Blackstone Mountain Lodge

Mountain Views Everywhere

by Mikebb

What we enjoyed most about Canmore was the view of the Rocky Mountains, they were so close. It was easy to drive up to the mountains as they are only minutes away. On the hills there are many beautiful homes and around Canmore there is considerable development of apartments, hopefully this development will be managed to prevent it spoiling the small town atmosphere. The rugges snow capped, unspoilt mountains will always remain in my memory.

The Best Breakfast in Canmore

by madamx about Chez Francois

This place is viewed by locals as the best breakfast in Canmore. For price, service, serving size, and choice, I totally agree.

The restaurant is also well-regarded as a place for dinner, but we have not tried it for dinner, we've only had the breakfast.

The room is decorated with local flora and fauna; and I did notice the room was slightly grimy, though our table was clean (the most important thing). Perhaps they had had a late-night party, as from the service and quality of food, this seemed out of place. Table cloths would have been nice, as the wooden tables were banged up and very scratched -- I almost was expecting to see a heart with an arrow through it with initials carved on our table. There is a huge selection of different dishes, but I must say the Eggs Benny with Smoked Salmon is my favorite, and they cooked the eggs to my specification -- firm enough to be not runny.

The service was also extremely good, and I must give them kudos as well, as it was 7:00 a.m., and our server was alert, smiling and pleasant, much more than I can say for myself at that hour!

Canmore, a mountain retreat, 123 years young.

by dabidc

"More to Canmore than Grotto Canyon."

Canmore, a town of more than 14,000 in 2003, must be over 15,000 now in 2006, is located on the Trans Canada Highway an hour's drive west of Calgary. It was the Olympic venue site for Cross Country Ski ing and the Biathlon events during the Calgary Winter games in 1988.

Nordic events occur each winter as well, training for these events takes place throughout the year.

Canmore continues to grow, partly because the Federal Government restricted growth at Banff townsite (in Banff National Park) and partly due to the boom time in Albert, thanks to Oil and Natural gas development elsewhre in the Province. More people have money to spend on vacation homes or rental property in the mountains. It is also possible to commute daily to Calgary.

Canmore is also an access point and administrative centre for Kananaskis Country, located mostly south of the Town.

There are many hikes in Canmore and in the area close by, there are 3 Golf Courses, The Nordic Centre for hikes and bike rides in Summer as well as cross country ski ing and snow shoe ing in Winter. One can raft or canoe down the Bow river and also the Kananaskis River in nearby Kananaskis Country, go fishing, take a helicopter ride around the many mountains

The hikes include a visit to Grassi Lakes (see my Kananskis page) or Grotto canyon( see Off the Beaten Path section of my Canmore page ).

When you see some of the mountains you can also try mountain Climbing.

"The Bow river flows through Canmore."

Canmore fist came into being in 1883 just after the Canadian Pacific Railroad laid the track to the west coast. Anthracite, a type of coal,was discoverd in Canmore and a decision was made to fire the steam locomotives with coal instead of wood.

Thus the start of the railroad also set in motion the growth of the town.

In 1893, the Northwest Mounted Police estabished a barracks here, the original site can still visited on Main street. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have much newer premises in the Commercial area.( No I did not try them out)

Times changed the way the railroad operated its locomotives and it seemed the towns existence was in jeopardy when diesel fuel took over from coal. The last mine closed in 1979 and the town.

The saving feature came in the form of the combined Olympic bid for the 1988 Olympic Games. when Calgary and Canmore were chosed to host those games.
Calgary was the venue for Speed skating, Hockey, Bobsled, Luge and Ski jumping. Canmore was awarded all Nordic Events, with Nakiska nearby in Kananaskis Country was the location for the Downhill Ski ing events.

Thus the town received a spurt in growth that has continued to this day.

"The Three Sisters look out over Canmore."

With the town lying between two ranges of mountains, with the river flowing in the valley and with the knowledge that this area is the habitat for Black bears and Grizzly bears, there are some concerns with growth.

There have been and will continue to be confrontations between bears and humans, there have been occasions when the humans do not survive.

The bench lands above the valley are well treed and also there are many wondeful paved trails to walk or bike on, but always with care and attention to nature around you.