I have a favourite 50km route that departs from Downtown, heads down river on one bank of the Bow and then and returns on the opposite side in an elegant loop. The views change continuously  and are very different on the return leg, where the tower blocks of Downtown beckon you back.   

Heading upstream, I would like to find an equivalent loop but west of  Edworthy Park  it is difficult to remain near the river on the south bank.  My usual 40km circuit has me crossing back over on the Edworthy footbridge, and riding through Shouldice Park to recross the river into Bowness.   From Bowness,  I find myself climbing up to the Calgary Olympic Park and exiting to the east under the Stoney Trail before dropping back down through Valley Ridge to the zig-zags that take me down to the river crossing under the Stoney Trail at the west end of Bowness Park. This is the last crossing before Cochrane. 

If you stay south of the river at Edworthy Park, what are the options? You could always climb up the park road, cross the Shaganappi trail, climb further up the twisty cycle path to the Old Coach Road and  then head west from there dropping down through Cougar Ridge to the Calgary Olympic Park. This route inevitably takes you through development on busy roads and involves additional climbing.  But can you ride west in Edworthy Park?   

I investigated, first, the Christmas Tree Trail that hugs the river but this is really just a grassy footpath that gets pinched out after a few hundred metres where the river and railway converge.   Trail finding apps like Trailforks portray a blue category mountain bike trail called Brickburn that runs west from the Edworthy parking lot  and parallels the south side of the railway. However, when I got there, I found my way barred by a new chain-link fence and padlocked gates.   While the route is also shown on the Ride with GPS map, it is no longer marked on the Alltrails  app and is not shown on the City of Calgary on-line map for trails.

I quickly discovered  I did not have enough gears to cope

As I couldn’t physically access the Brickburn  Trail, I needed to look for alternative which meant looking back uphill in the parking lot.  There, I saw an unpaved road that struck west but I couldn’t go further than a turnaround area as a sign indicated the road beyond was private. Apparently, there are several private homes inside the park boundary.  Another trail,  the  Crackendale/Edworthy Car Park Connector  was also shown starting there on some maps.  This was categorized as a green, moderate, mountain bike route.

I looked carefully around the vegetation and found the entrance to this narrow, single-track trail that circumvents the private land, as it climbs obliquely towards the west.   Riding a gravel bike, though I quickly discovered  I did not have enough gears to cope with the initial  ascent over gnarly tree roots.

No sooner had the trail levelled out than it dropped back down toward the railway line where again you are greeted with a chain-link fence, possibly erected to stop riders crossing the tracks to link with the Christmas Tree Trail.  However, a soggy bypass path goes west and, before long, it  has become the original  Brickburn Trail paralleling the rail track.  From here onwards, there are few signs that the route is regularly ridden anymore.

The route I rode is not suitable for road or gravel bikes

A steep ramp, that I couldn’t ride, hauls you up to a bench and then to a great viewpoint with a vista over the valley to the brightly-coloured Children’s Hospital on the far slopes. Steep, but manageable descents take you back down to railway level and at one point you skirt the very edge of the railway to cross a stream. 

By the time you have lost that height, you are out of the Park although I saw no boundary signs.  The trail continues through a corridor of mixed trees and shrubs, with the railway to your right and cleared pasture on your left.  It is unclear, as you approach from the southeast, who owns this land but where you near the exit for Bowdale Crescent, two signs inform you it is CP Rail Property and No Trespassing is permitted.  

After the ride, I found a web site describing the City of Calgary’s Freight Rail Corridors Policy  for developments.  The map clearly indicates that the trail I had been riding was in the rail corridor that covers land about 30metres each side of the railway.  Formal City cycle paths infringe this corridor further east of Edworthy Park but the path there is always segregated from the railway by a high  chain-link fence.  

Once you reach Bowdale Crescent, there is no question you are on a legitimate bike-permissible road.  Continue westwards and you pass through a series of three underpasses at the Sarcee Trail which allow you to access Na A Drive SW leading you further to Canada Olympic Drive where you can connect to Valley Ridge Boulevard to reach the bike trail to the zig zags down to Bowness Park.

So, for now, I think an effective link between Edworthy Park and the Calgary Olympic Park is still missing.  The route I rode is not suitable for road or gravel bikes and I will not be riding it again. If you do ride it, be aware that its status is dubious as it seems CP Rail is not allowing you to infringe the rail corridor unless the track is separated from the trail by a fence.

I’d be interested if anyone has an alternative?