Southern Alberta
Calgary and the foothills
A big-sky city with Kananaskis an hour away and no coach tours in it.
- Best months
- May–June · September–October
Most people see Calgary from the airport shuttle window on their way to Banff. Stay two nights and you get a serious food city, a river you can float, and Kananaskis Country (the same Rockies as Banff, without the entry queue), 60 to 90 minutes from downtown.
Things to do
Kananaskis Country
Highway 40 runs south from the Trans-Canada past Barrier Lake, the flat 16 km Upper Kananaskis Lake loop and Highwood Pass, the highest paved road in Canada. A Kananaskis Conservation Pass is required and bought online per vehicle.
Larches at Highwood Pass
Ptarmigan Cirque and Pocaterra Cirque are short hikes from the pass that turn gold in the last week of September. The pass road closes from December 1 to mid-June every year.
The Cowboy Trail (Highway 22)
Diamond Valley, Longview and Bar U Ranch National Historic Site (open mid-May to late September) along the foothills, with the mountains as a wall to the west. Two hours makes a loop back to the city.
Inglewood and 17th Avenue
Calgary’s food scene lives in a few walkable strips: Inglewood for breweries and brunch, 17th Avenue SW for dinner, and the Calgary Farmers’ Market for Alberta beef, Saskatoon berries and bison.
Bow River and Prince’s Island
A riverside path runs through downtown; the Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island are a 20-minute walk from most hotels. Studio Bell, the National Music Centre, is nearby in the East Village.
Elk and bighorn in the fall
The elk rut runs through late September and October in the foothills valleys and along Highway 40; bighorn sheep lick salt off the road at Highwood. Pull over fully and stay in the car.
When to go
May and June
Low trails in Kananaskis are snow-free by mid-May; Highwood Pass opens around June 15. City hotels are cheap before Stampede.
Late September and October
Larch season, elk rut and crisp clear days. Chinook winds can bring +15°C afternoons in October, but snow is possible from the first week, so pack for both.
Skip the Stampede week
The first two weeks of July are the one time Calgary hotels are genuinely expensive and full. Every other month is a buyer’s market.
How to get there
Fly to Calgary (YYC)
Nonstop from London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Tokyo year-round, with seasonal flights from Rome, Barcelona and Munich. The CTrain does not reach the airport; a taxi or the 300 bus takes about 40 minutes downtown.
A car for the foothills
There is no public transport into Kananaskis. Rent at the airport; winter tires are not law in Alberta but are strongly advised on Highway 40 from October to April.
On to the mountains
Banff is about 90 minutes west of downtown, Canmore 75. Shuttles run from the airport if you would rather not drive.
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