Fall is my favourite time of the year. Sunny enough to wear shorts, chilly enough to wear a jacket. The leaves are exploding in colour and there are many outdoor adventures to be had before the dark of winter really takes hold.
I am a not at home dad. You know that. I like to get the heck out of the house with the kids and explore.
My kind of day trips don’t require large packs or much planning. You can just hop in the car and head out with simply some water bottles and snacks. You want to know why dads wear cargo shorts?
Because snacks, that’s why.
Here are 5 of my favourite fall day trips:
DRUMHELLER VALLEY
There are so many things to do in Drumheller from hiking to geocaching to wandering hoodoos to chasing dinosaurs to digging up coal. A daytrip to this region of Alberta is never the same adventure twice.
COWBOY TRAIL
If you want to live and breathe the history of Alberta, take a drive down the Cowboy Trail to Longview to see all the things, eat all the things, and explore K Country.
BANFF
Banff never disappoints, and you can make an adventure filled day of it with a quick climb up Tunnel Mountain, a canoe paddle on Vermillion Lakes, and then a relaxing swim at the Upper Hot Springs.
MOUNTAIN BIKING IN CANMORE
Before the snow settles in, we get in all the riding we can. Toss the bikes on the back of your ride and head out to Canmore where they have a great little pump track and the Canmore Nordic Centre (a bastion of mountain biking in the cross country off season).
If you don’t want to go all the way into town, you could duck out into K Country to take a pedal to Troll Falls and Hay Meadow.
Paskapoo Slopes
When I just want to get out for a few hours with the boys we will just walk 5 blocks and explore Paskapoo Slopes. We climb rocks, chase Pokemon, and just spend a couple of hours together being outside.
Where will you find adventure this fall?