19 Toddler-Friendly Activities in Fernie, BC

Fernie, BC is a hidden gem for families traveling with toddlers. Nestled in the Canadian Rockies, Fernie offers breathtaking mountain views towering over the Elk River, dense forests, and plenty of outdoor activities. The town has a welcoming, laid-back atmosphere with plenty of family-friendly spots including several local parks. It is known for its fly fishing, biking, and skiing - a perfect combo! Our relaxing stay at the Fernie RV Resort was a great stop after our busy visit to Banff.

While we did not do a ton during our visit - we thoroughly enjoyed watching fall roll in, some rainy days and we were able to catch up and refill our supplies. These are our suggestions for activities in Fernie, although admittedly, we didn’t get to explore everything ourselves.

Aquatic Center

The Fernie Aquatic Center is located in the heart of this mountain town and offers a refreshing break from the outdoors, especially on a cold rainy day. It features a variety of pools designed for all ages including a toddler-friendly walk-in pool with fountains, play features and plenty of toys. For adults, it includes a lap pool, hot tub, sauna, and a water-slide for older kids. The views of mountains outside every window are stunning.

Admission is free for children ages 0-2, $3.25 for preschoolers ages 3-5, $4.25 for children ages 6-12, $5.25 for youth ages 12-20, and $6.25 for adults. There are several pricing options for punches and memberships and plenty of swim leagues and lessons. The aquatic center also holds town events including Goodbye Summer and After School Rec Club.

Fernie Heritage Library

Conveniently located in downtown Fernie, the library is close to everything making it an easy addition to your day. It is a charming and peaceful retreat for families. Housed in a beautifully restored historical building, the library offers cozy reading nooks and a relaxing environment. They also host classes including a toddler-time class which we thoroughly enjoyed with our littles.

Visitors Center

Located at the entrance to Fairy Falls and just off the highway, the Fernie Visitors Center can be accessed via biking trails from downtown and is a must-stop. The center is welcoming and family-friendly, offering brochures, maps, and local advice. The knowledgeable staff provided us with personalized recommendations and answered all of our questions while our toddlers interrupted and touched everything. 🙄 There are bulletins with local events, a small gift shop, and clean restrooms. They also will redeem the points you earn with the Iconic Fernie App (see below) and our kids were so excited for the Fernie stuffed bears.

GROW Children’s Boutique

GROW Children’s Boutique is a delightful stop for families traveling! The atmosphere is warm and inviting and they offer a selection of items from cozy apparel to handcrafted and sustainable toys. The shop is designed with parents and toddlers in mind, featuring a small play space for kids to explore toys and books while parents browse.

Fernie Alpine Resort

Fernie Alpine Resort is well-known for it’s skiing, but it is transformed in the summer. The summer season had ended the weekend before we arrived early September so sadly we missed out on this. We had expected there to be a fun chairlift ride up the mountain to take in the panoramic Canadian Rockies view as well as hiking, biking, and fun restaurants. While we didn’t visit the resort, we enjoyed a drive to the base while enjoying some early fall color changes.

Iconic Fernie App

Before you arrive in Fernie, be sure to download the Iconic Fernie App! The app has so many ideas of fun local places to explore and our toddlers were really excited to earn points so they could get themselves a new stuffed animal. The app includes short explanations of each location and encourages you to see and try places you may not have thought to. We had fun gathering these points on foot, bike and from the car. The points can also we redeemed at the Fernie Distillery for a free drink.

Bike Parks

As mentioned previously, Fernie is known for it’s biking. There is downhill mountain biking at the Fernie Alpine Resort and a Bike Park in town. They encourage bikers from a young age. Our campground, Fernie RV Resort, had a toddler-friendly modular bike track by Running River which looked so fun! Our big doesn’t quite have a love for biking (yet!) but our little will be allll about this when he is slightly bigger. A bonus is that many of the local trails happily allow pedal assist bikes.

Elk River Beach Day

A beach day along the Elk River in Fernie with toddlers is the perfect mix of relaxation and outdoor fun. The Elk River flowing through town is a delight for paddleboarders and fly fisherman and also has several slow flow locations to access and play with your toddlers. While the waters are quite chilly, our toddlers enjoyed wading, splashing, throwing rocks and playing with buckets along the shore on a warm afternoon. Plan to bring your blankets, chairs, and snacks and setup along a pebbly or sandy bank that lines the river while enjoying views of the surrounding mountains.

