PlanetSKI is Back in Canada!
31st August 2026
This time it’s a late summer/early autumn visit. After living in Canada for two months last winter, we’re here for one month on the shoulder season as summer turns into autumn, with winter round the corner. NEW
As we arrived in Calgary in Alberta, in the final week of August, the highest ski resorts were seeing their first snow of the approaching winter.
We aren’t here for the snow, but it was fabulous to see and a sign that the seasons are starting to change.
Sunshine Village near Banff in Alberta has seen its first fall of snow:
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The snow has been falling in nearby Kicking Horse in British Columbia too:
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We’re here for autumn in the Canadian Rockies – hiking, kayaking, golf, standup paddle boarding and much else besides.
We’re driving on part of the the Icefields Pathway road that links the ski resorts of Lake Louise and Jasper.
It’s a road that we have driven many times in the winter, but never in the months outside.
Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise to Jasper. Image © PlanetSKI
Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise to Jasper. Image © PlanetSKI
We are driving part of the Icefields Pathway to reach the little-known town of Nordegg.
It is in Clearwater Country in the Brazeau Range, in the foothills of the Rockies.
It is being touted by some as the next Canmore.
That seems a bit of an exaggeration, but we shall see.
It is a place where the mountains exist without the gift shops, traffic jams, pricey hotels and over-commercialisation.
“The small town of Nordegg doesn’t offer much beyond fuel, food and an insight into the area’s coal mining history,” said the Lonely Planet guidebook.
“But really what more do you want when the mountains are calling?”
Sounds like PlanetSKI’s kind of place, and we thought we’d get there before the crowds and see what it has to offer.
Plus we’re visiting the Dinosaur Provincial Park to the east of Calgary.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains the highest concentration of discovered dinosaur bones in the world.
Millions of years ago dinosaurs roamed the area with its sub-topical climate at the edge of a great inland sea.
Now it is a stark landscape of semi-arrid steppes.
We’re also off to Vancouver in British Columbia to visit the city and its Pacific coastline.
Then we’re hitting the road for a week-long road trip deep into the mountains, where we’re staying in a heliski lodge way beyond the ski resort of Whistler.
We started at Calgary’s most famous landmark, The Calgary Tower.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
It was opened in 1968 and began life known as the Husky Tower.
At the time it was the tallest structure in Canada and the highest observation town in the western hemisphere.
In 1971 it was renamed The Calgary Tower after people from the city, throughout Canada and around the world embraced the structure.
The views from the top remain stunning.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
With views of the Rockies in the distance.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
On windy days the top of the tower can sway up to 16.5m.
And it has a challenge.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
Walking out on this glass, that is suspended high above the street below.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
PlanetSKI made it.
The Calgary Tower, Calgary. Image © PlanetSKI
Then it was time to head to the mountains for some gentle hiking in Kananaskis, that’s about a 45-minute drive from Calgary.
The Fullerton Trailhead offer a 2-hour circular hike with some options, should you wish.
The Fullerton Trailhead, Kananaskis. Image © PlanetSKI
The Fullerton Trailhead, Kananaskis. Image © PlanetSKI
There are views across to Moose Mountain and the Elbow River Valley.
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In the winter the area becomes a mecca for cross-county skiing.
Lunch at The Italian Farmhouse in Bragg Creek comes highly recommended by the PlanetSKI team.
PlanetSKI is back in the Canadian Rockies. Image © PlanetSKI
Next up is the aforementioned Nordegg.
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