Bragg Creek is about 40 minutes outside of town, near Kananaskis country. It has mountain views, along with hiking and biking trails, but not too crowded. “Usually when I go to Canmore, Banff, I find those areas are quite a bit busier,” said Madie Neis of Calgary. “Well, I like coming out here to have a little more freedom on the trails and you don’t run into someone every 30 seconds.” Fewer people also mean less stress in finding parking, especially on a long weekend. “The parking lot is half empty right now, which is awesome. You don’t have to worry about parking your car on the side of the freeway,” Neis said. Some say the trails offer relief with extreme heat warnings still in effect for Calgary and other areas of southern Alberta on Saturday. “There’s shade on the course, so if you can try to run in the shade or be in the shade at least part of the time, that really helps,” Warren Grice said. Furry friends can also exercise while staying cool. “We wanted to give the dog a chance to run with some freedom, so a slow bike ride, let the dog run before it gets too hot for the day,” said Bob Lee, whose dog also went for a dip while walking on the path. While the trails may not be as busy as other mountain destinations, the businesses still are. Handle-Bar is an outdoor adventure guide business that offers everything from bike rentals to coffee and other treats needed to fuel any adventure. “People are coming out more and more and we’re probably going to be busier and busier,” owner Moritz Kniebel said. He said his business tailors its experiences to locals, not international travelers. “Realizing that domestic tourism was going to increase drastically. People don’t travel as far. They expect more than what they get.” Kniebel said it’s exciting to see more people exploring hidden gems like Bragg Creek. “It requires us to look at the services that we still need, like hotels, to bring those here to host overnight stays,” he said. “But apart from that, it means we can offer more products that are hard to come by when there are fewer people. It provides job opportunities for young people who want to be here.”
