Upper Kananaskis Lake
- Food
- The sandwich you made
- Sports
- Canmore Nordic Centre
Crowd level: Easy. Busy only at the obvious hour
Best season July–September for a sure road. June can still hold snow in the high parking areas. Weekdays are the quiet ones.
Upper Kananaskis Lake sits under the peaks in a provincial park that is not trying to be Lake Louise. The shore is long, the lot is a lot, and you can walk without joining a shuttle line. Pack the day. That is the style.
The short version
Kananaskis Country was set aside by Alberta in 1978 as public land with serious trails and not many hotels. The Canmore Nordic Centre, nearby, comes out of the 1988 Olympics and is still a public trail system. The park was built as a playground on purpose.
Food nearby
The sandwich you made
Pack it. There is a small facility at the lake in season and better coffee back in Canmore if you refuse your own sandwich. Do not expect a lodge dinner.
A game nearby
Canmore Nordic Centre
You can ski or run the Olympic trails without buying a ticket to a game. That is the sporting heritage on this side of the mountains. Use it as a trail, not a museum.