Lori Beattie, author of the newly updated book Calgary's Best Walks, knows the city's trails intimately. Over recent months, we have featured select walks from her collection of 95 routes, complete with essential details and recommended stops. This month, we delve into walk No. 49, which unveils the urban wilds, panoramic views, and wetlands of Patterson Slopes and Paskapoo.
Walk at a Glance
Offering unobstructed views of the Bow River valley and the prairies beyond, this urban walkabout provides an ideal vantage point to understand Calgary's layout. Navigating a mix of forested singletrack trails, quiet side streets, and paved pathways, walkers can enjoy spectacular vistas.
The route begins along paved pathways through ravines filled with Saskatoon bushes, leading into the community of Patterson. This hilly neighborhood offers a perfect view of Calgary's compact downtown skyline. Switchback downhill along blossom-lined paved paths before connecting to the earthy pathways of Paskapoo Slopes. Here, expansive valley views unfold before entering an aspen and poplar forest, where poplar fluff covers the forest floor in late May. This fluff consists of poplar seeds from female trees, but contrary to popular belief, it is not the primary cause of sneezing; allergists attribute allergies to native grasses and other plants flowering simultaneously.
Unique Features of Paskapoo Slopes
For the past 50 years, the Paskapoo Slopes below Cougar Ridge have been maintained as a natural area park, a ski hill, and a mountain biking area. Walkers should remain alert for speedy cyclists navigating the network of steep single-track trails, which offer both challenging descents and cardio-intensive climbs. Multiple trails cross steep ravines, gullies, streams, and springs, passing through stands of aspen and balsam poplar, dense dogwood, and riverine tall shrubs. These urban wilds provide habitat for deer, small mammals, and a wide variety of migratory and breeding birds. Along the way, you may encounter old cars, a glacial erratic originating from the Jasper area that traveled on a glacier to Calgary, and a Buddhist stupa. This unexpected shrine in the forest is one of the most unique finds in Calgary's wilds.
Historical and Cultural Context
The dense forest covering the slopes is relatively new vegetation. Historically, grazing bison and controlled burns managed by Indigenous groups kept tree growth in check during the pre-contact period. Archaeological evidence shows that Indigenous Peoples, including the Stoney, Cree, Tsuut'ina, and Blackfoot, have lived in and visited the Bow Valley for over 10,000 years. While walking, imagine that 8,500 years ago, the cliffs along the escarpment were used extensively as a buffalo jump—a unique hunting method. Archaeologists have uncovered kill and processing sites, sweat pits, and camps on the slopes. A single bull could provide 200 kilograms of meat, which was dried and made into pemmican, a mixture of dried meat, berries, and bone marrow stored in buffalo skin bags.
Returning to the Neighbourhood
Back in the neighbourhood, walk west along the pathway skirting the backyards of impressive Cougar Ridge homes and gardens. Listen for the call of red-winged blackbirds that inhabit the wetlands tucked into the community. Circumnavigate the pond above WinSport, enjoy a picnic lunch, and then continue eastward along paved paths and sidewalks back to your starting point.
