Imagine waking up in a picturesque hotel owned by a former Olympian, with one of the most breathtaking mountain views in the world right outside your window. For our family of four visiting Canmore, Alberta, and staying at the stunning Paintbox Lodge, that dream was our reality this morning! After a cozy sleep in our intimate room right in downtown Canmore, we enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast of delectable frittatas and homemade sourdough bread. It was the perfect Canmore accommodation for our stay!
Although the lodge offered self-service coffee, we decided to make use of their complimentary town bikes and ride over to our favourite downtown Canmore cafe for the best coffee in Canmore, Beamers Coffee Bar. Beamers have been a part of the local Canmore community for over 25 years and are a local gem. After sipping some delicious lattes, we returned our bikes to the Paintbox Lodge and decided what to do next. There are so many things to do in downtown Canmore, but we made a decision and headed toward the Canmore Municipal Heliport for a once-in-a-lifetime experience – a helicopter tour!
We opted for the 30 minute Mount Assiniboine and Glacier tour with Alpine Helicopters, one of the best attractions for those visiting Canmore, where we were treated to the most magnificent 360-degree panoramic view of the area. We flew up close to Mount Assiniboine, which is the highest peak in the Southern Canadian Rockies, and got to see the Gloria and Assiniboine glaciers – it felt like we could reach out and touch them! The memory of the turquoise blue water of Marvel and Gloria Lakes is something that will stay with our family forever.
The kids were so well behaved on the flight that we decided to take them shopping to the HiJinx Toy Store on Main Street and WOW – we think Mom and Dad might have had more fun than the kids! There were thousands of toys to choose from and our children were allowed to play with the toys while we browsed. While toy shopping is often not a relaxing experience, the comfortable atmosphere and huge selection provided a nice moment of serenity for our family. The rest of the shops in downtown Canmore also did not disappoint!
Armed with new toys in hand, we made our way to the best place on earth – Old School Bus Ice Cream. Set up in a yellow school bus on 10th Street, we each got two scoops of rocky road in a delicious waffle cone. There is a beautiful patio you can sit on, but we opted to go for a walk around Policeman’s Creek and along the boardwalk. We couldn’t think of a more perfect way to finish the day than by soaking up the last of the sun, enjoying our ice cream, and taking in the views of the Three Sisters mountains.
How lucky are we to visit Downtown Canmore?
This guest blog was written for the BIA – Downtown Canmore.
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