Canadian Rockies: Sundance Canyon hike + seeing old friends

by | Oct 19, 2017 | International Travel, Travel

We landed late into Calgary and had to wait a bit for the shuttle van to the hotel but the welcome sign was cheerful!

landing in Calgary - YYC

Woke up early to meet our friends Jay & Anne who drove us to our rental car place. After picking up our car we continued to downtown Calgary for breakfast at Cosmic Cantina, a quirky little place with mismatched mugs and greasy breakfast offerings. It would probably fit in well in Asheville.

We discussed a few hiking options over our meal and decided on the Sunshine Village gondola.  When we arrived to a not-full parking lot it became clear why… all of the upper trails were closed. At least we saw some big horn sheep.

bighorn sheep and landscape

Instead of paying for a gondola ride for just one viewpoint we deferred to Sundance Canyon instead. It was a mostly flat 5 mile RT hike and after the waterfall we took a break for a fantastic picnic of meats, cheeses and fresh fruit that Anne had prepared.

Jay, Anne, Leandra, and Eric

picnic on Sundance Canyon hike

Sundance Canyon hike

After a quick stop to wander around the gorgeous Fairmont Banff Springs, we headed back to Canmore and put our name in for a table at the busy Grizzly Bear Brewing Co. While we were waiting we took a stroll along Spring Creek Boardwalk which looked rather moody in the building haze of smoke.

Canmore Riverside Trail @ sunset

Hiking was fun, but it was even better to have spent the day with friends we hadn’t seen in two (!) years – we were glad they could come down to see us for the day.

Our Itinerary

2025 Trips

Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina (Feb)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)