Land Activities in Alberta
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Hiking
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Level up your walking game and do it in a place with a view! Let’s go for a hike, an outdoor activity that involves walking in scenic locations, often with some elevation changes, and occasionally a wildlife sighting.
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Skill
Beginner-Advanced
Individuals who are wanting to participate in this activity will need to be physically capable of comfortably walking at the very least 1 km. The level of difficulty within hiking may vary anywhere from being very beginner friendly, to very difficult, requiring an individual who has been hiking for a minimum of 2 years.
Equipment/Costs
For hiking, you will need:
- Appropriate footwear is essential, can range from $100-$300 (depending on quality of shoe) a waterproof hiker with tread is highly recommended, but not necessary depending on the level of difficulty
- Some sort of light pack to carry water, food, and extra layers if required. Price can range anywhere from $50-$200
- Extra layers, or waterproof jacket depending on weather
- Bear spray if hiking within bear territory $60
Additional:
- Hiking poles $50
- Crampons $30
Climbing
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Climbing is a sport that involves scaling either natural or man-made rocks. It’s just you, some vertical problem-solving, and good vibes. You’ll get to hang out (sometimes mid-air) and enjoy the thrill of whatever challenge you choose.
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Skill
Beginner – Advanced
Climbing gyms (beginner friendly)
- No previous experience needed. However, as this is a very dynamic activity which requires the usage of both your upper and lower body, we recommend this activity only for individuals who are relatively fit in these areas.
- For our newbies, any climbing gym within Calgary Ab offers introductory classes
Outside:
- Climbing outside holds many more risk factors and knowledge compared to indoors. For this reason we place outdoor climbing as an advanced activity. We recommend only venturing outside climbing after going to a gym for at least 6 months – a year, or with an individual who is knowledgeable enough.
- If going without a knowledgeable individual, we recommend taking an “intro to outdoor climbing” course which are often held at the local climbing gyms.
Equipment/Costs
NOTE: We recommended that when climbing, you wear loose, comfortable athletic clothing.
For indoor and outdoor climing, you will need:
Climbing shoes are required for both sport climbing and bouldering, both indoors and outside. Range from $150-200, however rental shoes are available at indoor climbing gyms and are $10
Chalk bags with chalk are recommended for both bouldering and sport climbing. Ranging from $20-50, these are also typically supplied at climbing gyms for a cost of $5
For sport climbing, a climbing specific harness is required. These are typically in the range of $100-150 and are also available for rent in climbing gyms for around $10
Equipment specific for outdoor climbing only:
Helmets are recommended when sport climbing outside. Climbing specific helmets tend to cost around $70
While bouldering outside, crash pads are important to have. These are typically $250-300. However climbing gyms often give a rental option for these
Camping
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Taking you back to the basics and closer to nature, camping is an opportunity to adapt your life to the outdoors. Exchange some comforts to make new memories, breathe fresh air, and swap the city lights for a canopy of stars.
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Skill
Intermediate- Advanced
Taking into account that backpacking involves trekking deep into the wilderness, we recommend this activity only to individuals that have some prior knowledge in alpine activities. If this description does not fit you, we recommend getting yourself comfortable with hiking, as well as camping at campsites before trying backpacking.
Equipment/Costs
For camping, you will need:
- Proper footwear meant for hiking is essential, as this activity requires being on foot for many kms, and may involve crossing some alpine terrain. These types of foot wear may range from $100-$300
- A backpack anywhere from 20-30 liters, specifically meant for backpacking is highly recommended. Backpacking specific backpacks helps distribute weight across the body, which helps immensely when carrying a lot of weight across many km. These bags tend to range from $100-380.
- You will want to pack extra layers of clothes, as weather is unpredictable. However it is important to not over pack.
- When going for multi day trips, having a mini stove and propane to heat up food is recommended. These stoves cost $50, with propane costing $20.
- Additionally, when going on multi day tips, to cut down on space, we recommend purchasing freeze dried meals. These tend to cost $20 a bag.
- Having a tent to sleep in is a no brainer, however, it is important to look at purchasing a backpack specific one, as they tend to be much lighter and pack down easier. These range from $100 – $200
- Although a backpack specific sleeping bag is not as important, they definitely do help as they also tend to pack down smaller. However it is important to make sure your sleeping bag goes to the correct temperature that you will be sleeping in. Sleeping bags usually cost $150-$300
- Having a sleeping pad that is easy to pack down helps a ton while backpacking. These cost $40-$180
Hiking
Alberta is home to some of the most popular hikes, attracting visitors from all over the world to venture. The diverse landscape allows hikers to explore anything from forestry walks, hikes to alpine lakes, walks along the river, or if you’re feeling adventurous enough a climb to a mountain peak.
The best part is the mountains are only a quick hour drive from Calgary.
Tip from our founders:
- The application “All trails” linked below is a great application that provides information such as where the hike is, how many kms it is, the elevation gain, and any other additional information
- Make sure you are wearing footwear you can trust when venturing out for a hike. This may make or break you experience!
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Climbing
Whether you’re scaling mountains, or decide to stick to the gym, climbing is such a diverse activity as it challenges you both physically and mentally. As for the outside climbers, the climbing in the Bow Valley is a popular climbing destination world wide with so many well known spots it will keep you busy all summer.
Tips from the founders:
- If you are new to climbing, and don’t know anyone currently involved in the sport, starting at the gym is a great place to not only gain more knowledge, but also meet many individuals within the community.
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Camping
Camping is a great way to detach from reality completely. Camping is a great activity for all individuals; regardless of age or experience, you can make it as remote or “luxurious” as you desire. Alberta is home to over 200 campsites, including bathrooms, cooking stoves, concrete pads, and fire pits. If you are feeling more adventurous, Alberta also has many backcountry hike-in campsites that have similar amenities.
Tips from our founders:
- Make sure you do your research on where you plan on going beforehand. It is important to know how many km to the campsite, what exact amenities there are, as well as the weather during the day (and night). This is important as many campsite locations, especially the backcountry ones, are far from any services and are usually out of cell service. Coming extra prepared, with the right knowledge is essential before going out.
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Events Calendar
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January 20th | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Intro to Climbing
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March 20th | 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Group Hike to Ha Ling Peak
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April 15th | 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm