Canada's Scenic Riverside Town Is A Crowd-Free Getaway With Stunning Parks, Shops, And Breweries Near Calgary

Canada brims with scenic, riverside towns that beckon visitors to slow down and stay awhile. A multitude of pretty towns lie along the Bow River, a majestic waterway in southern Alberta whose headwaters start in the Canadian Rockies at Banff National Park. Along the section of the Bow winding its way through the cosmopolitan city of Calgary lies Cochrane, an underrated riverside gem where you can enjoy local flavor and Mother Nature without having to brave the tourist crowds. This picturesque town is home to stunning parks, plentiful shopping, and a handful of interesting microbreweries.

Rich in Western heritage, Rocky Mountain views, and outdoor recreation, Cochrane offers visitors a unique, crowd-free getaway compared to big-city Calgary, a thriving metropolis that's home to 1.6 million residents and welcomes a whopping 8 million visitors a year. Cochrane, located just 22 miles from Calgary in the gorgeous foothills of the Canadian Rockies, is a rapidly growing community that's happily hidden. However, tourism in Cochrane is up-and-coming, with the community working to figure out how to retain tourists passing through from thriving destinations like Calgary and Banff National Park, which is just over an hour away. 

In the meantime, visitors can enjoy Cochrane's top attractions in relative tranquility. Have the road all to yourself on a picturesque drive along the Cowboy Trail through Cochrane's fabled ranch country.  Forget bottlenecking while you raft or paddle board your cares away on the rushing Bow River. And there's no competing with annoying influencers to grab those postcard-perfect shots of Cochrane's lovely nature, or the old-time, Western facades of cool buildings like the Rockyview Hotel and Cochrane Movie House.

Canada boasts some of the world's best national parks, and it also has beautiful parklands on a local level. Cochrane, for one, is graced with 45 stunning parks. One absolute showstopper is Riverfront Park, perched on the banks of the Bow River. This sprawling, family-friendly jewel is a recreational paradise filled with everything you need for a perfect day of fun. There's a wooden playground for the kiddos, a disc-golf course for the teens, barbecues where adults can do some grilling, and there's even a dog park for Fido. You can get out on the Bow River, boating, rafting, or fishing, or wander the park's numerous winding pathways down by the river. The riverbank here is also a top spot for a lazy picnic with sweeping views, similar to McBride, an underrated, riverfront Canadian town.

Big Hill Springs Provincial Park is another Cochrane gem. It's filled with rolling waterfalls and hiking trails, and is an excellent spot to observe local flora and fauna, including mule deer, moose, beavers, muskrats, and several colorful species of birds.  Mitford Park is a haven for organized sports and recreation. There are a pair of baseball diamonds, a soccer field, a skate park, and plenty of trails for hiking and biking. Mitford Park's two ponds are known for rainbow trout fishing and if you visit in winter, you can ice skate and ski here. Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park is an active cattle ranch, the place to revel in stunning panoramas of the surrounding Rockies and Calgary skyline while exploring trails spanning over 3,000 acres of protected grassland. 

Many of Cochrane's charming boutiques are clustered in its historic downtown, which is lined with buildings reminiscent of its Western roots. Head to Main Street, which is also known as 1st Street West, but actually refers to a swath of streets from 5th to Centre Avenue.

For local finds, Social Spot Marketplace carries handmade items from more than 60 Alberta creators and sellers. Bookworms can browse the stacks at Found Books, an independent bookstore that also hosts a flurry of live music and literary events. If wellness and woo-woo are your thing, StarLight Portal is the place to shop for everything from crystals and gongs to energy sessions in the Quantum Resonance Chamber. For those looking for unique souvenirs, Route 22 Artist Collective Gallery carries artwork from Southern Alberta artists. According to Tripadvisor, another artsy hot spot that travelers rank as Cochrane's #1 place to shop was Studio West Bronze Foundry & Art Gallery. This is a showplace of international award-winning sculptor Don Begg and features a trove of bronze, fine art treasures. 

Follow up your retail therapy with some of Cochrane's finest craft brews. Rocky View Brewing Company in a Main Street taproom and microbrewery, pulling pints of blonde and brown ales and everything in between. The family-owned Half Hitch Brewing Company, Cochrane's first brewery, has been serving a curated menu of craft brews for a solid decade. Quench your thirst with one of the 16 craft beers on tap at The Beer Den, or grab a little something to take away from the extraordinary variety of beer and wine sold onsite. Cochrane is located just an easy half-hour drive from Calgary, the "Country Music Capital of Canada."