Pick your spot at great picnic locales around Canmore
by Amanda Follett
Urban Picnic Sprawl
Pounding the pavement all day can be exhausting for vacationing shopaholics, so it’s important to know where to get a quick food fix when spending a day in downtown Canmore. Easily missed but not easily forgotten, Bella Crusta, on 6th Ave. just off Main St., makes killer sandwiches for mountain appetites and provides a convenient midday stop-off in downtown Canmore. Just beyond Bella Crusta lies Indian Park, a quiet oasis with a couple of shaded picnic tables. To get further from the crowds, continue five minutes down 9th St. to where an established walking trail takes you past a number of picnic sites along the Bow River.
Cost: About $8 for a drink, sandwich and one of Bella Crusta’s delicious homemade cookies.
Time investment: If you’re already downtown, expect five to 10 minutes between ordering and digging in at a nearby picnic table.
Driving Hunger
The Highway 1A east of Canmore is certainly the road less travelled, but not for good reason. As it flanks the Bow River, this winding stretch of two-lane highway offers great picnic stops away from the crowds to the west, inside Banff National Park. On your way out of Canmore, stop off at Valbella Deli, just off Highway 1A on Elk Run Blvd. This tiny deli has won a cult following amongst locals for its meats and specialty foods, but also serves up yummy, healthy sandwiches to take on the road. Continuing east on the Highway 1A, you can stop at any number of picnic areas and pull outs that line the highway, but if your hunger allows, continue on for about 20 minutes to a dirt road that turns left just a few kilometres past the Highway 1X turnoff.
The key to a successful picnic is spending more time on enjoying your location than preparing your food. Tuck into a thick sandwich on fresh foccacia bread, along with a bowl of ripe summer cherries.
The road leads to a parking area and the trailhead for Mount Yamnuska, the Stoney Indian name for “flat-faced mountain”. You can’t miss it — it is exactly that, with its ‘flat face’ gazing out over the foothills toward Calgary. From the parking lot, it’s an easy five-minute walk to a number of peaceful mountain meadows boasting beautiful wildflowers and whispering poplars in summer months. For better views, follow the hiking trail up the shoulder to the right of Yamnuska until you find a scenic lookout. For the ultimate view, follow the trail all the way to the summit.
Cost: Less than $10 for a sandwich and drink at Valbella Deli.
Time investment: If you drive all the way to Mount Yamnuska, expect to be on the road about 20 minutes. Allow another ten minutes to find the perfect picnic spot. Hiking the full Mount Yamnuska traverse takes three to six hours, round trip.
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Picnics in the Bow Valley can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. Fanni Szalai and her dog Daisy enjoy an afternoon alfresco meal by the Bow River in Canmore.
Feeling Fruity
Warmer months in Canmore bring a much anticipated summer delicacy: the fruit truck. Glenn’s Fruit Truck sets up shop in downtown Canmore every Thursday, bringing with it fresh fruit and veggies all the way from the Okanagan Valley, in the British Columbia interior. Raiding the fruit truck is a great way to start any day in the mountains by stocking up on healthy snacks. Along with fresh cherries, blueberries and strawberries, grab some cucumbers, lettuce and some late-summer tomatoes, then pick up freshly baked bread and cheeses for the perfect mid-trail lunch on any of the area’s local hikes. Then hit the trail!
For a moderate hike, the Grassi Lakes Trail is an easy walk to a beautiful pair of blue lakes overlooking Canmore. For the more ambitious, the vacated tea house on Mount Lady MacDonald is a popular destination, offering great views from the shoulder just below the mountain’s summit and a nearby gazebo for a break from the sun. If your lunch gives you a little extra energy, you can make the summit push along an exposed ridge before returning to Canmore.
Cost: Less than $15 to create the perfect summer picnic for two.
Time investment: Take your time pouring over the fresh fruit, making the perfect sandwich and enjoying the hike. This is a full-day picnic mission.
Barbecue with a View
Canmore’s Quarry Lake area may be swarmed with children and families on hot, sunny summer afternoons, but as the sun begins to fade and evening approaches, it’s not unusual to have the quiet swimming hole to yourself. If you have a hibachi or small camping barbecue, stop off at Marra’s Grocery on Main St. for their popular deli and meat selections before heading to the Quarry, located only five minutes from downtown along Spray Lakes Road, just before reaching the Canmore Nordic Centre.
Set up shop at any of a number of picnic tables scattered around the lake’s shores and enjoy views of Ha Ling Peak and Mount Rundle that tower over the water. A relic of Canmore’s mining days, the Quarry is only swimmable a few days out of the year when temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius raise its melt-water to a reasonable bathing level. Bring your bathing suit and your appetite, and plan to relax as the sun sinks behind the surrounding peaks.
Cost: Less than $25 for two juicy steaks and a selection of salads.
Time investment: From the time you’re standing at the Marra’s butcher counter until you’ve had a swim and are pulling the steaks off the barbecue, allow about an hour.
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