HELP WITH PICNIC DINNERS
 

Hi all,
We are counting down the days! I believe I had seen some postings in the past on delis to get "picnic dinners". It may have been from Judy in Calgary, but I'm not certain and couldn't locate the posts. We would like to have picnic dinners a few nights of our trip, but won't be in Banff more than a day. We'll be mostly in Bow Valley/Lake Louis and Jasper so I was wondering if anyone knows of any good places to get some picnic dinner fare in those areas? Thanks again for your help!

Haven't seen your itinary. Are you driving from Calgary? If so, then any Safeway, Co-op, etc. will have fruit, deli, breads, drinks. Easier and cheaper to stock up there. Going into Banff to buy food will take time, parking is usually a problem, and resorts are pricier. Besides, one drives in order to have the freedom to take a side road, stop at a pretty spot etc. M&M stores have excellent mini tarts, different selections. If you have room, there are coolers now that plug into cig lighter. MOST IMPORTANT. BE WARY OF BEARS. Actually i have camped/picniced in all parks you mention. If you always follow safety precautions such as NEVER FEED any wilflife, always use animal proof garbage bins, etc. you'll be fine. and you'll have these unbelieveable Kodak moments!

I've never bought picnic food in Banff or Lake Louise. The picnics we do in those areas take the form of day trips and we bring our food with us from Calgary.

However, I know of two supermarkets in "downtown" Banff. One is Safeway, and the other is Kellers. Safeway is at the corner of Marten and Elk Streets. Kellers is on Bear Street, between Caribou and Buffalo Streets. I've never been into them but, if they're anything like most supermarkets I know, they have deli sections in them. Banff townsite also may have other, smaller delis that I don't know about.

Here is a map of Banff townsite:

http://www.discoverbanff.com/Maps/mapviewer.html

There is a nice picnic area off Birch Avenue, just south of the Bow River and west of Banff Avenue.

Another place where there are picnic tables is Lake Minnewanka, a couple of miles out of town.

Here is a map of Lake Louise.
http://www.banfflakelouise.com/gener...0Village%20Map

I think there is some sort of grocery store in Samson Mall in Lake Louise Village.

There is a picnic spot near the lake of Lake Louise, before you reach the Lake Louise parking lot. There are open air picnic tables, as well as covered tables that we have used to good effect when it has been raining.

There is another delightful picnic area next to Moraine Lake. It has both open air and covered tables.

Even when Moraine Lake has been crawling with dozens of visitors, we have NEVER encountered a single occasion on which all of the picnic tables have been occupied. The tables are surrounded by trees, so that each one has quite a bit of privacy. We were there on Saturday, June 26th, and we were the ONLY family using a picnic table! Well that won't happen to you in July, but you still won't feel crowded there by any means.

Jasper is the one mountain town in which we have bought picnic supplies. Here is a map of Jasper townsite.

http://www.explorejasper.com/maps/townmap.htm

There was a deli in "downtown" Jasper. I forget what it's called or exactly where it was. If memory serves me correctly, it was on Patricia Street and probably south of Miette Avenue.

Jasper is a small town (about 5,000 residents, not counting tourists). The "downtown" is small enough to explore very easily. Just ask around, and I'm sure you'll receive directions to whatever you're looking for.

We had a picnic on the beach at Pyramid Lake. The picnic tables were open to the air, however.

If you want a bottle of wine with your meal, remember to bring a corkscrew from home!

Cheryl, if you want to take up Everittp's suggestion on stocking up with food in Calgary, here are the two supermarkets that I think would be the most convenient for you.

One is the Calgary Co-op on the TransCanada (#1) Highway / 16th Avenue, just east of Edmonton Trail.

The other is the Safeway on Centre Street, a block or two north of the TransCanada Highway / 16th Avenue.

If I remember correctly, you're going to be getting in late at night, and spending that night near the airport (if not in the airport complex itself). Then you'll be heading out to the mountains the next morning.

In order to get to the mountains, you in any case would be driving close to the two supermarkets mentioned above.

Here is a map of Calgary.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/map/map_calgary_big.html

You would leave the airport and drive south on Deerfoot Trail (Hwy #2). You would turn west onto 16th Avenue / TransCanada (#1) Hwy.

As you're driving west on 16th Avenue, you soon will come upon the Co-op supermarket on your right. It's in the block before Edmonton Trail.

This probably is the most convenient supermarket to use. Right after buying your provisions, you can get back onto 16th Avenue / TransCanada Hwy, and keep driving west till you hit Banff.

The Safeway supermarket I've mentioned is a back up. It's one of the smaller branches of Safeway in Calgary and it's also a couple or so blocks north of 16th Avenue / TransCanada Hwy. Nonetheless it too would be adequate for your purposes.

If you want to go to the Safeway in question, turn west onto 16th Avenue / TransCanada Hwy, as previously mentioned. Then turn north onto Centre Street. The Safeway supermarket will be on your right after one or two blocks.

There are several branches of M&M Meats in Calgary. There's one quite near my home. However, I looked them up in the telephone directory, and I don't think any of the locations would be that easy for a brand new visitor to find. When I arrive in a new city, I usually have this sort of shell shocked feeling as I try to get my bearings. So I appreciate arrangements that are as simple as possible. Therefore, if you're anything like me, I think the Co-op supermarket would be your best bet in Calgary.

Hope that helps.

Yes, there is a little grocery store at Lake Louise...but it is very expensive. We were there last summer and shopped there for two days before we went and found a Safeway. Safeway seemed like a bargain, lol!

the safeway in banff is pretty well stocked so i'm sure you could find everything you want there.