Canmore, AB

I like Canmore a lot better. It's a pretty trendy place. Lots of unique shopping downtown. Some good hiking and sightseeing up the spray lakes road (past the Nordic center). It's close enough to Banff (~20km) to make day trips to Banff no big deal, in fact you can bicycle between the two if you're into that.

It's busy but not as busy as Banff. I don't think you'd regret staying there.

I would also agree with hedge I would stay in Canmore over Banff but I am cheap LOL... There is nothing wrong with Canmore like Hedge said.

X4 plus access to Peter Lougheed Park and the Cowboy Trail.


Gary Haupt

Enjoy Canmore, ignore Banff, the epitome of tourist tramps IMO.

Thanks-that pretty much answers my questions! Still open to comments though.

We loved Banff when we visited 25 years ago but remember that even then it was a tourist trap. I don't mind the traps, but I'd rather I'd rather stay somewhere a little quieter and where we can walk to restaurants, etc.

Canmore is a very nice town. Lots of hotels to choose from, lots of amenities. Very nice scenery. Very safe.

We just got back from spending most of a week in Canmore, a really nice town and definitely safe to walk around in at night or whenever. Restaurants are good, we enjoyed several of them, prices are reasonable too.

Have they pretty well cleaned up from the floods - what was that, 2 or 3 years ago? Water from a stream on the north side of town washed out a section the TransCanada Hwy. We tracked the damage and main repairs on this forum.

We stayed in Canmore and got up early the next morning heading to Banff. Canmore was much cheaper and was very close to Banff.As others have said it's a really pretty town and easy to walk everywhere. My only suggestion is either book something before you get there or look for a hotel room early in the day. All the hotels and motels were all booked. we got lucky and got a room in small motel.

My only suggestion is either book something before you get there or look for a hotel room early in the day.

We've decided to go at the end of August next year and are now trying to pick between two properties. I'm a bit obsessive so the hotel will be booked within the next couple of weeks as they have a very liberal cancellation policy (48 hours prior with no penalty).

I am extremely impressed with the number, quality and suitability of the hotels there. With an adult son we need a 2-br property which is usually difficult and expensive. I have found two hotels that not only suit our needs but get great reviews on TripAdvisor and won't break the bank.