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Author
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Topic: Sights to visit in Canmore & Kelowna
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boyblue
TUG MemberPosts: 350
From: Nassau, Bahamas
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 10-20-2004 06:53
    
We're going to be spending a week in Canmore and a week in Kelowna in mid November. Are there any sights that we should not miss? BTW how do you pronounce Kelowna?Any chance of snow between November 5th and 21st? We would like to do some snowmobiling but I guess that's going to have to wait untill our Feb/Mar vacation. IP: Logged |
mercurydog
TUG MemberPosts: 120
From: Canada
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 10-20-2004 11:41
The main sights around Canmore are those of Banff National Park just down the highway, plus its own fairly interesting downtown. Canmore is pretty much the commercial/residential development for Banff that wasn't allowed to expand in the National Park. The Banff Springs Hotel and many fine shops/galleries/restaurants are the primary attractions in Nov. in Banff. Kananaskis is not too far away, although it will probably be after golf and before skiing, and of course Calgary is a fine city an hour away. Snow is fairly unpredictable at that time, but can definitely happen in Nov. in Canmore (There's some there now), but it can also easily be bare. The tourist info sources of the park service can help you find nice trails, smaller scenic roads, etc.Kelowna is pronounced with a hard k, short e, like in elf, long o, and short a as in apple. ke-low-nah. (Rhymes with balogna, at least how I say it.) Kelowna is in the attractive Okanagon Valley and you can do winery tours and maybe golf. Check out the nearby towns of Pentiction and Vernon. Lake tours will all be off for the season but sunshine will make everything attractive still. These three cities each have casinos and interesting little museums. Depending how you are travelling from Canmore to Kelowna, you will see some amazing mountain scenery, which is the main attraction by far. The Chateau at Lake Louise is certainly worth a look in, and if you use the Rogers Pass, stop at the summit interpretative museum. The avalanche snowsheds on the highway are interesting to think about! The best snowmobiling going is around the town of Revelstoke which you might be going through, but that's more so after Jan.
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barto
TUG MemberPosts: 407
From: Alberta, Canada
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 11-16-2004 10:07
Those are all excellent suggestions. The mention of Kananaskis is an excellent and often overlooked one. The scenery in parts of that drive rival (for us) the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Lake Louise. And the Icefields Parkway is closed far more often due to weather/snow, although mid-November should still be OK.If you're in Canmore in the evening, try driving up past the Nordic Center on a gravel road. Stop near the top and look back over the town and see the stars (if it's clear). If you keep going on that gravel road (Smith-Dorrien Road, I believe) it takes you in behind to Spray Valley, which eventually joins up to highway #40 (Kananaskis). Makes for a great driving loop around, and in some generally uninhabited/unused areas. We've gradually come to like Canmore's downtown a little better than Banff's somehow. Maybe because it's generally less crowded, a little less touristy...but neither will be crowded in mid-November. It's probably too late (haven't been checking on this board for a while - oops!) but try the Lake Minnewanka loop, even if part of it's been closed for wildlife issues. Then come into town via Tunnel Mountain Road just for something different. You can see the large campground up there and quite a few hotels and some decent restaurants up there as well (Cilantro's, for instance). A walk along the Bow River is nice, and Canmore has many nice walking trails, mostly along the river there as well. Bart IP: Logged | |
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