Nice places to go for small hikes near Calgary

[ekguy]

So this week I went out to Elbow Falls, walked around in the woods a while and along the river.

And it was definitely very nice, any other spots that are around Calgary that someone could go to escape the constant sounds of cars, trucks, construction and the general noisiness of the city?

[ekguy]

Anyone? Me and my gf were thinking there must be some nice spots up in Kananaskis.

[BigShow]

Be careful in Elbow Falls, there are ticks carrying Lyme disease!

[ekguy]

Originally posted by BigShow
Be careful in Elbow Falls, there are ticks carrying Lyme disease!

Thanks for the warning.

Me and my gf want to start hiking more. Never really had to worry about ticks much when I used to hike back home (more coastline type hikes than anything else).

Is there an easy way to protect yourself against ticks?

[BigShow]

It's awesome being able to hike so close to home, well to the city. But my biggest mistake was not being covered properly, I was wearing shorts without any sort of repellent and got bit without noticing it! Only to later suffer a full on infection from contracting Lyme!!

[arian_ma]

Try Grotto Canyon. It's sick. Really close to LaFarge's plants.

[mac_82]

+1 for Grotto.

Also Heart Creek is a nice little hike.

Both are on here:
http://www.kananaskis.com/canmore-hiking-trails.htm

[jsn]

We hiked up Jura creek for a geology field school and I thought it was great. Went back last summer too. Make sure you have good hikers though, as it's fairly rocky with some boulders. It's also quite wet during the spring. There's a nice spot to stop at near the middle (or top) depending on how far you want to go.

Edit: this is by Exshaw, just before banff.

[msommers]

Originally posted by BigShow
Be careful in Elbow Falls, there are ticks carrying Lyme disease!

Actually I'm 99.9% sure the ticks in Alberta/BC do not carry Lyme Disease. Regardless, they are nasty little fuckers and the beginning of May is peak tick season so be sure to check yourself before you are heading home and before you go to bed.

[ekguy]

Originally posted by msommers


Actually I'm 99.9% sure the ticks in Alberta/BC do not carry Lyme Disease. Regardless, they are nasty little fuckers and the beginning of May is peak tick season so be sure to check yourself before you are heading home and before you go to bed.

Yeah whether they do or not it's not something I want crawling on me either way. I've read up a bit and it says it's fairly easy to keep em off you. You just watch yourself around tree branches and try to avoid tall grass and stay on trails, DEET insect repellent on pants and boots.

I'm not too worried about it, I've trekked through the woods countless times in NB and as far as I know I never got bit by a tick.

[thrasher22]

If you're looking for a nice walk/easy hike, check out lake minnewanka (just before banff) or Moraine lake (just outside lake louise).

Moraine lake:

[ekguy]

Anyone do Ing's Mine trail up past bragg creek. Anything in that area would be fantastic as I live in Chaparal and those are easily accessed from home.