Canada's Wildly Underrated Town Surrounded By Jagged Peaks And Tranquil Waters Offers Surreal Scenery

Alberta, Canada, has long been known for its unbelievably vibrant blue gatorade-colored hues and jagged peaks. Folks from across the world flock to Banff and Jasper National Parks hoping to lay their eyes on friendly moose, horny elks, and Canada's stunning natural beauty. While the area's appeal is it's nature, it's very important to pick the proper town to serve as a home base during your visit. I've visited Alberta several times, staying in resorts, campgrounds, and apartment rentals across the province. I keep going back partly because of the incredible nature, and partly because Alberta is home to my favorite town in all of Canada: Canmore, right outside the gates of Banff National Park. 

Canmore has it all; it's flanked by sheer rocky mountain majesty, it's a seven-minute drive to the gates of Banff National Park, and it feels like a real town instead of a tourist trap. It feels like that because it is. Canmore has a larger full-time population than any other community in the Alberta Rocky Mountains. With that population comes better restaurant options, sweeter thrift scores, and a downtown full of parks and galleries perfect for a layday. 

About an hour from the Calgary airport, Canmore quietly offers everything you'd hope to find in Banff with fewer stores selling cheesy T-shirts. This town could've turned itself into a souvenir stand with a mountain view, but it didn't. Instead, Canmore developed a sustainable tourism scene that focuses on cutting carbon emissions, supporting Indigenous communities, boosting small businesses, and protecting the environment that makes it pop. 

Canmore has a great downtown. Most importantly, a river runs through it. Two rivers, in fact: the mighty Bow River and the quaint Policeman's Creek. These two bodies of water create two sides of the rectangular town center, and quaint streets fill out the rest, with most of the action focused around 10th and 6th streets. Right in the middle is 8th Street, which has several blocks of cool shops and classic Canadian eats like the famously flat donuts at BeaverTails.

Start off any trip to Canmore at Switching Gear, a secondhand store focused on high-end outdoor gear. It's like heaven if beyond the pearly gates awaits awesome outdoor gear at fair prices. After you gear up, grab a bite across the street at Communitea Cafe. This community-focused spot has great vegan food and bacon under one roof, all served with house-popped corn. The Rocky Mountain Bagel Company is another excellent grab-and-go spot, with two downtown locations to score a hot sandwich on your way towards a grand day out. For sit-down meals, Ramen Arashi might have the best Ramen in Alberta, and the Where the Buffalo Roam Saloon is a great spot to relax with local beers and big burgers after a long day outside. 

I could go on and on about all the good food in Canmore, but there's more to do downtown than just eat. Tons of great walking trails weave along Policeman's Creek and take you to scenic pedestrian bridges across the Bow River. On rainy days, you'll have your pick of yoga studios, galleries, and museums close to downtown. You could also spend the day at Elevation Place, a library, climbing gym, swimming pool, fitness center, and skating rink all in one.

Between Banff National Park, the Three Sisters Peaks, and the protected lands of Kananaskis Country, there's a whole lot of green space around Canmore. Whether you're here to hike, bike, climb, or just stare at the peaks with a cup of coffee, this town makes it easy to step outside and get moving — even on your travel day. You could land in Calgary at noon, drive to Canmore, unpack your bags, grab lunch, and start the epic Ha Ling Peak hike by 4 p.m.

If you're heading here to check out Banff, you can drive in from Canmore and hit Banff National Park's most popular hike in just 40 minutes. Or, you can hop on a bike and ride into the park on the Legacy Trail, a paved path connecting downtown Canmore to downtown Banff. You could also take your hands off the wheel for a day and hop on several shuttles from downtown Canmore to Banff icons like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. You can even lift your experience off the ground from Downtown Canmore, a launching point for helicopter rides that take you directly to British Columbia's most breathtaking mountain vista. 

Outside the park's gates, the nearby Bow Valley is a hub for all sorts of extreme outdoor sports. Immediately surrounding Canmore awaits epic sport routes, trad climbs, bouldering zones, and some of North America's best ice climbing. Biking distance from downtown, you can enjoy the Canmore Nordic Center, a massive outdoor sports park built initially for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It's home to many outdoor activities, including world-class mountain biking trails in the summer and cross-country skiing trails in the winter.