Suggestions for trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Jun 13, 2017 09:18:48 #
DoninIL
Loc: East Central Illinois
Next month we will spend a couple of days in Calgary and then a few days in Golden, British Columbia. I plan to spend some time in the national parks. but I'd like suggestions of the best things to do and places to go in this area. Thanks for your help.
Jun 13, 2017 09:28:57 #
gary robertson
Loc: Now living in Sandpont Idaho, from So. Cal
Go to Banff and the Lake Louise area. This is one of the most spectacular areas in the world and you will not be sorry.
Jun 13, 2017 09:43:00 #
DoninIL wrote:
Next month we will spend a couple of days in Calgary and then a few days in Golden, British Columbia. I plan to spend some time in the national parks. but I'd like suggestions of the best things places to go in this area. Thanks for your help.
Don, the list of "best things places" to go to in this area is endless. Just go into Banff NP, keep your eyes open and your camera ready to shoot. For current "highlights" and restrictions, your best bet is to visit the Tourist Information Office (On-line or in person).
Places to go also depends on what you'd like to do: Just drive around? Go for easy walks? Go for strenuous hikes? Tourist Information will have the answers right at their fingertips.
https://www.banfflakelouise.com/
For Golden, check this out:
http://www.tourismgolden.com/
http://www.hellobc.com/visitorcentrelisting/visitor-centres/4548495/british-columbia-visitor-centre-@-golden.aspx
Do keep up with the local news: There have been road-closures due to wash-outs in the mountainous areas. If you have access to a tv, look for The Weather Network. For information about BC, check http://www.drivebc.com/
Enjoy our beautiful country and go home relaxed and with lots of good memories and good photos!
Jun 14, 2017 07:26:40 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
DoninIL wrote:
Next month we will spend a couple of days in Calgary and then a few days in Golden, British Columbia. I plan to spend some time in the national parks. but I'd like suggestions of the best things to do and places to go in this area. Thanks for your help.
tripadvisor.com
Jun 14, 2017 09:15:02 #
You really do need to narrow your focus to a few things as there is a lot of stuff to do and see in/around Calgary, apart from the national parks just to the west ... more stuff than you might be able to cover in a couple of days. If you are here between July 7 and 16 there is the world famous Calgary Stampede, if you are into that (including rodeo, etc.). To the northeast of Calgary is Drumheller if you are into the "badlands" and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology if dinosaurs are your thing.
There have been multiple posts over the years about all of the stuff to do and see in what we refer to as "the mountain parks" (a series of national parks all linked together) to the west so I won't repeat here ... I'm assuming you can search the site for "Rocky Mountains" or "Banff" etc. The Parks Canada visitor centre on the main drag in the Banff townsite (looks like an old church building converted ... easy to spot, but parking can be a pain in that area) is a great starting point, but again you will need to focus on specific interests (pun intended) if you have limited time. Expect the parks to be very busy this season as there is free park admission all year for our 150th anniversary ... weekends will be particularly busy out there.
The Banff townsite itself is very "touristy" with lots of shops and restaurants, but you don't have to go too far out of the townsite to get some spectacular scenery. Are you hoping to see wildlife? ... vs. great mountain scenery? ... picturesque lakes?
Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions about the area :)
There have been multiple posts over the years about all of the stuff to do and see in what we refer to as "the mountain parks" (a series of national parks all linked together) to the west so I won't repeat here ... I'm assuming you can search the site for "Rocky Mountains" or "Banff" etc. The Parks Canada visitor centre on the main drag in the Banff townsite (looks like an old church building converted ... easy to spot, but parking can be a pain in that area) is a great starting point, but again you will need to focus on specific interests (pun intended) if you have limited time. Expect the parks to be very busy this season as there is free park admission all year for our 150th anniversary ... weekends will be particularly busy out there.
The Banff townsite itself is very "touristy" with lots of shops and restaurants, but you don't have to go too far out of the townsite to get some spectacular scenery. Are you hoping to see wildlife? ... vs. great mountain scenery? ... picturesque lakes?
Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions about the area :)
Jun 14, 2017 09:20:20 #
cyclespeed
Loc: Calgary, Alberta Canada
I'm sorry to say but you did pick an unique year to come north. It is our 150 birthday and part of the celebration includes free access to all NP's As a result the regular tourist haunts are jammed, especially the town of Banff.
Some of the less popular but imho great spots to visit are several day trips such as the Tyrrell Museum in Dinasaur Provincial park, 1.5 hours northeast of Calgary. It is a fabulous modern interactive dinosaur museum set in the heart of the badlands with hoodoos galore. Also an original ranch that is still working as a ranch inside a National Park called the Bar U. It is located 1.5 hours south of Calgary. In the city proper you shouldn't miss a trip to Heritage Park. These sites mentioned all have extensive web presence. Enjoy your visit. 😊
Some of the less popular but imho great spots to visit are several day trips such as the Tyrrell Museum in Dinasaur Provincial park, 1.5 hours northeast of Calgary. It is a fabulous modern interactive dinosaur museum set in the heart of the badlands with hoodoos galore. Also an original ranch that is still working as a ranch inside a National Park called the Bar U. It is located 1.5 hours south of Calgary. In the city proper you shouldn't miss a trip to Heritage Park. These sites mentioned all have extensive web presence. Enjoy your visit. 😊
Jun 14, 2017 10:36:58 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
We stayed in Invermere and did auto day trips from there. Lake Loise and City of Banff only a couple hours through beautiful scenery. Got Pics of a wolf as we drove through Kootenay Park one morning. Wolf Haven north of Radium Hot Springs is worth seeing. Lots of mountain sheep grazing along the highway near Radium. Get up there soon before all the glaciers melt away. Most are just shadows of their former glory.
Jun 14, 2017 10:48:49 #
Jun 14, 2017 11:13:37 #
Olympic Park in Calgary, Lake Louise, Banff, Vermillion Lake, Peyto Lake, the Ice Fields Parkway and Columbia Glacier to name just a few. So much raw natural beauty it is hard to capture it all
Jun 14, 2017 11:23:11 #
From personal experience I would urge you to Check the fire reports. Lots of smoke can obscure your views.
Jun 14, 2017 11:53:44 #
Fotoartist wrote:
From personal experience I would urge you to Check the fire reports. Lots of smoke can obscure your views.
For Alberta: http://wildfire.alberta.ca/wildfire-status/status-map.aspx
Clicking on a fire location will give you more detail.
For BC: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/interactive-map-provides-information-about-all-active-b-c-fires-1.1992958
Scroll down a bit to the map. Clicking on a fire location will give you more detail.
Besides knowing where the fires are, wind-direction is equally important for the purpose of photography.
Jun 14, 2017 13:35:33 #
Jun 14, 2017 22:31:22 #
Jun 14, 2017 22:48:57 #
gary robertson wrote:
Go to Banff and the Lake Louise area. This is one of the most spectacular areas in the world and you will not be sorry.
Agree!
Jun 14, 2017 22:59:27 #
There are dozens of websites and tourist offices that will give you more ideas than you could follow up on in a year. Without some indication of what kind of things you like to do on vacation your request is hard to fill. Do you like to drive around and look? How about visit museums and tourist attractions? Do you like to hike? How about mountain hiking with some steep areas? Between Calgary and Golden you will pass through Banff National Park, which includes the town of Banff and Lake Louise, and Yoho National Park which includes the beautiful Emerald Lake. Even before you get to Banff National Park you will pass through the ski resort town of Canmore. If you like to drive and look, the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) between Lake Louise and Jasper is arguably the most beautiful drive on the planet.
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