On The Go With Kids

Our summer picks

Or... theGriffith Woods Stepping Stones

While I know Griffith Woods is a lot more that the section we focus our visit this week, better known as "Stepping Stone" or the "Swimming Hole".

This space is a conservation area located in the SW community of Discovery Ridge. And it's full of puddles fed by rain that create amazing crystal clear pools, beaver dams (beware, you might encounter one crossing the pathway just like that), and paved and gravel roads perfect for biking!.

Thanks to a gracious mom that indicated us the quickest way to get there, in no matter of time the kids were already splashing happily in the freezing water, lol, because oh dear, it's cold! But absolutely perfect for a hot day!

So if you gps it, most likely you'll get to the main entrance by discovery ridge link where there's a bathroom and I believe is closer to the playground. In our case we kept going straight down the Blvd until the block 300, where there's a small path between the homes, but there's space for street parking for I would say 4-5 cars.

From here you'll follow the path and meet an intersection with a paved road where you're going to turn left, and walk not a long distance before you can turn right into the John Sinomot Commemorative Trail, with the interpretative sign you won't miss it!

You'll soon get to the bridge, take photos, but if cross it come back, lol, because you need to take the immediate left before the bridge, that's the way you want to take straight to the Jumping Stones straight ahead of the picnic tables!

If you walk other pathways you might run into a little tepee perfect for photos and curious toddlers!

#oursummerpicks #onthegowithkids #griffithwoods

Kananaskis, Highwood Pass:

If you're a true beginner maybe you can postpone this one till you do a couple prior hikes to build up some muscle...

Though its not really demanding for a grown up, a young child that is not used to walking or steep walks might have a bit more of trouble.

This hike is by far our newest very favourite one!!!

The smoke was there but it cleared up enough to enjoy the magic of the cirque, which I'm not exaggerating, is surreal! Best feeling in the world ever!

With a kilometer long that feels a little more than that on a steep trail across the road of the Highwood Meadows, my kids were insistently asking "where is the cirque?" "Are we there yet?".

But once they saw the beautiful meadow, felt how close they were to "the tippy toe", and the mountain goats jumping nearby, the complaining ended!.

There was instead excitement to run to the rocks, "climb them" and get close to the stream!.

We thankfully packed a few accessories for warmth like toques, but let me tell you, no matter how warm is down by the hwy, up in the cirque the wind feels definitely chilly... or at least that's how we felt it the day we went for the last weekend of august.

The loop is only 4.5km, and the elevation gain is 210m, though this is basically one of the highest spots in Kananaskis, so you feel like you're in the clouds, specially when you surpass the tree line and adventure yourself in an alpine hike.

It took us about 2h30m to complete this loop, with pictures and all, plus another 15 minutes checking out the interpretative walkboard on the way back to Highwood Meadows, obviously at a 3yo pace, adults on their own should take probably 1.5hr.

Remember this is bear country and although its a very popular seasonal trail, you should always carry bear spray and be bear aware at all times!

Unfortunately the season to come here is short, from mid june to end of october, so go soon or plan it for next summer, this is a "you gotta do it" type of kid friendly hike!.

There's an outhouse at the parking lot, and this is definitely a carrier type of hike, not suitable for stroller or chariots.

#onthegowithkids #kidsthathike #ptarmigancirque

This is one of the shortest we've done this summer... with less than 3km round trip I can assure you this one was as well, one that made us sweat.

In only 1.4km it climbs 120m of altitude gained, so it's kinda steep. Short, but its a steady incline!

The trail is super wide and youll have to be vigilant to not to step on horse residuals, lol, as it's a shared path.

The hike itself is quite busy, we saw a lot of young families, but that doesnt mean that you should leave the bear spray in the car!.

The reward at the top is the beautiful Elbow Lake and its crystalline waters that even in a cloudy day looks amazing!.

I gotta admitt that the main reason we did the hike was to scout the backcountry campground that sits at the lake's shore.

This little spot is so nice and seems to be the first stop in the backpacking jorney for campers with kids, that want to experience something beyond car camping, as the lenght of the walk is so short obviously!.

There are bathrooms, but hey, pack your toilet paper because that's not part of the package! Though the axe and wood to make fires is provided which I bet will save your back from having to carry extra weight!. Food lockers and common eating areas nearby to them compliment the campground.

We saw a ton of people carrying fishing rods, so I assume its a nice spot to relax while hoping for a fish to get caught while you become.part of the beautiful scenary.