One of our favourite destinations during wildflower season, Grizzly Peak is also a solid option for larch season. Less well-known than the crowded trails around Lake Louise, it's a half-day hike that's easy to extend with a ridge walk or an exploration of Pocaterra Cirque.
Water! Here in Calgary, we open the nearest tap for instant access to unlimited, safe drinking water at a cost of roughly half a cent per litre. Inexpensive, ready access to clean water is easy to take for granted. And that's reflected in my photos - water as an abundant, natural element. Part of what makes water amazing is that we can observe it all three states - gas, liquid, solid - within the temperature range that humans can tolerate. The fact that October is the month for the water theme means the timing is just right to photograph water in all of those natural states.
While Sunshine is most well-known for skiing, the summer gondola and shuttle bus service make Sunshine Meadows one of the most accessible alpine hiking areas in the Canadian Rockies from late June through late September. For some, its a starting point for backpacking adventures to Mt. Assiniboine or the Egypt/Pharoah Lakes area. For dayhikers like us, prime times to visit Sunshine Meadows are during peak wildflower season (usually towards the end of July) and peak larch viewing season (usually towards the end of September). Our most recent larch season visit was timed just about perfectly and reaffirmed that it's well worth the effort to do at least one golden larch hike each fall.
Griffith Woods is a beautiful Natural Environment Park located just off Highway 8 in southwest Calgary. The park was created in 2000 and named after Wilbur Griffith who, with his wife Betty, donated a portion of their estate to The City of Calgary to be set aside as a nature preserve. It's a great place to ride bikes, walk and go geocaching.
One easy and scenic riding option in Calgary is circumnavigating the Glenmore Reservoir, a route that runs 15 or 16 km. The city's extensive pathway system makes it easy to extend the distance. Mr. GeoK and I covered 31 km riding from home, around the Reservoir, and back. Heritage Park, sailboats, and the view of the Canadian Rockies to the west add visual interest to the ride. If you're lucky (and alert) you might even spot some water birds, a deer or a coyote.