Bonus maps
The organizers have created a package of maps to help you enjoy your time in the Bow Valley area. These maps will help you make the most of your time between the WCOC and COC events by taking you to a variety of places - for a run, a hike, or for some fun training.
Map 1 - Banff Tourist-O. Trivia O, taking in the highlights of the historic town of Banff
Map 2 - Banff Centre campus. Sprint map, with no flags - set your own course, or just wander through the lovely campus.
Map 3 - Bow Valley Provincial Park. No flags. Use the map for hiking or trail running in this fabulous park with glorious views.
Map 4 - Canmore "Mines & Meadows" scenic course. Control locations marked on the map, ribbons hung in the forest.
Map 5 - Sass Peepre junior training camp. Control locations marked on the map, ribbons hung in the forest.
Note: We have changed Bonus Map #4 - it was originally planned to be a Sass Peepre map when we expected Sass Peepre camp to be in the Bow Valley. When the Sass Peepre camp was moved further away, we felt it was better to have another map in the Bow Valley region in Canmore.
The bonus map locations are the yellow bubbles in the map below...
Map 1 - Banff Tourist-O. Trivia O, taking in the highlights of the historic town of Banff
- This is a fun way to explore Banff with your friends & family - or alone. Take it easy though - take a pencil and the answer sheet and a camera and enjoy experiencing a little of the history of Banff and Canada’s National Parks system. Combine this with a run around the Banff Centre, on Bonus Map 2. Park at Banff’s Central Park which is at the corner of Bear & Buffalo streets. There is three hour free parking and excellent washroom facilities.
- AZ highly recommends this for an enjoyable low key day in Banff
Map 2 - Banff Centre campus. Sprint map, with no flags - set your own course, or just wander through the lovely campus.
- Really beautiful campus with a super-fun sprint map - maybe even just walk around if you're going into Banff anyway for the Trivia-O
Map 3 - Bow Valley Provincial Park. No flags. Use the map for hiking or trail running in this fabulous park with glorious views.
- Insanely technical and lusciously beautiful area. No flags - make your own course on this map and enjoy the mind-bending contour details. Be sure to take in some of the open ridges too. Be aware - this is bear country so we recommend taking your bear spray, mobile phone, and going with a partner. There are a few parking options, depending on where you want to start/end the exploration.
- Outstanding beauty. This would be the one forest map, if you're just going to one.
Map 4 - Canmore "Mines & Meadows" scenic course. Control locations marked on the map, ribbons hung in the forest.
- This is a wonderful run from Quarry Lake, through some residential areas, past the entrance to the old coal mine, across an abandoned golf course, and through some fun orienteering terrain back to scenic Quarry Lake. Be cautious of elk and other animals that sometimes graze on the golf course - take your bear spray and go with a buddy.
- Be careful of undermining - DO NOT go into any pits or deep depressions since they can be extremely dangerous. At the last moment we moved one control that will lead you towards a dangerous area that is well signed - our apologies for this.
- The grass has grown up very high this summer and there are a number of stinging nettles. We suggest skipping the final control as it surrounded by tall scratchy nettles and will ruin the fun.
- Buffalo berries are in abundance. As of July 21st the area is closed to allow bears undisturbed access to this food. Check the Alberta Parks website for updated information.
Map 5 - Sass Peepre junior training camp. Control locations marked on the map, ribbons hung in the forest.
- Enjoy a scenic drive about one hour east of Canmore in the Kananaskis foothills, Then use the control sites of the Sass Peepre junior camp training - they will have ribbons hung from Friday July 22nd until Tuesday July 26th, and actual orienteering control flags on Tuesday afternoon. Be aware - this is bear country so we recommend taking your bear spray and going with a partner.
- If you're looking to head east of the mountains into the foothills then this is a really nice option. A nice drive, even if it is a lot of gravel road, with a nice patch of orienteering at the end.
- “Bebo Grove” is a pretty cool name and the terrain is fun too. Enjoy this middle distance course - and see if you can approach the 36 minutes that Damian Konotopetz ran it in - just be warned that most people took closer to an hour to complete the entire course.
- A surprisingly complex area, quite physical. A good excuse to visit Canada's largest urban park if you are in Calgary for a day or two.
Note: We have changed Bonus Map #4 - it was originally planned to be a Sass Peepre map when we expected Sass Peepre camp to be in the Bow Valley. When the Sass Peepre camp was moved further away, we felt it was better to have another map in the Bow Valley region in Canmore.
The bonus map locations are the yellow bubbles in the map below...