Fly Fish

Fly fishing in Fernie is a dream for outdoor enthusiasts and offers some of the best fishing in North America! The Elk River is renowned for its abundant populations of cutthroat and bull trout. A local guide that we met at the river recommended fishing between 1130am and 430pm with a dry fly in the hip deep areas and said we’d catch several. While we didn’t find the time on our journey, we are excited to return and wanted to share what we learned with you. So grab a guide or throw on your waders and hope to catch some big ones!

Island Lake Lodge Old Growth Trail

This Island Lake Lodge is known for cat skiing in the winter and excellent hiking in the summer. The Old Growth Trail is known to be a magical experience for families as you wander through the huge ancient cedar and Douglas fir trees. The hike from the Old Growth Trail parking lot to the Island Lake Lodge is 2.5 miles one way. We did not do this hike, but I realllly wish we had. Next time, our plan is to park a bike at the lodge, drive to/park at the parking lot, hike to the lodge for lunch, and one of us take the bike to go get the truck (until our toddlers are ready for a 5 mile loop). There are plenty of other amazing hiking opportunities from the Island Lake Lodge including the short Lake Trail which is only 1.25 miles all the way to 13.5 mile Heiko’s Trail (which seriously looks incredible!).

Paddleboard Elk River

The Elk River is perfect for dropping your paddle board in the water. Be sure to stop at the visitor center to see the dangerous areas where logs have accumulated. The gal who helped us at the visitor center marked us a fun drop in and take out location on the river map. Next time we are definitely parking the bike at the take out and the truck at the drop in. The overall distance was quite short and would have taken under an hour which is perfect for our toddlers. Due to the rain during our visit, we didn’t end up experiencing this but I imagine floating down the Elk River with mountains towering over you would have been a dream.

Mount Fernie Provincial Park

Mount Fernie Provincial Park was scenic and serene outdoor experience with a great selection of hiking and biking trails that flow around and over Lizard Creek. The windy trails, small waterfalls, and bridge crossings were so pretty as the leaves started to change. While bikes are allowed, not all trails were bike friendly. Some bridge crossings were up a short flight of stairs which didn’t work for our e-bikes and toddler bike trailer. We would recommend just meandering, stopping and enjoying this park with toddlers - don’t look to accomplish a bike.

Montane Hut

Behind the Montane neighborhood close to the town of Fernie is a series of hiking and biking trails. We were recommended to check out the Easy Beaver Trail which is a smooth gravel surface with modest grades which takes you to the Montane Hut. The Montane Hut is used as a warming hut for winter activities. This bike would have been a quick 3 mile loop and super easy with our toddlers.

Fairy Creek Falls

Fairy Creek Falls is known as one of Fernie’s most accessible and family-friendly hikes. The trail leads to a beautiful waterfall cascading into a lush forest. Access is just off the visitor center parking lot. This trail is not bike or stroller friendly. The distance to the lower falls is just under 3 miles round trip.

Fernie Brewing

Fernie Brewing was a fun stop off the bike path on the other side of the Elk River from downtown Fernie. The outdoor space looked like a beautiful place to hang out and enjoy mountain views but it was closed due to the rain. The environment here was great but admittedly the high top tables with toddlers was a challenge. My husband really enjoyed the Project 9 Pilsner and I appreciated a fall tasting of their seasonal pumpkin beer. The kids played with Magnetiles (and Mom and Dad picked them up off the floor) and munched on chips and pretzels which were available for purchase.

Bridge Bistro

The Bridge Bistro was in a perfect location along the Elk River, just off the bike path with a great outdoor space. We enjoyed our meals, service was excellent and the local trivia was fun!

Big Bang Bagels

Big Bang Bagels was an excellent spot to have a laid-back breakfast with toddlers. Our kids enjoyed playing with toys at their tucked-away kid table. Bagels with cream cheese are always a win with our littles and my husband and I throughly enjoyed our breakfast bagels.

Bike to Several Playgrounds

Fernie has several local playgrounds to choose from and we enjoyed venturing to several of them on our bikes. We explored Ridgemont Playground, Rotary Park, Annex Park, Prentice Park, and Sparling East Playground as well as the playground at the Fernie RV Resort. Our two favorites were Rotary Park with its variety, train, and rafting rocker and Sparling East Playground with its new equipment and zipline.

Were you able to explore many of these locations in Fernie with your toddlers?

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