Things To Do With Your Kids: Fish Creek Park Ice Cave

Nov 1, 2018

3 min read

I’ve said it many, many times, we love going to Fish Creek Park. It’s such a great area to get out and do some hiking or biking and it’s IN THE CITY! I never get tired of being in the middle of the park and not being able to tell that you’re in the middle of a bustling city. It’s like a beautiful little holiday and like a holiday it can sometimes also involve a screaming child (sigh). But did you know about the Fish Creek Park Ice Caves?

Despite the fact that Clara and I frequently go to Fish Creek and that the Bow Valley Ranche entrance is one of our favourites, I did not know there was an ice cave near by and boy were we missing out! Not only is the area great for Clara to explore, but it’s the perfect distance for her to walk before her little legs get too tired.

So without further adieu, here is all the information you need to go check out the Fish Creek Park Ice Caves – complete with pictures!

How to get to Fish Creek Park Ice Caves

Location: 15979 Bow Bottom Trail

Park at the Bow Valley Ranch visitor centre. From there head south towards the river taking this path:

Take this path to get to the ice caves

Same path in winter

From there you will cross over this bridge:

Cross this bridge

You can either go left or right at this point. Both paths will eventually take you to the ice caves, however going right is the quickest route.

Walk a little ways and you’ll come right to the ice caves.

You made it!

Looking back down the path in winter

The ice caves in summer

Fish Creek ice caves in winter

In addition to the ice caves, there is an ice fall that you can check out depending on the weather and your footwear. I would not recommend doing this path with children however. Clara and I stayed off of it as it was to narrow and there was too steep of a drop off.

To get to the ice falls, head further down the path to check out the approximately 4 metre tall falls.

Depending on the winter weather at the time you visit the ice caves they could be completely clear like the picture above or completely covered in ice. Clara and I will be back this winter and will post any pictures we get with ice included.

Fish Creek Park Ice falls

Fish Creek Park ice falls

More Information

The total distance of the loop is 2 km. If you just head straight to the ice falls then straight back to the parking lot, it’s 1.4 km. The pathway there is a combination of pavement and gravel and gets cleared intermittently in the winter, so it may or may not be stroller friendly depending on when you go. The visitor centre has washrooms that are typically open during the day.