Dickson Dam Loop
Route Details: When you need some wind therapy but might be getting a late start or only have a couple hours to spare this route is chalk full of good pavement to quench your thirst for the open road with some excellent scenery mixed in for good measure.
Honestly you could start this route in Crossfield, Carstairs, Didsbury or Olds. All of which have great local owned coffee shops that can act as a meeting place and of course a spot to fuel up with food and caffeine before the ride. West of Olds you will turn north on 766 and follow it until you run out of pavement where a left turn will keep you on hardtop and in a minute will reach the west end of Glennifer Lake and pass the Cottonwood Rec Area and ride across an old oxbow of the original route the river took before it was changed with the addition of the Dickson Dam. To get up to the dam that will get you across the Red Deer River you need to make two left hand turns on RR 25 and 22. RR22 dead ends and another left brings you right up to the dam and on the near side there is a provincial building with a large paved (always empty) parking lot and on the far side of the dam there is another gravel lot with access to the lake, both make for great places to stop and take a look at the lake, the dam and the surrounding area including the river valley to the north. There is an unlimited variety of great photo ops around the dam so it is well worth a stop. After the dam it is only a couple minutes to the town of Dickson and its quaint little museum and another couple kms north of that you arrive in Spruce View where both you and your bike can be refueled (Co-op service station and the J BAR T). If ice cream or taco in a bag are high on your list of priorities then your next stop should be Caroline Ice Cream Shoppe. Caroline and the rest of it’s shops have their own very unique charm and you can also grab a good cup of joe here if need be. On your return I would suggest taking the backroad into Sundre via James River Bridge for something different and then it’s a straight shot towards home on Highway 22.
Highlights: Red Deer River, Glennifer Lake and Dickson Dam, James River
Local Businesses: Stacked Bistro (Crossfield), Dickson Store Museum, J Bar T Roadhouse (Spruce View), Caroline Ice Cream Shoppe,
KM/Hours of Riding: 221 km, 2.5 hours riding
