Canmore is a Canadian town, located in the west of the province of Alberta. It is off the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary, Alberta’s largest city.
The town of Canmore was officially named in 1884 by Donald A. Smith, an employee of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. In 1886, Queen Victoria granted the municipality the right to mine coal. The first mine opened its doors the following year.
During the 1970s, the coal market declined. In 1979, Canmore Mines Ltd. ceased its operations. The following year, almost all the mining structures were demolished.
Split in two by the Trans-Canada Highway, located along the Canadian Pacific Railway and crossed by the Bow River, Canmore boasts an ideal location along a large number of connecting routes, which has positively influenced its economy, currently based on tourism, and historically about the mining industry.
Access : Coordinates: 51.089, -115.359 / Canmore is located in the Calgary region, 81 kilometers west of the city of Calgary (104 kilometers on the Trans Canada Highway that crosses the city) in the Bow Valley.
Highlights :
- The city center, which can be walked along two sidewalks, develops around 8th Street, also called “Main Street”, which was originally a residential street, and is home to some of the oldest buildings in the city. Nowadays there are small shops, restaurants and galleries along the street.
- Canmore is located on the very border of Banff National Park, thanks to which the tourist industry is developed in the city. Thus, the main development of Canmore occurred in connection with the start of construction in 1992 of the Three Sisters Golf Resorts
- The Nordic sports of the 1988 Calgary Olympics were at the Canmore Nordic Center Provincial Park.
- Canmore is surrounded by mountains, the most famous of which is the Three Sisters, which has 3 peaks (2936 m, 2769 m, 2694 m). Also from the city you can see the mountains Grotto (Grotto Mountain, 2706 m), Mount Lady Macdonald (Mount Lady Macdonald, 2606 m), Lawrence Grassi (Mount Lawrence Grassi, 2685 m) and Ha Ling (Chinaman) Peak, 2407 m).
- Annual events : The award-winning food festival, Canmore Uncorked , every April / The 24 Hours of Adrenalin, a mountain bike race series / The Canmore Winter Carnival / The Rocky Mountain Ski Challenge / The Canmore Miners’ Day Reunion / The Canmore Folk Music Festival / Mozart on the Mountain, an outdoor concert / The Vic Lewis International Band Festival / The annual Canmore Children’s Festival / The Canmore ArtsPeak Arts Festival.
- Top sights in Canmore : The Canadian Rockies offer some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It can seem like a daunting task trying to see everything in a limited amount of time. / The Upper & Lower Grassi Lakes near the city. / Canmore Nordic Center Provincial Park – west of Canmore, 65 miles. The park is located at the foot of Mount Rundle in the Canadian Rockies / Canmore Museum and Geoscience Center, 902B 7th Ave / Elevation Place.
Go next : The Three Sisters are a trio of summits near Canmore / Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park.