Sunday, June 22, 2014

West Bragg Creek

Trip Date: June 2014



Just last weekend I had my first biking experience at West Bragg Creek Provincial Recreation Area, which is part of the Kananaskis Parks System.  I'd heard nothing but great things about the trail system that's in place there and I was not disappointed!  West Bragg Creek is approximately 55km west of Calgary along the West Bragg Creek Road, which is just off of Highway 22.  I met a co-worker (Mike) at the gas station in Bragg Creek and then we were off to the trailhead.  

The south trail system of West Bragg Creek
We started off by riding up the Ranger Summit Trail.  This section was basically all uphill, but the ride down via Suger Mama (unmarked) towards Elbow Trail made the climb more than worth it!  We followed Elbow Trail until it intersected with Boundary Ridge Trail.  Here we did another leg-burning climb until we topped out somewhere along Boundary Ridge.  From there it was all downhill back to the parking lot.  In total we did approximately 15km on our bikes.

This lookout is approximately halfway up the Ranger Summit Trail
Looking towards Moose Mountain from the lookout
Ranger Summit Trail
A section of the Ranger Summit Trail (Photo Credit: Solitary Images from Bragg Creek & Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation)
Another section of the trail (Photo Credit: Solitary Images from Bragg Creek & Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation)
The leg-burning climb up Boundary Ridge (Photo Credit: Bike Pirate)
The trail along the summit of Boundary Ridge (Photo Credit: Solitary Images from Bragg Creek & Kananaskis Outdoor Recreation)
You know it's been a good day on the trail when your bike comes home looking like this!
I had such a good day in West Bragg Creek that'll I'll definitely be going back!  Looking forward to exploring all the other trails that the area has to offer.

Recently I did a story for Calgary Guardian called Bragging Rights about the mountain biking scene in the Bragg Creek area.

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