wills

Hello Fodorites!
I am starting some preliminary research on a summer 2006 vacation and I am interested in a lake vacation somewhere with nice weather but has swimming, boating, hiking, fishing and good food. Lake Louise sounds lovely but I can't get a handle on how warm/cold it will be in July or August. I also don't know if it is a more "adult" oriented vacation, ie quiet and more sedate, or if there are fun things for children too. My children will be 9&12. I know this is really broad, I would just like to hear people's impressions. Fodorites have never steered me wrong! Thanks for any info you could provide.

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>swimming, boating, hiking, fishing and good food<<<<<<

The water in Lake Louise (and basically in any lake in the Alberta Rockies) is too cold for swimming. Glacial melt water is a recipe for hypothermia.

I think you're more likely to find what you're looking for in the Kootenay-Rockies region of eastern British Colubmia, the Okanagan Valley in central BC or on Vancouver Island at the western edge of BC.

In the Alberta Rockies you can hike, canoe, raft, ride horses, fish, and swim in hot springs. Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Maligne Lake in Jasper NP, and Waterton Lake in the national park of the same name are the only lakes in the Rocky Mountain national parks on which motorboats are permitted, to the best of my knowledge. Since national parks occupy much of the territory in the Canadian Rockies, limits are placed on human activities that are disruptive to wildlife.

While our kids were growing up in Calgary, they enjoyed camping, hiking, canoeing, etc., in the mountains. In that sense I consider the Canadian Rockies to be family-friendly.

On the other hand the Rocky Mountain national parks do not have waterslides and entertainment of that kind. If that's what you're looking for (and also if you're looking for water that's warm enough to swim in), the other areas that I've mentioned above will do a better job of meeting your needs.

Tourism British Columbia has a great web site that's a good starting point for research. Actually they have a supposedly new and improved web site, but I prefer their old one at:

http://www2.hellobc.com/index.asp

Hope that helps.

wills

Judy,

Thank you for responding. I guess that it is off to Vancouver Island and BC my research will go! I did suspect that it would be cold, but . . . I am having trouble finding an old style lake resort, with cottages, a lake etc. Kind of like that resort in Dirty Dancing I. Some place fun that my family can relax. Thanks for the tips and the website!

Carmanah

If you're looking for a summer-fun family beach resort atmosphere, where temperatures are in the high 20's to mid 30's degree Celsius, then look at the Okanagan (ie: Okanagan Lake, Skaha Lake, Osoyood Lake). The area is semi-arid, with lots of wineries and orchards. It's a fantastic place to be in the summer.

However, if you're looking for more of a traditional wooded area with lakes, I'd suggest Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island, remote Otter Lake (in Tulameen) nearby Princeton, the large Shuswap Lake near Salmon Arm and Sicamous, or the lakes around 100 Mile House (ie: Bridge Lake, Loon Lake, Kelly Lake, etc).

An excellent resource for getting an idea of regions and towns of BC is www.britishcolumbia.com - it'll give you tons of ideas.

Carmanah

whoops - make that Osoyoos Lake!

wills

Thanks Carmanah! I will check out your recommendations. I really appreciate the help.