"Canmore, a mountain retreat, 123 years... " a Canmore Travel Page by dabidc

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.

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.

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.