Fact about me: my parents divorced when I was ten and after that I moved into a new house/apartment A LOT. It’s a habit I kept as an adult. I blame the nomadic lifestyle for my lack of “home” feeling. However, from the moment we arrived in Canmore, both Timo and I felt at home.

We flew into the Alberta airport, rented a car, and drove to Canmore. Originally, we wanted to stay in Banff, but I read somewhere that Canmore was like Banff’s little sister and cheaper. It appeared to be small enough to walk around, so we took the chance. We rented a VRBO through Home Away and had a perfect vacation. We are a fan of VRBO rentals with kids because it gives us an opportunity to sleep in, cook meals, and have relaxing evenings together as a family. This VRBO came with a National Park Pass and if visiting this area, I highly suggest making sure that a pass is included with your rental. It will save you money and time being able to enter different parks with zero hassle. Here is a glimpse into our vacation.

Lake Louise

Full disclosure: I used to watch the Bachelor religiously. Don’t judge. In one season (Sean Lowe’s, maybe?) they travel to Lake Louise and stay at the chateau in the picture. That was the first time I’d ever seen Lake Louise and knew I wanted to see it in person. Timo’s company has business in Alberta and his boss told him about Banff after a work trip. When Timo showed interest in traveling north, I was all in! Lake Louise is one of the best highlights in the area. It was warm enough to hike around the lake and climb some of the smaller cliffs and still cold enough that Sophie was excited to see snow on the ground! There is a restaurant inside of the Chateau, but we chose to grab a snack at the small cafe inside. The restaurant did not seem like a place to take our two wild children.

Johnston Canyon

Johnston Canyon was a great hike! It was easy enough to do with two kids, but still provided multiple beautiful waterfalls (where the rest of those pictures are is the real question). There were also some lovely cabins at the entrance of the hike that would be the perfect place to stay in the woods. I prefer a more city like vibe on our stays, but if you are an outdoorsy camping type, these cabins are calling your name!

http://www.johnstoncanyon.com/

Food

Since we had the VRBO we cooked and shopped locally for quite a few meals, but we did check out a couple local restaurants in Canmore. One of our personal favorites was the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company. They cook the flatbread pizzas in a stone oven and it is so delicious! My pizza (pictured) had arugula, red onion, blue cheese, and bacon! I’m still drooling over it.

https://www.rockymountainflatbread.ca/

Our other favorite was The Grizzly Paw Pub and Brewing Company. We both tried a flight of their locally brewed beers and because they are so awesome, Sophie got to try a flight of their locally brewed sodas! She thought it was amazing! We also tried the poutine and it was a new favorite. On our last night we ordered take out and ate it all over again back in our apartment.

https://www.thegrizzlypaw.com/

If there is one thing a good German loves, it’s bread. We discovered a French bakery, Le Fournil, within walking distance from our apartment. Timo loved the fresh baguette sandwiches and I, the dessert lover, tried every sweet concoction I could!

https://fournil.ca/

Finally, for all popcorn lovers, there is a delicious popcorn shop called Timothy’s in downtown Canmore. We enjoyed window shopping and checking out the small shops in the downtown. We had to try the popcorn and took some with us.

Drumheller

At the time of our trip Sophie was quite intrigued with dinosaurs. She is a lover of all things science and when we told her we could drive a few hours to the dinosaur capital, she was pumped! We stopped at the Hoodoos and the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I recommend both, but also suggest planning bathroom stops. It is quite the drive from Canmore and pit stops are few and far between. You will see bathrooms along the road, but they are fancier versions of port-a-potties and smell the same if not worse.

https://traveldrumheller.com/

Explore

The best part about this area is the simple fact that you can get on the road and explore. We spent hours in the car looking for wildlife, following road sign suggestions, and simply enjoying the gorgeous views provided by the Canadian Rockies.

Banff itself is a lively town with a natural hot springs pool, a waterfall, and a gondola! We checked out all three and explored the downtown. I fell in love with a Christmas store! Although I said we do not like to revisit locations, we will be returning to Canmore this winter. We are beyond excited to explore the snowy mountains and to show our kids all of the mountain adventures possible in the snow!

Bad Weather Days – Elevation Place

We never had any bad weather, but it is of course possible. In the event the weather is too yucky to go out and explore, Canmore has the perfect indoor recreation facility! Timo and Sophie climbed rock walls while Noah and I watched. Then we all swam in the indoor pool! Check out the website for all the rec center activities!

https://canmore.ca/recreation-facility/elevation-place