What type of holiday are you looking for? Are you traveling with family or friends? When would you like to visit? Let us make some recommendations!
Located on the banks of the Elk River, Annex Park is a popular stop for those looking to spend part of their day.
Update - June 11, 2022: The Annex Park is currently this season for flood mitigation construction. We kindly ask visitors to respect the signage and closures. Fernie is home to many other great parks such as James White, Maiden Lake, Mt Fernie Provincial Park and others.
The park is enjoyed by bikers, walkers, and joggers during the summer months and snowshoe and cross-country ski enthusiasts in the winter.
Annex Park is a natural area surrounded by community trails, it features a duck pond, grassy open areas, and shaded picnic facilities. This is a great place to introduce the little ones to our resident ducks. Dogs are welcome on leash.
The Great Trail (aka. TransCanada Trail) passes through Annex Park forming a part of Fernie's Recreational Trail, and in turn, connects to Fernie's huge multi-use trails network. There's plenty to explore around Fernie Community, so be sure to pick up a copy of the Fernie Trail Map at the Visitor Information Centre on HWY 3, at the museum downtown or take a look at the basic map in our related document on this page.
There is a parking area at the entrance of the park by taking 11th Street off the Highway through town. Drive to the end of 11th Street up and over the dyke and follow left to the parking area. Green bear-proof bins are placed intermittently along the park's pathway. On foot, the park can be accessed by virtually any street on the north-west side of 11th or 12th Avenue, as well as from Maiden Lake (passing under the North Fernie Bridge), or Dogwood Park (passing under the West Fernie Bridge).
Wapiti Music Festival
Annex Park also traditionally hosts the annual Wapiti Music Festival in August, a Canadian Indie music festival sponsored by local businesses and CBC Radio. The festival line-up tends to be announced late-February to early-March time, with early bird priced tickets selling out within days. Follow the Wapiti Music Festival webpage and social media channels to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements.
Fernie Half Marathon
The Fernie Half Marathon & 10k event occurs annually in early October. Starting in Annex Park, this all-trail course winds alongside the Elk River following the community trail system. The cooler fall conditions and gentle elevation gain makes this solo/relay running event accessible yet enjoyably challenging as you run through the beautiful autumnal colours of the Canadian Rockies.
Elk Valley Ultra 50k
If long-distance and high-elevation alpine trail running gets you excited then this is the event to aim for. The Elk Valley Ultra 50km attracts ultra runners from across Canada and the USA and takes place in late-July. Following a mass start from Annex Park, the event route sees athletes climbing to the ridge tops of Mount Fernie following a mass-start from Annex Park. From there it's all wilderness as they proceed to Island Lake Lodge via Windy Pass Trail, connecting to the famous Heiko's Trail, before winding back down the Cedar Valley back to Annex Park (and highly likely into the cool waters of the Elk River to cool down after a 6-12hr adventure run)
With over 3000m of vertical gain, this event isn't for the faint of heart.
