Out-of-province friends or family coming for a visit and you want to show off Alberta? My Toronto-based world-traveling cousin is (ahem – finally) visiting her Alberta relatives, and we have one week to tour the province. It’s going to be a whirlwind with highlights in Edmonton, Jasper, Banff, and Calgary to show off the best of what Alberta has to offer! Here’s my itinerary for 1 week in Alberta.
Summer is over but it doesn’t mean that the festival season has stopped in Alberta. Fall is a season of all things, pumpkins and harvest and you can get all that and more with these 5 fall festivals in Alberta. So, grab your latte, pull on your wellies and lets get exploring.
When: October 12-21
Where: Jasper, Alberta
Events: Schedule of Events can be found on the Dark Sky website
Did you know that in 2011 Jasper was designated a Dark Sky Reserve, by the Royal Astronomical Society “due to its limited light pollution that creates ideal conditions for dark sky viewing” (source)
Jasper National Park is one of 17 designated Dark Sky Preserves in Canada. We are the second largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world, and we are the largest accessible Dark Sky Preserve – meaning there’s a town within the limits of the preserve. – Jasper Dark Sky Festival
Not your typical ‘fall festival’ there are no farms, pumpkins but the dark sky festival is unlike any other you’ll attend this fall. With both free and paid events, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to world famous scientists, astronauts, go star gazing or take photography workshops. Plus… you’re in Jasper and there are lots to do with the family while you’re there as we’ve written about before (tips for staying in Jasper inexpensively are here, for food with kids click here).
If I told you that I spent a blissful weekend in Jasper and it only cost me $178.55, would you believe me? It’s true! A group of friends and I looked into booking a group trip over Easter a little too late and all that was left that would accommodate our squad of 7 adults and 1 baby was the Athabasca Falls Wilderness Hostel. We are no stranger to more rustic accommodations, as we’ve done some pretty cool trips to back country lodges, but we way underestimated just how perfect and cozy this place would be!
Tanya here and I’m back to tell you about another great ski resort, this time in Northern Alberta! We like Marmot Basin so much, we’re willing to drive the 400 km from Calgary for a weekend if it means we can spend a couple of days skiing and playing in beautiful Jasper National Park.
The whole family can ski together on the entire mountain as long as you have confident advanced-beginner or intermediate skiers. Most chairlifts on the hill allow skiers to access green, blue, or black runs, with options for groomed or natural runs, bumps, glades, and even terrain parks (of which there are three on the hill).
The only chairlift that doesn’t give access to a green beginner run is the Knob Chair, Marmot’s highest lift, but there is an easy blue traverse off the top (that would be considered green at most other resorts). Wait until the Knob Traverse has been groomed, and most advanced-beginners should do fine.
I love that beginners aren’t stuck skiing on the lower mountain while the rest of the family leaves them behind, and I like that there is something for all abilities and preferences of skiing off each chairlift. For my family, it means we can all ride up together and then split up to ski something fun or comfortable for each of us, always meeting at the bottom to ride up together again (while we swap stories of our chosen runs).
Marmot Basin has a true beginner chair, the School House Chair, with two easy green runs off it, access to the main lodge at the bottom, and conveniently located beside the parking lots for ski in/out access. There is also a tiny beginner area (serviced by a magic carpet) perfect for toddlers or the complete first timer.
Beyond that, beginners will love everything off the Eagle Express Quad. With runs like Bunny Hop, Old Road, and Sleepy Hollow, you’ll know you’re not in for anything too scary. These are some of the best green runs I’ve seen at a resort and gave me confidence when I was learning to ski as a kid.
After mastering the runs off the Eagle Express Quad, advanced-beginners will have the confidence to ski green runs across the entire resort with access to the mid-mountain lodge.
My son loves terrain parks, and so he was in heaven at Marmot with three parks spread around the hill. And you can hit all three in one descent from the top of the Canadian Rockies Express Quad.
My son also enjoyed playing in the trees off the “Old Road” beginner run. Narrow twisty runs resembling a luge track make their way through the trees alongside this run, and parents can just stick to the road (waiting for the kids to pop out on the next switchback lower down).
Marmot is an amazing hill for intermediate skiers wanting to take it up a notch with easy bump runs on low angled slopes. There are also several wide-open bowls off the Knob Chair that are fun to play in on a powder day (and they have easy escape routes back onto the groomed traverse if the kids get scared at any point).
And if groomed terrain is more your speed, there is no shortage of groomed blue and black runs for intermediate/advanced skiers looking to carve some swoopy turns. My personal favourite was Highway 16.
Once you get beyond the green runs, the groomers, and the easy traverse off the Knob, you’re going to want something more challenging – and Marmot definitely delivers here!
