Celebrate family weekend in snow
and ice at Lake Louise
No need to wait until
February to enjoy our
Winter playground
BY NATALIE ST-DENIS
THERE’S NOTHING like spending all day
playing in the snow with your family and
heading back to the lodge at the end of the
day — with rosy cheeks and runny noses —
for a cup of hot chocolate while cuddling in
front of the fireplace.
A magical winter tour at Lake Louise
offers a great variety of fun-filled activities.
There’s actually more stuff to do than
you can possibly pack in over one long
weekend, but here are some suggestions
for what you may want to experience as a
family. Ultimately, your choices will depend
on your allocated budget for the weekend
and your children’s ages.
This coming year, Family Day falls on Feb.
16, but you don’t have to wait until February experience. The network is located a little 4,200 acres of skiing terrain with eight
to create your own Family Weekend. In fact, more than six kilometres from the Lake lifts taking you to 130 marked runs. The
there’s so much to do you’ll need to plan Louise overpass on the TransCanada longest run is fully eight kilometres long.
a few outings to Lake Louise during our Highway, on the same side as Lake Louise Families with younger children unable to ski
glorious winter season to enjoy everything Mountain Resort. For more information all day may want to explore the option of
this destination has to offer. about pipestone Trails contact the Lake leaving their kids at the Telus play Station
Louise Visitor Centre at (403) 522-3833. & Daycare. For more information go to
SKATING ON LAKE LOUISE www.skilouise.com/index.aspx.
Imagine skating into a majestic ice castle DOG SLEDDING IN THE ROCKIES
and looking through its see-through walls Jump back into time and experience an WHERE TO STAY
and discovering colourful, distorted shapes old, traditional way of transportation once The Canadian Alpine Centre in Lake
gliding all around you. Skating to music commonly used by Inuit communities in Louise is a great place for families to stay. In
while surrounded by ice sculptures in this Canada’s Arctic long before the introduction addition to private (book early) and shared
spectacular setting makes for a wonderful of snowmobiles. Sled dogs were used to accommodations, the centre has a café, a
outdoor skating experience. On the weekend pull cargo and people across the North’s members’ kitchen with complete cooking
of Jan. 23 to 25, Lake Louise will be hosting snowy landscape and played a vital role in and eating utensils (bring your own food),
its 15th annual Ice Magic Festival where ice the survival of the Inuit people. Numerous general lounge with fireplace, and games.
sculptors from around the world will come companies offer various dog sledding There are also complete laundry facilities,
to create their masterpieces. For more packages, for more information go to showers and a workshop for equipment
information about the Ice Magic Festival go www.banfflakelouise.com/experience-the- repairs. For more information go to
to www.banfflakelouise.com/events-and- park/winter-adventures/dogsledding. www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/index.html.
festivals/ice-magic. Need Gear? If you don’t have all the gear
OCKE
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LAKE LOUISE MOUNTAIN RESORT you need you may want to consider renting
AREN
SNOWSHOEING AND NORDIC SKIING There’s nothing like hitting the slopes all you need in one place. The Outdoor
/K
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O
IN PIPESTONE TRAILS and letting gravity do most of the work. Centre at the University of Calgary has
The pipestone trail system covers Lake Louise Mountain Resort has long a wide array of rental gear, more than
21 kilometres of easy-to-intermediate cruising runs for all levels, from beginner 10,000 items, available at a reasonable
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OCKPHO

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terrain and the wooded area along the trail gentle slopes to steep expert runs filled price. For more information go to

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is ideal for your first family snowshoeing with challenging terrain. The resort boasts www.calgaryoutdoorcentre.ca.
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46 CALGARY >> WINTER 2008/2009 www.CalgaryOutdoors.ca
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