Welcome to Alberta!

For those wishing to explore outside the city of Calgary there is much to do, whether it be for a day or a week. If you are planning more than a day trip and need accommodation, book early. This area is world renowned and very popular during the spring / summer season.

Travelling one hour west out of Calgary will bring you to the Rocky Mountains, a majestic drive worth doing even if you are just going up for the day. Here you will find the mountain towns of Canmore and Banff, the latter being within Banff National Park, as well as the entrance to Kananaskis Country.

KANANASKIS COUNTRY

Kananaskis is a huge area to explore. To access, take HWY 1 west out of Calgary, and after 40 minutes take the turnoff, HWY 40 to Kananaskis. The visitor center is located just 10 minutes on the turnoff (hwy40) and offers excellent information and suggestions for the area. You will need to purchase a pass here if you are going to continue into the park. Hikes of every level, kayak rentals (at Barrier Lake), horseback riding (at Boundary Ranch) and golf can be found within the area. As well there is the Village of Kananaskis where there is a variety of dining options, choices of accommodation, a few shops, a beautiful ridge walk, and pool and Nordic spa facilities.

Be sure to call in advance if you want to book time at the hotel, spa or pool ( 403-591-7711).

Recommended Hikes:

The Ridge Loop at the Kananaskis Village hotel is a glorious walk/hike, it is flat terrain and offers wonderful views of the valley below. (Easy) Ptarmigan Cirque. This hike is located in Kananaskis country, 10 minutes past the Kananaskis Village. It

is a steep hike, that leads to a beautiful Alpine Meadow, (5km loop) with views of surrounding mountains. From the top one can continue on to higher elevation for many km's, choosing your own turn around point. (Moderate)

CANMORE

The town of Canmore is located 55 minutes from Calgary, travelling west again on HWY 1, (15 minutes past the Kananaskis turnoff). This is a beautiful, well-established mountain town boasting many upscale shops and a huge variety of dining choices and coffee shops. The town is situated along the beautiful Bow River where there are river pathways to explore on foot or with bicycle rentals. It is also home to

the 1988 Olympic Nordic Centre where there are numerous trails open in the summer. Accommodation is plentiful, but again book early as it is a popular resort area.

Recommended Hikes

Grassy Lakes. This is a modest 2.1 mile loop trail just outside the town of Canmore. The trail takes you to a glacier fed lake and at the top there are spectacular views. (Easy) Ha Ling Peak. This is a 4.5 mile out-and-back trail near Canmore that takes an average of 4 hours to complete. The trail is generally considered challenging, but for those up to the task the views at the top are worth the leg workout to get there. (Hard)

BANFF PROVINCIAL PARK

Next on the drive west (five minutes past the town of Canmore) is the Banff Park Gate where you will purchase a day or multi-day pass to enter. This is a National Park with no end of trails to explore, and pathways to cycle. Once in Banff National Park, it is a 10 minute drive to the turn off to the town of Banff or Lake Minnewanka. Lake Minnewanka is one of the many beautiful lakes in this park. Here you can take a 50-minute boat tour, rent a small powered row boat, hike and picnic. The drive to the lake is on a loop where you will pass Two Jack Lake (photographer’s dream — a turquoise lake with the mountains as the backdrop)

and Cascade Pond, a small but pretty pond and picnic area. Both are worth a visit. Banff is famous for its incredible beauty, situated at the foot of Cascade Mountain along the Bow River.

It has many shops, restaurants, art galleries, two museums and parks. You can walk the pathways along the Bow River, arriving at the stunning Bow Falls or rent canoes downtown and paddle to the Vermillion Lakes. Bikes are available in town to rent, bowling at the iconic Banff Springs Hotel (built in 1881, a

national treasure), horseback ride or take a leisurely raft down the river.

Recommended Hikes

Tunnel Mountain. Likely due to its easy grade and location in the heart of Banff, this is a very popular hike. The trail has a gentle for most of the way, with a few mildly steep sections, and is only 3 miles round-trip. The top offers a panoramic view of the townsite, the Bow valley and the surrounding wilderness. (Easy) Lake Minnewanka. There are a variety of hikes that can be accessed from this lake, which range in difficulty and length. Everything is clearly signed and mapped.

LAKE LOUISE / JASPER

Leaving Banff and continuing along HWY 1 it is a 40 minute drive to Lake Louise. This is such a beautiful and popular place that you need to either arrive early in the day or plan to park your car and take the shuttle up to the lake. Once there, you will find the famous Chateau Lake Louise built in 1911, situated

on the banks of another glacier lake, Lake Louise. There you can hike around the lake or rent canoes. For those who like a good walk, you can hike up to the Lake Agnes Tea House, 8 km return, or just go halfway to Mirror Lake and the Bee Hives (rock formations that look just like Bee Hives). Truly magnificent scenery. From Lake Louise the road HWY 93 can head to Jasper (3 hrs away) or the Columbia Icefields Hwy 93.

The drive to Jasper is perhaps the most stunning in all the Rockies. You don’t have to go all the way though, there are countless pristine lakes and trails to walk along the way. One of the most notable is Bow Lake, just 10 minutes up the road from Lake Louise on the Jasper Hwy. This offers fishing, a lodge

and multiple hikes, one leading to beautiful waterfalls. Cheap camping options abound as well.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

A couple of other places to mention are Emerald Lake and the town of Field. Both of these are about 20 minutes past Lake Louise staying on Hwy 1, entering the province of British Columbia. Emerald Lake is another breathtaking turquoise glacier lake, where you can rent canoes, dine at one of two restaurants, hike around the lake (easy) or stay at the very iconic Emerald Lake Lodge (pricey). Field is just a great little off beat town with a population of 60 that has a couple of great places to eat, of course wonderful to walk around and views that can’t be beat. Opposite scene then the Emerald Lake

Lodge, completely charming. Lots of information here. All of the above is within 2 hours of Calgary at the most (Jasper being the exception). One of the most important things to remember is that if you plan to stay in any of these

places you should book early.

If you have specific questions about any travel plans you are trying to make you can email then to

aliwayne44@hotmail.com (Fraser’s mom) and we will do our best to help you.

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