Triip to Calgary and Jasper

Old Jul 28th, 2007, 03:08 PM
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zin
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Triip to Calgary and Jasper

I just discovered this site and hope to get advise on our itinerary. I will be traveling with my husband and our 16 years old daughter from Toronto . We will arrive in Calgary on August 3 at about 11:30am. We intend to stay in the area for 10 days. I would appreciate your advise for the following questions:

1. We plan to visit Royal Turrell Museum on the day of our arrival and also have a brief tour of Calgary. Is it do-able in the time period we have available?
2. On August 4 we will be driving to Hinton ( could not find accommodations in Jasper) the estimated time is about 6 hours. We would like to divide time in the intervals of 2 hours of driving and 2 hours of sightseeing. Where should we stop and what should we see on our way to Hinton?
3. We will be leaving Hinton on the 7th and going to Canmore. Again what should we see and where should we stop without repeating the sightseeing?
We will be returning to Calgary on the 10th.
Thanks for your help.
zin is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2007, 05:43 PM
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Go immediately to this website:

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...Tips/home.msnw

Judy, a Fodorite herself, developed this website and it will tell you anything and everything you need to know. Trust me! It's fabulous.
jewelhawg is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2007, 05:51 PM
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zin, I cannot imagine that you will have time your first day to go al the way to the Royal Tyrell Museum. It's a great place, though.

If you land at 11:30am, you still need to allow at least an hour to get your luggage and car. Then almost 2 hours to get to Tyrell(Calgarians including Judy -- is this correct?). That would put you there at mid-afternoon best scenario. Allow a minimum of 2 hours for this place, and hopefully 1/2 day. Then you have to drive back to Calgary, 1-1/2 to 2 hours depending on where you're going. Now you're at dinnertime and probably really really exhausted (don't forget the time difference).

Maybe you will find some good alternatives on Judy's site, as jewelhawg suggested?

sludick is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2007, 06:21 PM
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As much as I like Calgary, I would rank a visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology ahead of most places I can think to visit of the genre.

You will not have time to do both justice on the day you arrive. If you go about it right, a visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum should broaden your educational base by at least an order of magnitude.

On your way to Hinton? It may be a little more out of your direct way, but the Ukranian Heritage village near Androssen was for me another eye opener because I was mostly ignorant of the Ukranian population in Alberta. We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon there once in late August.

The most puzzling question you asked was what to see between Hinton and Canmore?
I think you may want to reconsider the question because it seems based on the notion that you are ignorant of what lies between Lake Louise and Jasper.

Also, why would you not go to Canmore first and then to Hinton?

Driving from Hinton BACK to Canmore has no real option other than to head east toward Jasper. The shortest, quickest route is to back the way you came!!
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Old Jul 28th, 2007, 10:11 PM
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The Tyrell museum is great attraction and I would highly recommend it. However, it's 1 1/2 hour drive from Calgary to the museum. So that would be 3 hours of driving on the day you arrive, after a 3 1/2 hour flight. Are you sure you want to do that? If so, don't plan on doing any sight-seeing in Calgary.

The only thing I might suggest is to eat at the Calgary Tower restaurant. It slowly rotates so you would see the city from up above and if it's a clear day, some great views of the mountains. If it's a late dinner and you see the sunset, the can be quite spectacular as well. I understand that it's not cheap though.

I would usually recommend a visit to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, but assuming you are driving from Calgary to Edmonton and then to Hinton, it's not just out of the way to Hinton, but in the complete opposite direction. The village is about a 1 hour drive east of Edmonton and Hinton is west. It's also something that you would want to budget at least 3-4 hours to see properly.

It's a 3 hour drive between Calgary and Edmonton. Red Deer is about halfway between and if may be a good place to rest if you don't want to do all 3 hours in one shot. I'm not that familiar with Red Deer attractions, but the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is just off the highway there.

For something different and quirky, you could stop at the Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington. It wouldn't be a long stop, but memorable.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~gauntlet/eg/...orrington.html

It's about another 3 hour drive from Edmonton to Hinton. I'm not aware of any attractions between the two (the only town between them is Edson), but maybe somebody else has a suggestion?

You might want to stop in Edmonton for an hour or two, there's lots to see/do there and just carry on straight to Hinton.

Even though its an hour drive from Hinton to Jasper, back track that way to go to Canmore and take the Icefields Parkway (highway 93) between Jasper and Lake Louise (then through Banff to Canmore). It's considered one of the most scenic drives in the world and would be an absolute shame if you missed it. You can stop at the Columbia Icefields about halfway between them.

http://www.icefieldsparkway.ca/

ShelliDawn is offline  
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