Bearspaw Reservoir

The Bearspaw Reservoir is located just upstream from Calgary, Alberta. It has been around for seventy years and acts as a source of drinking water for half of the city and provides vital flood control. There is a small hydroelectric dam which forms this man made body of water.

Fishing and boating are popular activities on the reservoir. The scenery around the reservoir makes you forget that you are next to a city of almost two million people. The water is mostly from glacial runoff and snowmelt originating in Banff National Park a hundred or so kilometers to the west of here.

There is ample parking and an interesting looking park at the access point to the reservoir. People offer bike rentals, kayak rentals, canoe rentals and such if you walk around and pay attention to the signs. This was built on former ranchland lies on lower terrain than most of the city on the hills above the river.

We are just beyond city limits where wealthy Calgarians own acreages, which are mostly mansions built on parcels of land at least 100 x 100 feet or 4000 square meters in area. You can see some of them on the hills, they would have views of the Bow River valley along with the Rocky Mountains.

Being on the edge of the prairies, there is plenty of grasslands and a limited amount of trees. It can get quite dry in Alberta, so storing water is important during the later part of the summer when there are always water restrictions. During the past Summer a drinking water pipe broke connecting this reservoir to Calgary so we had severe restrictions imposed on us for months as we had to rely solely on another water source further to the south.

This is the Bow River just before it enters the city. The city discourages swimming in or contaminating the reservoir which was named after Bearspaw, an indigenous leader who signed some land treaties with the British in the mid 1800s.

The filter the water before we drink it and it is some of the cleanest water in the world as limited industry and human activity lies upstream from here. There are a couple of large cattle farms, a sawmill, a gas plant a couple of mines further up the river.

The best part of the river system in Calgary is the thousands of miles of connected trails that run through the area. They have all but finished connecting the city of Calgary to the smaller town of Cochrane which is closer to the mountains. Hopefully one day we will be able to ride a bike all the way to Banff without having to go on the side of the highway.

The park is new so the trails are well maintained. There are some access points to the river and on a nice day there can be hundreds of people here enjoying the fresh air.

This is the main connector to Glenbow Ranch, a sizeable Provincial Park between Calgary and Cochrane. The Haskayne park was just opened in 2023 thanks to a generous land donation by the Haskayne family. From here you can safely ride a bike or walk to downtown Calgary along some suburban streets or sidewalks.

Wildflowers can be found within the grass, these photos were taken late in the season. Mid September in these parts often means frost. Cold weather comes earlier to Western Canada.

The Canadian Pacific Railway goes through Calgary and the Haskayne park. When you cross the tracks, watch out for trains! These look like livestock carriers. Trains go by frequently and we saw a few during our walk. They transport cattle, grain and goods from Alberta to the ports in British Columbia as the train is heading West.

We patiently waited as the train passed, which we could have sped up and made it, that's generally not advisable. They have a little gate to ensure people do not cross the tracks when the train is approaching but you can foolishly walk around it.