The wildlife underpass is just a tunnel that goes under the Anthony Henday, allowing a safer way for animals to get from one side of the Henday to the other – but it’s got some cool factor if you’re looking for places to bring your kids that have a great ‘destination point’ at the end.
The graffiti filled tunnel is one of those adventures that’s short enough from origin that even toddlers can make the trek, but it’s cool enough to entertain tweens and teens – checking all of our boxes for adventures within the city. It’s stroller friendly until you get to the hills, where you might want to leave the stroller at the top while you descend into the ravine. There was no one else around when we explored, so we wouldn’t hesitate to leave a stroller at the top.
How do you get to the wildlife underpass? Park your vehicle near the entrance to the paved path nearMullen Cres. in Mactaggart for the shortest walk – it’s under a kilometer until you reach the ravine where you’ll see the wildlife underpass.
- Look for the paved path towards the ravine, until you hit the dirt road/path
- Follow the path all the way until the end where you’ll see the fence, past the power lines
- Turn left at the fence, head down the hill until you see the way through the underpass
- To get to the bridge above, you’ll have to cross a small creek, look for the log to step across
- Head up the hill, to the entrance of the bridge on top of the wildlife underpass
Tip: for a bit of a longer walk, park further down the path at McLuhan Bluff, and turn right on the paved bike path.
There is plenty of bright colored graffiti on the walls, the creek to throw rocks in, the bridge above and sometimes, if you’re lucky, wildlife going through the tunnels.
The entire walk from the parked vehicle to the wildlife underpass is under one kilometer, and it was short enough for a two year old to trek, with a few sections of hilly area where we carried her on our shoulders, or passed her across the creek.
How much time should you expect to spend there? There’s plenty of space to explore, throw rocks in the creek and graffiti to check out while you’re spending time at the wildlife underpass. We spent about an hour, walking around, exploring the lower and upper part of the underpass with the kids.