The seasonal travel restriction has ended on one of Banff National Park’s treasured gems. The annual restriction on the parkway helps protect wildlife from disturbance during the critical times when animals are actively looking for food and bearing their young after the long winter.
A Year Round Scenic Heritage Experience You Don’t Want to Miss
Riders, start your engines!
This August 25, the fourth annual Jasper Motorcycle Run will give motorcyclists license to ride and prizes to pursue amid iconic Rocky Mountain scenery. And, as a bonus this year, riders who register before June 30 will get an extra playing card to add to their poker hand, boosting their odds of winning great prizes.
What you ought to know about our 2012/2013 Contest
We received quite a substantial amount of submissions to our 2012/2013 Photos & Videos Contest. We’ll be uploading your submissions pretty soon. Read More
2011_Contest_Submissions_copy
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From there you’ll certainly find your way around,
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let us know about your adventure, and how it all happened!
~ Cheers from Experience The Mountain Parks online team
…And the Winner of our First Trivia Quiz is…
Neal Courtney from Alberta, got all answers right and got randomly drawn so won the first set of 3 companion guides generously offered by the author Graeme Pole.
For the record, the three questions asked were: Read More
The upcoming performance in a National Park you don’t want to miss!
This performance is called “Performance in the Park” and will be held on June 23, 2012 at Cascade Gardens, Parks Administration Building, Banff National Park.
This incredible opportunity is brought to you by Parks Canada, Banff Lake Louise Tourism Bureau and the Banff Centre!
About this performance, presented as part of the 2012 Banff Summer Arts Festival, and according to Parks Canada website:
“Banff National Park’s highly successful outdoor summer concert, now in its third year, will host Montréal’s Sam Roberts Band in the spectacular backdrop of Cascade Gardens. The Sam Roberts Band has won numerous Juno Awards including, most recently, 2009’s ‘Artist of the Year’ and ‘Rock Album of the Year’ for their third album “Love at the End of the World”. Their latest album, “Collider”, released in May 2011, has also been nominated for this year’s ‘Rock Album of the Year’ Juno Award. The band’s frontman, Sam Roberts, was named the first-ever Sustainability Ambassador for the Juno Awards, making the band’s decision to play in Canada’s first national park a poignant one as the Banff Stewardship Fund, which receives a portion of ticket sales, seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the relevance of Banff National Park. The band will be accompanied by folk-rock singer/songwriter Dan Mangan of British Columbia who was also recently nominated for four Juno Awards, including ‘Best New Artist’.”
Gates open 2:30 p.m. Show starts 4:00 p.m. Read More
Who Else Wants to Win a Set of Companion Guides?
The second round of our monthly giveaways is starting tomorrow June 4, 2012 with our Trivia Quiz #2. Each quiz is running for a full month and only one answer per person will be considered. The winner will be randomly drawn from the submissions with the correct answers.
Thanks to Graeme Pole for providing 10 sets of 3 companion guides, as shown below!
About Graeme Pole, an excerpt from his website, “Graeme Pole has been trooping around the Canadian Rockies for 30 years, and has been writing about the human history and the natural history of western Canada since 1989. His catalogue includes eleven published books with cumulative sales of more than 300,000 copies. Graeme lives with his family near Hazelton in northwestern BC, where he serves as a paramedic...”.
Lastly, make sure to read Graeme’s exclusive story to Experience The Mountain Parks called “Kananaskis Country — 4 Easy Hikes 4 U”
Have fun trying to find the right answers and good luck!
The Trivia Quiz #1 winner, run from May 3, 2012 to June 3, 2012 inclusive, will be announced in a few days. Read More
Kananaskis Country — 4 Easy Hikes 4 U
Chester Lake, 4.0 km
Trailhead: East side of the Smith-Dorrien Trail (Road 742), 44 km south of Canmore
Lakes abound in the limestone high country of Kananaskis. Many are set in remote valleys. This well-beaten path through forest and meadows leads to a beautiful tarn in a more open setting. It’s a great hike for birding and for botany. The wild flower displays of early summer can be superb, especially the blooms of glacier lilies near the lake.
Rawson Lake, 3.9 km
Trailhead: In Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, at the Upper Kananaskis Lake Day Use Area
Two lakes bookend this outing; one a massive reservoir, the other a jade gem nestled in a deep limestone pocket. Between them you climb through a tract of dense subalpine forest. Split log boardwalks span wet areas as you near the lake shore. Snow sometimes lingers until mid-July – which makes this a great place for wildflowers that prefer the cool and damp: white globeflower, alpine but-tercup, and evergreen violet. Mt. Sarrail (3174 m) is the backdrop at the lake. Read More
Enrich your knowledge; learn about the achievements and legacies of the David Thompson Bicentennial
Landscape and history are interconnected. For 350 years, rivers were the highways for the fur trade – an exchange by Aboriginal peoples of furs (especially beaver) and bison pemmican for European goods such as fabrics, pots and guns. After crossing the continent by dogsled and canoe the furs continued, via ship, to Great Britain to be made into hats and other fashion items.
Two hundred years ago this trade crossed the Rockies through the efforts of David Thompson (1770 – 1857). Thompson was the greatest chronicler of his day of landscapes, peoples and nature. There is growing awareness that he is the most under-recognized figure in Canadian history.
What all mountain bikers ought to know right now…
Here’s your unique chance to win a week-long odyssey exploring seven epic riding destinations in British Columbia. And yes, that’s an other contest!!
Mountain Biking BC, along with BC Bike Ride and Endless Biking are giving away a fabulous prize: a 7-day trip to explore seven destinations across British Columbia, discovering the province’s legendary trails, accompanied by some of the best guides and coaches in the industry. To top it off, the winner can bring along their best riding buddy to join the adventure.
The trip will take place from August 11, 2012 to August 19, 2012 starting out from Vancouver and ending in Whistler, in time to catch the Red Bull Joyride Finals at Cranworx on August 18.
Trip includes ground transportation, accommodation, professional guides, $1000 cash, and as much dirt loving your legs and lungs can handle.
To enter, riders just need to submit their entry at www.MountainBikingBC.ca.
Entries for the contest close on June 30, 2012. On July 2nd, ten randomly selected finalists will be notified to explain in a short essay why they most deserve the trip. Grand prize winner will be announced on July 11, one month short to prepare for their ultimate mountain biking dream on British Columbia’s most awesome single track.
That’s it, but don’t miss this incredible opportunity!!
Photo credit: Frisby Ridge, Revelstoke, British Columbia, photo by Bruno Long Read More