Traffic at time of stampede
 

We'll be travelling by car from Banff to Calgary International Airport on the first day of the Calgary stampede in July 2005. Does anyone know what the traffic will be like- i.e. would it be wise to allow extra travel time to allow for traffic jams, as I assume that Calgary will be extremely busy at the time of the stampede. Thanks!

best way to get to the airport from banff in my opinion is...when entering the city turn left at the first set of lights (i can't remember the name of the road, hopefully someone else will). take this road for about 15 minutes to country hills blvd and turn left. just go straight on this road for 15-20 minutes and it will take you to the airport. you are avoid most of the city traffic. it's a great route.

What a great suggestion, Ltt. I live in the south, so don't pay much attention to developments in the north. I believe the road to which you are referring, the one that leads to Country Hills Boulevard, is Stoney Trail.

Chris_Erica, if you're coming from Banff, you'll be driving east on the TransCanada (#1) Highway. You'll need to turn north onto Stoney Trail. Then you'll need to turn east onto Country Hills Blvd.

The airport will be busy, but on that day most people are coming in, not going out, if that's any consolation.

As far as traffic in Calgary is concerned, the downtown area, where the Stampede Parade takes place, is congested. The rest of the city is not that badly affected. If you take the route Ltt has suggested, I'd be surprised if you encountered much more traffic than you would on a normal day.

I figure Banff - Calgary city limits takes 1.5 hours. Getting across Calgary takes, say, another 30 minutes. If you're flying out of the country, you need to check in 2 hours ahead of your flight (if you're flying to the U.S., you clear U.S. immigration formalities in Calgary, and your flight is treated as a domestic flight when it lands in the U.S.).

I am a worry wart, and always like to leave myself plenty of time in case there's a snafu, so I would leave Banff not 4 hours before the flight, as the above directions would suggest, but 5 hours.

If you want a good lunch, I would suggest the restaurant in the Delta Calgary Airport Hotel, which is right in the airport complex. The food court to which you can go BEFORE check in is quite decent too. The food that's available at the departure gates is pretty ordinary.

stoney trail - that's what i was thinking of. i have a mental block with that - i can never remember the name.

many thanks everyone- great advice all round.
Chris