Our baby is almost here so we decided to hit the road for a little babymoon to the Rocky Mountains, Calgary and Edmonton.
We spent 5 days exploring Alberta and here are the highlights from our trip, recommendations for activities, and our general travel tips!
Ride the Gondola in Banff: If you’re in the Banff National Park area I recommend catching the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain. It takes you 7500 feet above sea level and a ticket will cost you about $60 CAD per person. At the top you can see spectacular views of Bow Valley, walk the mountain boardwalk or dine at one of their restaurants.
If possible we recommend buying your tickets there in the area because then you’ll know the weather. We pre-bought our tickets and we ended up going on a really foggy day so we didn’t get to see much.
Telus Spark Science Centre: This stop is a really cool one to make in Calgary. It’s designed to introduce people of all ages to the world of science, technology and innovation. Some exhibits you can check out right now are:
Quantum Sandbox - A digital immersion gallery that takes you into the quantum realm
Being Human - An exhibit with interactive displays about the human experience
Catch a show at their Infinity Dome Theatre - We watched a documentary about Sea Lions in Australia
Tickets to enter will cost you about $26 CAD per adult (less for kids).
Yamnuska Wolf Dog Sanctuary: The Wolf Dog Sanctuary is located just outside of Calgary in Cochrane. It’s a non-profit that was founded in 2011 to drive awareness and education about wolfdogs and responsible wolfdog ownership. It’s home to 33 wolfdogs of varying content. High content wolfdogs have more wolf than dog in them, while low content have more dog than wolf.
An interactive tour where you get a detailed talk inside two of the wolfdog enclosures, plus the sanctuary walk will cost you about $63 CAD per person.
We suggest going in winter or when it’s cold because in the summer the wolfdogs lose a lot of their coat. They apparently look kind of skinny with chicken legs so if you go in the winter they have beautiful thick coats.
As well, you’re welcome to bring your camera to photograph the wolfdogs. However, you can’t bring a backpack or bag into the enclosures (even my small Lululemon belt bag wasn’t allowed) so if you bring a camera I recommend using a versatile zoom lens. Sometimes the wolfdogs get close to you but sometimes they keep their distance. A zoom lens like a M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 PRO (or equivalent focal length) allows you to photograph them no matter how close or far away they are from you. I used the M.Zuiko 12-40mm F2.8 PRO and although it was great for when the wolfdogs got close, it was hard to photograph them when they were farther away.
Catch a Game: If you’re in Calgary or Edmonton then catch a game at either the Scotiabank Saddledome or Rogers Place. My husband is a huge Colorado Avalanche fan so we drove 3 hours from Calgary to catch the Colorado Avalanche vs. Edmonton Oilers game.
Calgary Tower and Sky 360: The Tower is located in Calgary’s downtown core and sits 191 metres above ground, and offers the best views of the city. One of its features that you must try is the glass skywalk that suspends you above Calgary’s downtown core. Don’t worry there’s 10 layers of glass and it’s suppose to hold the weight of 2 hippopotamuses.
We recommend dining at Sky 360, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower before heading to the observation deck. Regularly tickets will cost you $19 CAD per person to the top. However, if you dine at the restaurant first you get a discounted rate, bringing it down to $18 CAD for two people. Our meal at Sky 360 was super delicious so it’s worth it in our opinion!
General Tips
Check for road closures: If you’re travelling by road from BC to Alberta don’t forget to check Drive BC for road closures (when we went Highway 1 East of Golden was closed so we had to go through Radium Hot Springs which adds 1.5 hours travel time)
Don’t forget the time change: On the first day we were driving from BC to Alberta and had tickets to visit the Banff Gondola at 4:10 PM. We left Kelowna at 8:00 AM thinking we had plenty of time (factoring in the Highway 1 road closure), however, I had forgotten about the time change after Golden. Instead of having an hour in Banff before we needed to make our reservation at the Gondola we arrived right on the dot.
Buy your National Park Pass in advance: If you’re staying or making any stops in Banff National Park you’ll need a National Park Pass that you display on your windshield. You can purchase one online before your trip and print it out or if you forget you can visit the Visitor Centre in Banff to get one. Depending on how long you need a park pass for the cost will vary. A day rate goes for $21 CAD currently.
If you’re going to watch a game:
Parking: Parking is horrendous when you try to get to and from a game which is why we always try to get a hotel that is walking distance from the arena.
Eating: If you’re closer to the game keep in mind restaurants will be extremely busy (give yourself PLENTY of time to eat) we tried to eat at 5 but they were all full with a waiting list of 45 minutes. We should have aimed to find something at 4. Alternatively, you can grab something on your way to your hotel that you can eat in your room, or purchase something at the game.
Entry: Before you head to the game check entry requirements. Most games only allow you to have a small bag and different arenas have different rules for camera equipment.
Restaurants & Cafe’s
Here is a list of restaurants and cafe’s that we enjoyed on our trip:
Canary Coffee in Canmore: We had the most delicious breakfast wrap here with a caramel latte.
Santorini: Greek restaurant in Calgary - we had a super delicious Prawn and Chicken Souvlaki here.
Cafe Alchemist: We had a delicious apple and peanut butter yogurt parfait here.
Red Lobster: We’re from BC where we don’t have a Red Lobster so when we come to Alberta this is a must stop for us.
Delicious Pho: Really good spring rolls and wonton soup.
Sky 360: Great place for a special night out. This restaurant is at the top of the Calgary Tower. Max had a striploin steak and I had the tenderloin and both were super delicious.
Where to Stay
Whenever I am choosing our hotel to stay in I like to choose one that is (1) walking distance to where we need to visit and (2) budget friendly. Thus, I have a particular process I follow to find a hotel that fits both. On Google My Maps I’ll pin everywhere we’re visiting and then on Expedia I’ll filter hotels according to our parameters and the area that best fits us. Finding hotels that are walking distance to everywhere we’ll visit isn’t always possible depending on the layout of the city. So we try our best to find something in the middle in those situations.
Canmore vs. Banff: We recommend if you’re visiting Banff National Park staying in Canmore (located just outside the Banff National Park Boundary). It’s less expensive, you’re surrounded by mountains, it’s quieter, and you’re a short drive from the Park.
Calgary: There are tons of hotels in Calgary’s downtown core that you can stay in. We prefer to stay in budget friendly places, costing us between $75 and $130 per night. Some good budget friendly options are the Sandman, Ramada, and Best Western.
Edmonton: We were purposefully in Edmonton for the hockey game so we chose a hotel that was walking distance to the game. The Coast Capri was our favourite stay on our trip.
Although this trip was different than most we take I’m super happy we had this time to ourselves. I love travelling with my husband and I’m excited for all the new adventures we’re going to have with our baby girl!
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Beautifully Wander | Robynne MacLeod
