The beauty of the Canadian Rockies doesn't stop at the National Park line. One notable example is Kananaskis Country, a park system situated near Canmore, in the foothills and front ranges of those majestic peaks.
Kananaskis Country is noted for recreation and tourism. Recreation facilities in Kananaskis include several campgrounds, a golf course, a hotel, a holiday ranch, two alpine ski areas (Nakiska and Fortress Mountain) and a competitive cross-country ski area (the Canmore Nordic Centre) that the public can use. Parts of the Park were used during the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Most of the development is within Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and along the highway 40 corridor that parallels the Kananaskis River. Kananaskis has many kilometres of hiking, cross-country ski, and horse trails. Other activities popular in Kananaskis include mountain biking, scrambling, climbing, backpacking, hunting, and fishing.
My adventures here have included some hiking, checking out the Security after the G-8 met here years ago, and taking a wonderful back country drive, starting at Bragg Creek. Kananaskis Country is but a short drive from Calgary and seems to me much more isolated and invigorating that Big Brother Banff next door. read more