Playing at the Millennium Park Pump Track

For more information on the Millennium Park Pump Track, visit my other blog post:  Pump Tracks and Mountain Bike Parks.  We love playing at the bike parks in Canmore and this one is super easy for young kids on balance bikes even.  Millennium Park is located at 5th Ave and 1st Street and there's a big parking lot here.  It's also a good back-up parking plan should the Mineside Trailhead above be full (very possible in summer!!)

Playing at the Pump Track in Canmore

After playing at the pump track it's approximately 1km to the bridge by the Mineside parking lot and then it's another 0.5km to the big West Canmore Playground on the other side of the river directly opposite Millennium Park. The kids love it here and spent a good hour or more playing here yesterday. There are even bathrooms and picnic tables!  Score!

West Canmore Playground

The Red Trail towards the Three Sisters Mountain Village - 4km return

The red trail on maps is 12.2km long but my version starts from the West Canmore Playground and goes as far as the big wide open meadow where you'll find old coal mine cars and an abundance of space to run around in.  I am guessing that it's about 2km one way but you can turn around whenever you want or extend your ride all the way to the Three Sisters Mountain Village.

Riding across the Meadow on the Red Trail

The best part about this trail (other than that it has the best views) is that parts of it are paved.  This helps with some of the bigger hills you'll find on this route.  Of all the paths and loops described here, this is the most difficult due to the hilly nature of it and the modest climb required to reach the meadow.

Playing in an old coal car

Biking across the beautiful meadow on the Red Trail

To see a  good map showing the trails in Canmore, go to the Town of Canmore website.  All of the trails above can be combined in one big 13-15km ride and with plenty of playground stops, it would take half a day to ride around Canmore and visit the pump track.

Crossing the River by the West Canmore Playground on the red path

Still have energy for more biking??

The Benchlands Skill Park is another pump track like the one in Millennium Park and can be visited before heading back to Calgary.  It's located on the other side of the TransCanada Hwy and features more jumps than the tamer skills park downtown.

Playing at the Benchlands Skills Park

And to watch a short video of Noah playing around at it, click on the video below.

Staying overnight in Canmore and want a second or third day of biking?

Check out a story I wrote last summer called Favourite Summer Bike Trails.  In this story I've described two great family bike rides near Canmore to Watridge Lake and Troll Falls.  I've also included information on the Canmore Nordic Centre which has fabulous paved trails in addition to mountain bike paths for all levels of ability.  AND it's free to use the Nordic Centre in Summer.  Betcha didn't know that, did you?!

Watridge Lake - to be repeated this year with the pedal bike!

Biking in Canmore

For more information on biking in the Canadian Rockies with kids, read my most recent stories:  The Best Family Bike Trails in Banff National Park and Biking the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail with Kids. 

And to read the rest of my bike stories, go to the right hand side of this blog and scroll down to where it says Popular Topics.  There's a drop down menu and the bike stories are all filed under "Kids on Wheels."  There's enough to keep you reading for a month!  With more to be added all summer.