Bragg Creek is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in southern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

under the jurisdiction of

Rocky View County Rocky View County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada that is named for its views of the nearby Rocky Mountains to the west. It surrounds most of Calgary, forming the city's northern boundary and most of the city's western and e ...

in Division No. 6. Bragg Creek is located west of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

(via Highway 8 and Highway 22) at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Elbow River and Bragg Creek north of the intersection of Highway 66 and Highway 22. Bragg Creek is popular for shopping, with its shops, restaurants, and mountain scenery. The area has many hiking/biking, cross-country and equestrian trails and picnic/camping areas. It has been the location of several movies and TV series.

Amenities

Bragg Creek is popular for shopping, with its quaint shops, restaurants, and mountain scenery. The area is a popular spot for vacations and short day trips from Calgary. It is near the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

and

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...

. The Elbow River and the scenic Elbow Falls are a short distance away. There are many recreational areas in the area. These include

Bragg Creek Provincial Park Bragg Creek Provincial Park is a Canadian provincial park in Alberta's Rocky Mountains at the eastern edge of Kananaskis Country. This park is located near the Elbow River and includes facilities for picnicking, hiking, and fishing. CBC's telev ...

and the

Canyon Creek Ice Cave Canyon Creek Ice Cave, also known as Bragg Creek Ice Cave or Moose Mountain Ice Cave, is a small ice cave in limestone located in Kananaskis Country near the community of Bragg Creek, Alberta, Canada. Known to natives through prehistory, its 'dis ...

, also known as the Bragg Creek Ice Cave. There are numerous hiking/biking trails, equestrian trails and picnic/camping areas.

Downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

used to be popular, although since the abandonment of the nearby downhill ski centre, Wintergeen, only

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

facilities are available. In recent years the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association has developed over of biking, hiking, snowshoeing, and horseback riding trails. Many summer camps, such as OLQP,

Easter Seals Camp Horizon In Canada, Easter Seals is a group of charitable organizations which supports the development and advancement of people who are living with different types of disabilities. Founded in 1922 by a group of Rotary Clubs, it sought to emulate the succe ...

and Kamp Kiwanis are also near Bragg Creek. The powderface42, a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

and

half-marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

takes place in the vicinity every year. This event is called a mountain marathon, but is more like a classical marathon running race rather than the multi-day mountain marathon events in the UK. The race does not have a navigational element to it; participants run on a predefined and marked course with water stations along it.

History

Bragg Creek is named after Albert Warren Bragg from Collingwood, Nova Scotia and his 14-year-old brother John Thomas who homesteaded in the area in 1894. The community was established between a forestry reserve, the Sarcee

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...

and a

Provincial Park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to t ...

. Ranching was the original primary economic generator in Bragg Creek. The economy diversified with the emergence of recreation in the 1920s. Bragg Creek was featured in the feature films ''Storm'' (1987) and ''Killer Image'' (1992) both directed by

David Winning David Winning is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and occasional actor. Although Winning has worked in numerous film and TV genres, his name is most commonly associated with science fiction, thri ...

, and also ''Betrayed'' (1988) directed by Costa-Gavras. During the 1990s, CBC aired the television program ''

North of 60 ''North of 60'' is a 1990s Canadian television drama depicting life in the sub-Arctic northern boreal forest (north of 60° north latitude, hence the title). It first aired on CBC Television in 1992 and was syndicated around the world. It is ...

'', which was mainly filmed in Bragg Creek. The town was the filming location for the BBC/Discovery Channel series ''

Dinosapien ''Dinosapien'' is a 15-episode children's television program. The series is a co-production between BBC Worldwide and CCI Entertainment Ltd., in association with BBC Kids, Discovery Kids and CBBC. Overall 15 episodes were made, each 21 and half ...

'' (2007) and the 2009

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

series ''Wild Roses'', as well as portions of the movie ''FUBAR''.

2013 flooding

In the late spring of 2013, Bragg Creek and areas surrounding the Elbow River were put on a flood watch and eventually voluntary evacuation when the river rose over , overflowing and eroding in some places. The majority of Bragg Creek buildings were damaged in this event, as were the majority of houses in nearby

Redwood Meadows Redwood Meadows is a townsite in Alberta, Canada—the only townsite recognized by Alberta Municipal Affairs as of August 2020. Redwood Meadows is unique in that it is a partially independent townsite, functioning similar to an incorporated Albe ...

. The voluntary evacuation was not met with widespread co-operation, as many residents stayed to battle the flood by building makeshift dams. Bragg Creek has since recovered from the event.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Bragg Creek had a population of 432 living in 189 of its 213 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 418. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of Bragg Creek according to the 2018 municipal census conducted by Rocky View County is 459.

References

External links