New Bike Trail for Young Kids Coming to Canmore’s Millennium Park

The Town of Canmore and the Canmore Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) have begun construction on a new bike trail in Millennium Park designed specifically for children five and younger.

The 300-metre-long, one-metre-wide single-track trail is being built for children using balance bikes, small pedal-free bicycles that help young riders develop balance, coordination and confidence before transitioning to traditional pedal bikes.

The trail will include different surfaces and obstacles, including wooden features, designed to introduce children to basic bike-handling skills.

“There will be different types of surface materials as well to help gain that little bit of skill,” said Riley Welden, a parks planner with the Town of Canmore.

CAMBA is funding the project through community grants and donations, including $5,000 from the Rotary Club of Canmore, $5,000 from the Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation, $10,000 from Pursuit Collection and $5,000 from local bike shop Outside Bike Ltd. CAMBA will also cover ongoing maintenance costs.

“This is a CAMBA project that they have recommended, and the town is working with them to make this happen…the town is providing land and resourcing to support the project,” Welden said.

Millennium Park was selected in part because the site is undeveloped, centrally located and already connected to Canmore's trail network. The park also has an existing pump track west of the football and soccer fields, keeping the new development close to existing cycling infrastructure.

The location is particularly accessible for families in south Canmore and the town's central core, who can reach the park by bike using existing trails.

“Existing trails already connect directly into the park, making it an easy and central location for young riders,” Welden said, describing Millennium Park as the “optimal site” for the project.

Teaching Bike Skills and Wildlife Coexistence

The project isn't only intended to teach children how to ride.

Interactive signs designed by the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley will also be installed along the trail, teaching children about the local environment, wildlife and how to safely share the landscape with animals. The initiative aligns with Canmore council's 2027-2030 strategic priority of improving coexistence among people, wildlife, and the natural environment.

Gareth Thomson, executive director of the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, said the signs will use the concept of home to help children understand their relationship with wildlife.

“The signage will focus on the fact that children have homes and that the wildlife have homes and we must show them respect by living in harmony,” Thomson said.

Thomson said the project also closely aligns with the Biosphere Institute's environmental education and advocacy work.

“We are thrilled to be part of this project,” he said.

Trail Expected to Open by End of August

CAMBA began construction on Aug. 17, with the project divided into two phases.

The first phase includes construction of the trail itself and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31. The trail can open for riders once that work is finished.

The second phase will add the educational signage and is expected to be completed this fall. CAMBA is carrying out the trail construction.

While relatively small in scale, the project will give Canmore's youngest riders a dedicated place to develop fundamental cycling skills while introducing them to the wildlife and natural environment around them.

With the trail expected to open by the end of August, families will soon have another accessible place in central Canmore for young children to ride, learn and build confidence on two wheels.

Bow Valley Insider reached out to CAMBA for additional comment but did not receive a response by publication deadline.