Canal to Chestermere & Bow River

The Western Headworks Canal carries irrigation water to over 400 farms and municipal water to four communities through a gravity system that began in 1904 with a diversion weir on the Bow River. The bike path alongside it offers 28 km of dedicated car-free cycling from Calgary to Chestermere, with the last 9 km outside city limits. 

The route is honest about its appeal: the first section passes through Calgary's industrial landscape—factories and businesses you'd normally never see—before opening into actual countryside with farmland, wetlands, and eventually Heatherglen Golf Course. It's workable as a beginner ride any time or a solid early-season training route for experienced cyclists. 

Wind exposure is a real factor, so check the forecast before committing. But if you want a long, quiet ride without navigating traffic or roads, this delivers—you just have to accept that half of it looks like an industrial park and the pavement won't win any smoothness awards, especially near any trees.

Another fair warning - the loop around Chestermere is best done on the road rather than trying to ride the path. There are hardly any views of the lake due to waterfront housing but you will see how the 1% live. 😏 My route below leaves from my house in SW Calgary and starts in Fish Creek Provincial Park before finding the Rotary Mattamy Greenway Pathway system around the south and SE part of the city. The section just before linking up with the canal is a little convoluted and rough but works.