Hi!
I will be visiting Calgary in March and was thinking about doing the drive to Rocky Mountain House and spending a night there, coming back to Calgary, but stopping in at Caroline on the way back.
Are there any good, comfortable hotels/motels that can be recommended for RMH?
Once back in Calgary I will stay overnight and then travel to Banff for a day of skiing. Or is it best to travel directly from Caroline to Banff? Any recommendations on ski hills- Sunshine perhaps? I'm not a great skier, so I want somewhere that will offer not-so-steep terrain! Also, any recommendation for a comfortable hotel/motel in Banff or surrounding area?
I'm hoping that accomodations are relative to the time of year - maybe?

Thanks!

Why in heaven's name do you want to go to Rocky Mountain House? Do you have a special reason?

If you did go to RMH, it would make more sense to drive west to Saskatchewan River Crossing, south to Lake Louise, and then southeast to Banff.

Sunshine is a great ski hill. All of the ski hills have some slopes that are suitable for beginners, and they offer lessons as well.

There are plenty of comfortable hotels and motels in Banff. It would help to know your price range.

Hi Judy-
I'm guessing from your response that RMH is not a typical Albertan city to visit!! I only thought I would do a driving tour northwest of Calgary.
I have been out several times in the last 2 years and just want to peruse different areas of the province each time I'm out.
I have been to Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore and east to Drumheller.
I'm pretty flexible as to where I go. I wanted to go to Jasper but that's quite the drive in such a short period of time.
Do you have any suggestions. I do need to be in Calgary Mon-Wed, so I only have Saturday when I fly in to Monday morning.
Perhaps south of Calgary??
My price range on hotel/motel is anywhere from 150-200.

Thanks so much for your help!
Sherri

i actually think the drive from rocky mountain house, up to the saskatchewan crossing and then back towards lake louise/banff is nice. so, if you are just looking for something different to see, you could leave the calgary airport and drive there (if you have an entire day for the drive, you could stop at sylvan lake (by red deer) for lunch before going onto rocky mountain house.
another option - go to kananaskis provincial park. it's pretty nice and since you only have 2 nights, that might be another option to consider.

Sherri, if you've been to Alberta several times before, that changes things.

Still, in order to give you meaningful advice it would be helpful to know what time you'll land in Calgary on the Saturday.

I still don't think Rocky Mountain House makes sense as a stop on Saturday night. To drive from there to Saskatchewan River Crossing and on to Lake Louise and Banff takes 4 hours in good summer driving conditions. That wouldn't leave much time for skiing on the Sunday.

Ltt's suggestion of Kananaskis Country is a good one. There are only a few accommodation choices there, but I have a few thoughts at the back of my mind. I'll check some prices and get back to you later.

For skiing, I would suggest Lake Louise since you mentioned not-so-steep terrain. Sunshine is a really good mountain, but its mostly black diamond runs. Lake Louise has more green/blue runs and therefore I prefer it (I'm not the best downhill skiier).

March is a tricky month weather wise and for driving. It can have almost no snow, but its also been known to be the month where we get huge dumps of really wet stuff. If the weather is nice, I would suggest considering going south. Stop at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (a UNESCO world heritage site) and maybe head to Fort Macleod or Crowsnest Pass. At Crowsnest, you can go to the Frank Slide Interpretive Center.

If you do go south, I highly recommend taking highway 22, it's got to be one of the most scenic drives and I just love it.

www.head-smashed-in.com
www.frankslide.com

Sherri, here are some accommodations in Kananaskis Country:

* Nakoda Lodge, Morley - beer and wine only, no hard liquor - $159 for queen room - www.nakodalodge.com

* Rafter Six Ranch, Exshaw - www.raftersix.com

* Brewsters Kananaskis Guest Ranch - <b>closed in winter</b>

* Mount Engandine Lodge, just off Smith-Dorrien (good gravel) Road south of Canmore - may not be suitable for your purposes because rates include 3 meals a day and are based on a minimum 2-night stay - it would be a good deal though at an all inclusive rate of $135 for a double room in the lodge and $179 for a queen cabin with private bath - www.mountengadine.com

* Executive Resort at Kananaskis, in Kananaskis Village - in March you can get it for $139, which is somewhat cheaper than the summer rate

http://www.executivehotels.net/kanan..._kana_home.cgi

* Delta Lodge at Kananaskis - March Madness Package is $200, which includes a credit of $40 towards food, and which is a good price by the standards of a property that hosted world leaders for a G8 summit

http://www4.deltahotels.com/hotels/h...php?hotelId=30

If you were staying in Kananaskis Country, you'd be close to the ski slopes at:

* Nakiska ( www.skinakiska.com )

and

* Fortress ( www.skifortress.ca )

But, if you really wanted to ski at Sunshine in Banff National Park, it would be feasible to get there from Kananaskis Country ( www.skibanff.com )

If you need to attend business meetings or a conference on Monday morning, you really ought to spend Sunday night in Calgary.

Hope that helps.

Sherri, if you want to go south of Calgary, you could go to Castle Mountain Resort in the southwestern corner of Alberta ( www.skicastle.ca ). But, at 3 hours from Calgary, it is further away than Kananaskis Country.

Most of the Kananaskis accommodations that I mentioned in my previous post are no more than an hour from Calgary.

Also, Waterton Lakes National Park and the nearby Crowsnest Pass region (on the Alberta / British Columbia border) is a highly worthwhile area to visit if you return in the summer or fall.

March in Alberta? Any chance a snow event might disrupt plans?

March is not exactly spring time in the Rockies. For a Georgia resident like me, Calgary is cold in March. I don't think Chinook winds would warm me up enough!

The lake in Waterton would still be a sheet of ice would it not??

If you want to go somewhere really interesting why not go to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller? It is northeast of Calgary and a pleasant drive.

The museum itself is a World Heritage Site for good reason. It is not one of these museums that tries to be all things to all people. It has a singleness of purpose and it sticks to it quite nicely. I like one of the Museum's publications: The Land Before Us. It is a play on words, because you read about the geologic history of Alberta as well as what the current landscape presents. Yep what I see before me is 60 million years old, and even my grandson knows I am not that old.

Which reminds me of a story about a grandfather who was trying to explain the concept of AD and BC to his grandson. After having laid out the whole Christian time scale, he thought he had it well explained.

Then he asked: &quot;Now, was I born BC or AD?&quot; The boy promptly replied: &quot;BC.&quot;


Anyone want my 200 BC Greek coin? It has the date right on it.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Anyone want my 200 BC Greek coin? It has the date right on it.&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I would hesitate to recommend Castle Mountain to a person who isn't a pretty good skier, most of Castle Mtn would be in the tough to tougher range. There are some easier runs but they are small and short.

The upper runs there are very steep and moguly (sp?). I used to ski a lot and still found Castle a bit tough.

Intermediate would be more Fernie if you were heading out that way but Fernie would be another hour to an hour and a half to the west, into BC.

If you just want to do some easy bunny/intermediate small runs and enjoy a relaxing day, Blairmore has a small (and I do mean small) ski hill. Lots of people ski there but it is not at all challenging.

Judy and ltt:
Thanks for all the great advice. I like the Kananaski plan. I would be coming in the ealry afternoon on the Saturday so that's not such a long drive after a 4+ hour flight!

Sheila Dawn- I thought about Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. That could be another alternative - thanks!

Bob Brown - I ventured to Drumheller back in Novemeber when I was out and spent a good 4 hours at the museum. That is a trip I would like to do again when the badland tours are open, as they were closed when I was there.

Thank you to all for the plethora of information!

Cheers &Uuml;