TravelWorldOnline
Route Planner:
Transcanada Highway
Calgary - Banff - Lake Louise
Driving time Calgary - Banff: 2 hours
Olympic Ski-Jumps
West of Calgary the Transcanada Highway passes the Olympic ski-jumps used during the Winter Games in 1988.
The open landscape of the Great Plains, where huge buffalo herds used to roam until the 19th century,
slowly turns into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
top
Stoney Indian Reserve
Past Calaway Park, an amusement park with roller coasters and carousels, the Transcanada Highway
cuts through the Stoney Indian reserve. Many native scouts working for the surveyor teams of the
transcontinental railroad in the 19th century came from this First Nation.
The prairie grasslands are slowly interrupted by small groves of lodgepole pines and aspen. The
glacial moraines of this region are remnants of the ice ages that helped form this region.
top
Kananaskis Region
The exit to Kananaskis country leads into an area offering numerous recreational facilities.
The foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the lowest mountain range at the eastern edge of the mountain
chain, is the least spectacular. The mountains slowly rise from the glacial moraines further east.
The first street signs caution drivers against wild animals on the road. Bears, wapitis, moose and
other animals are possibly dangerous. Each year bears or wapitis attack unsuspecting visitors to these
areas. Therefore caution is advised.
top
Lac des Arcs
On the north shore of the lake Lac des Arcs a huge cement plant digs into the mountain behind it. This
weakens the mountainside continuously. Geologists warn of a possible disaster. They fear a landslide
might destroy this part of the valley.
In the second mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, the front ranges, the rock composition of the
mountains changes. Here the geological layers consist of shales, limestone and sandstone. The mountains
reach elevations of up to 2500 m. The highest mountain of the front ranges is Mt. Oliver (3009 m).
top
Canmore
During the Olympic Winter Games in 1988 some of the sport events took place close to Canmore. Many of
the new suburbs were used as accommodation for the competitors. Today Canmore is a tourist
center close to Banff National Park which offers accommodation, restaurants and other amenities.
Hotels in Canmore
top
Banff National Park
 |
The entrance station to Banff National Park lies just a few kilometers behind Canmore. Anybody who wants
to spend a night in the National Park has to pay entrance fees. Who is just passing through on the
Transcanada Highway and does not plan to spend a night in Banff, Lake Louise or Field or visit any of the
sights along the way can pass without paying. |
Shortly before the turnoff to Banff there are gravel hills on each side of the Transcanada Highway. Geologists
believe them to be remnants of a huge mudslide that filled the Bow River Valley, when the glacial lake water of
Bow Glacier soaked through the terminal moraine at the end of the lake. This material eventually covered
the valley in an enormous mudslide.
Hotels in Banff
top
Driving time Banff - Lake Louise: 45 minutes
From Banff to Lake Louise
The highway passes Vermillion Lakes after the turnoffs to Banff. This is moose habitat. Dall sheep,
ospreys and bald eagles can also been spotted.
The mountains around the lake are Tunnel Mountain around which the town of Banff has been built. Mt. Rundle
(2949 m) can be recognized easily. It is the mountain behind town that seems to grow out of the bottom at
an angle. The long mountain to the right is Sulphur Mountain (2451 m). Next to it follows the Sundance Range.
The highest mountain to the west is Mt. Bourgeau (2931 m), one of the major mountains of the Massive Range.
top
Sunshine Valley
The next major turnoff leads to Sunshine Valley, a ski area close to Banff. The Sunshine Village gondola
offers one of the longest gondola rides in Canada. It transports skiers over a length of 5 kilometers.
top
Exit to Bow Valley Parkway
Bow Valley Parkway follows the Bow River Valley. If you are lucky you may see bears, dall sheep or
wapitis. The best times of day to watch out for animals are mornings and evenings. There also are some
hiking trails along this road leading to different areas in the mountains.
top
Castle Mountain (2766 m)
|
A huge turnout to the right offers good views of the surrounding area. Not to be missed is the
castellate mountain ahead. This is Castle Mountain. It received its name from Dr. James Hector of the
Palliser Expedition in 1858.
|
|
After the Second World War it was known under a different name for a while. The Scots decided then
to present Dwight D. Eisenhower, a general of the allied forces, with a castle and thus thank him for
his services during the war. Canada also wanted to reward Eisenhower and renamed Castle Mountain in his honor.
However, the people living in this area did not like this. Therefore the mountain got his old name back in
1979 by government decision. Today only the first tower is named Eisenhower Peak while the treeless plain
below it irreverently is called Eisenhower's Golf Course.
top
Sawback Range
Sawback Range can be seen from this viewpoint. A row of rock faults separates the younger rocks of the
front ranges from the older ones of the main ranges. The front ranges, of which the Sawback Range is part,
lie in the eastern part of the Rocky Mountains. Their rocks were formed 250 to 350 million years ago. The
mountains of the main range consist of rocks older than 500 million years. At the time of their creation
these layers were accumulated horizontally and were only tilted when the Rocky Mountains were formed
70 million years ago. Erosion has carved out these nearly vertical layers and created the sawtooth like
mountain summits.
top
Mt. Temple (3544 m)
 |
Mt. Temple is the highest mountain in the Lake Louise area and the third highest mountain in Banff
National Park. It consists of layers of quartz sandstone and limestone that were formed during the
precambrium more than 500 million years ago. At this time only very primitive life forms existed in the
oceans and no life existed on land.
|
Mt. Temple was named after Sir Richard Temple, an English scientist, who led an expedition through the
Canadian Rockies in 1884.
|
top
Exit to Lake Louise
From here the view of Mt. Temple is most impressive. Behind it lies the glaciated peak of Mt. Victoria
(3463 m) on the far end of Lake Louise.
To the left of it is Mt. Fairweather (2744 m), while the Beehive is on the right side of the Lake.
Hotels in Lake Louise
top
City Guide Calgary
City Guide Banff
Guide Lake Louise
TravelWorldOnline Alberta Travel Guide
top Homepage
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.travelworldonline.de/englishversion/calgarylakelouise.html
|
Recommend TravelWorldOnline to your friends.
| 
