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Mountain Adventures
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Mountain Adventures Close to Calgary

Calgary is bless to be close to the magnificent Canadian Rocky Mountains. The splendid view gives me a rush joy, tranquility and full of admiration. There are many places you can go and enjoy the Rockies outside Calgary. You can find numerous attractions, events and things to do that enhances your visit. Take advantage of these places while you are visiting here in Calgary.

Mountain Adventures at Canmore

Canmore is located an hour west of Calgary and 20 minutes away from Banff National Park. It is situated along the banks of Elbow River and at the feet of the Rockies. The town is Calgary’s gateway to numerous national parks and tourist ski resorts in Alberta.

Canmore’s signature landmark is the Three Sisters Mountain. The mountain consists of a trio of peaks, its uniqueness is visible and stands-out from the rest of the mountains. The Three Sisters is even more beautiful when it is covered by snow during the winter.

Canmore has plenty of exciting activities The Three Sister Mountain Peaks in store for visitors. Winter time you can go skiing, snowboarding, skating, cross-country and do other winter activities at the Canmore Nordic Centre. During the 1988 Winter Olympics, Canmore Nordic Centre was one of the site utilized. Enjoy their indoor facilities such as the Canmore Curling Club and Recreation Centre which has two NHL (National Hockey League) size arenas and state-of-the-art pool with hot tubs. Also try dog sledding!

Summer time is as exciting as winter! Go camping, experience cave tours, hiking, picnics, rafting, fly-fishing, golfing, helicopter tours, mountaineering and climbing adventures (some activities also applies during winter) During your venture, stroll around the city centre and satisfy your hunger with exquisite restaurants, bars, grills, lounges and check cozy hotels for your relaxation.

Mountain Adventures at Kananaskis Country

Kananaskis Country is surrounded by the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains. It has over 4000 square kilometers of breathtaking mountain scenery with scenic rivers, streams and grassy meadows. Kananaskis is also well known for abundance of wildlife creatures roaming freely on its vast wide open spaces. It is a very popular place for visitors and local residents. And just 45 minutes away (85 km) west of Calgary using highway# 1 (Trans Canada) and south of highway 40, a perfect proximity from Calgary.

There are many activities you can enjoy in Kananaskis. During the wintertime, there are opportunities for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and ice fishing. While during the summertime, you can enjoy golfing, camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, rafting and horseback riding.

Mountain Adventures at Banff

Banff is an hour and a half west of Calgary and 10 to 15 minutes away from Canmore Alberta. It is a small yet stunning town surrounded by mountains namely, Tunnel Mountain (5,545 ft), Mount Norquay (7,001 ft), Sulphur Mountain (7,484 ft) and the tallest of them all, Mount Rundle (9,675 ft.) Banff National Park is a world class national park in Canada with millions of people from around the world visiting each year. Famous celebrities such as Oprah, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Micheal Douglas, Jason Priesley, Kevin Bacon and many more had been spotted in Banff.

TOP 5 BANFF ATTRACTIONS!

1. Banff Gondola – takes you to the summit of Mount Sulphur. Take a 360 degree spectacular view of the Canadian Rockies as well as birds-eye-view of the town of Banff.
2. Banff Spring Hotel – very elegant castle like building architecture. A must see!
The Banff Springs Hotel 3. The Bow Falls – a gorgeous river falls adjacent to rocky mountain. I recently discovered that this was place where they filmed River of No Return starring the stunning Marilyn Monroe.
4. The Cascade Garden – where flowers bloom beautifully during the summer time. It is a free admission and this is a smaller version of the world famous Butchart Garden in Victoria B.C. (where I proposed to my wife to marry me!)
5. Downtown Banff – stroll the European style shops, restaurants, boutiques, and malls with scenic mountain background.

Winter Activities: Enjoy skiing, snowboarding, toboggan, cross-country, and skating. Love to ski? Go to Ski Norquay or to its neighboring Lake Louise and Sunshine Village Ski Resort.
If you are not a ski savvy, go for snowshoeing, horse sleigh rides, dog sledding, snowmobile tours and ice fishing.
Have a different way to warm up your winter - dip into the relaxing hot spring water in Sulphur Mountain.

Summer Activities: Banff has the largest hiking trails of its kind (1500 km) good for hiking, biking and backpacking. It has great spots for camping & picnics in the wilderness. There’s horseback riding where you can explore places such as Spray River, Bow River, Mount Rundle and more. Banff is surrounded by many lakes and one of them is Lake Winnewanka. These lakes are ideal for canoeing, kayaking, boating and scuba diving (Lake Winnewanka).

The Bow River near Banff is a great place for white water rafting and float tours. There are helicopter-tours and airplane-tours where you can get tremendous view of the Banff’s Rocky Mountains and Columbia Mountains.

Mountain Adventures at Lake Louise

Lake Louise is located two hours west of Calgary and 45 minutes west of Banff via the Trans Canada Highway. The glacial lake is the main highlight of the place. The emerald color of the lake is fantastic particularly in the summer and the Rocky Mountain background adds up to its beauty. The combination of Fairmount Chateau Hotel and lake make stunning images you can treasure forever, so make sure you carry a camera with you.

Lake Louise has the biggest ski resort in Canada and a usual venue for professional Alpine Ski Events where hundreds of athletes from different parts of the globe set in to compete. Top Canadian Alpine athletes such as Calgary’s own John Kucera and Erik Guay are some of the participants. A perfect place for ski lovers and enthusiast!

My favorite event in Lake Louise is the Ice Magic Festival Competition. This is an annual affair being held beside the Fairmont Chateau Hotel. My wife and I enjoy going there to see various fine ice carving. Some of the amazing of images we saw: unicorn, native Indian arts, ballet dancer, flying eagle, sea creatures, fairy tale land and my most wanted - ice castle.

This event is regularly being held third to last weekend of January. This year 2009- it is on January 23 to 25. Participate by voting on Sunday - the last day of the competition. If you miss this competition, don’t worry you can go anytime to see their creation for FREE! Go at once before it melts. Don’t delay!

Frozen Falls @ Lake Louise We went around the banks via horse sleigh for an hour, took pictures and saw the frozen waterfall.
My wife captured the moment perfectly with her camera (see picture!).
The cool breeze of the air and fresh scent of the trees were refreshing and relaxing.
Also go for snowshoeing, cross-country, snowmobiling and dog sledding to explore the place.

Summer time is the best time to go for canoeing, and kayaking on the lake. Biking and hiking on to Lake Louise's countless trails is another sure thing to do. You might end up face to face with animals such as moose, deer, cougars, mountain goat, black bears, grizzly bears, wolverine, elks, coyotes plus wide assortments of birds. So be on your guard and protect your self by being aware of what to do when you encounter wild animals.

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