I’ve already mentioned the open bowls off the Knob (a dream on a powder day,) the terrain parks, and the variety of runs for skiers of all abilities. Other highlights for advanced skiers include the double black runs off Eagle East (this was my husband’s favourite area on the hill) and the brand new “Tres Hombres” area off the Paradise Quad Chair – full of steep double black chutes.
My boys also discovered that you can climb up above the higher chairlifts to ski down fresh untracked powder (in avalanche-controlled terrain that is still technically “in bounds.”) They carried their skis up the “Peak Run” off the top of the Knob Chair and then skied down into the bowl below. And that’s just one of the many runs that you can “bootpack” your way up if you’re willing to earn your fresh turns.
Step One: Arrive before 8:45am and make your way to one of the upper ski in/ski out parking lots off the School House Chair. There’s no need to use the bottom drop off zone. (It just gets congested and is way too busy.)
Step Two: Carry a small backpack to the mid mountain lodge, hang it on a hook, and make that your home base for the day. Avoid the main base area (which gets very crowded.)
Step Three: Have fun and enjoy this easy to navigate hill where you shouldn’t ever have to worry about getting lost. There’s no “back side,” and you don’t have to worry about kids accidentally ending up at the wrong chairlift or in the wrong bowl. Set an emergency meeting spot for the bottom of the hill (or even the mid mountain lodge) and you’ll always find your way there if you ski down.
We found it very easy to navigate our way around this resort and knew the runs quite well by noon on the first day. No matter how we chose to get down off the top of the mountain, we always ended up at the mid-mountain lodge. And if we went further, we always ended up on Bunny Hop or Old Road. There was comfort in seeing the same runs at the end of each descent and I knew my son would find his way down if we ever got separated.
Tanya blogs about her outdoor adventures on her website Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies. We are so happy to have her as our regular ski contributor this winter! To read the previous ski stories she has written for Alberta Mamas, check out the links below:
5 Reasons for Families to Love Nakiska Ski Area in Kananaskis
5 Reasons for Families to Love Lake Louise Ski Resort
5 Reasons for Families to Love Fernie Alpine Resort
5 Reasons for Families to Love Panorama Mountain Resort
Heading out of town with the kids can be expensive but if you’re willing to get outside, there are lots of winter activities in Jasper for your family for free.
Jasper has lots of hikes, but not all are great for kids. If you’re going in winter and you don’t already have ice grips for your shoes, rent some from a local sports store and that will help with the icy conditions (we rented ours from Jasper Source for Sports).
Jasper is an amazing getaway for families but can be a hard place to find a kids breakfast! If you’re looking for a quick breakfast from a bakery it’s relatively easy with options such as Bear Paws Bakery. If you’re looking for breakfast for your toddler you’re going to have a harder time. We did a little sleuthing around one of our favourite mountain towns for the best places to take kids for breakfast while you’re there.
I’m a self proclaimed introverted extrovert. Yes it is a thing. I think. But if it isn’t we need to make it a thing. I love being around people. My whole job as an event planner is to be cheerful, happy, and be good at working with large crowds and I love what I do. I thrive off of planning and executing events for the public.
I get home after an event or social gathering and crash. I cocoon and try to hide out from the world even shutting off my phone and going off social media *gasp*. I am thankful to my husband who after 10 years of being married to me will see the look in my eyes and just pass me a beer and a bag of chips and sit quietly watching bad reality TV with me all evening when I get overwhelmed.
The holidays make it harder. I want to go and do all the things. I will say yes to everything (work and personal) in September and October because writing it down in the calendar at that time looks like it is doable. But then things start piling up. Kid’s get busier with school activities, concerts and field-trips. Work gets busier this time of year with Christmas events. Friends and family invite you over for holiday parties. It adds up fast.
Over the years I have found some tricks that work to help create some down time when things start piling up and I start feeling overwhelmed.
These are just what I have found work for me. I would love to hear your thoughts! Do you love the hustle and bustle of the holidays? Or do you struggle trying to do all the things?
Marmot Basin has been working on the Tres Hombres project for more than 10 years. Last night they unveiled that five brand new runs are being added this year and are scheduled to open next week! This brings the total of runs to 91! You can see a full map here. With ski conditions being so great this year as well as the addition of snow machines (which will give them an estimated 25 extra days this season) skiing and snowboarding in Jasper has never been so exciting!
Tres Hombres will be a boot pack/ski pack black diamond and double black diamond that is 2270 ft long which is 3 times the length of Charlies Bowl which was their longest run before Tres Hombres. This North facing slope is filled with potter snow which means it will last longer than other slopes.
They have also renovated the cafeteria which will be open for the season soon. With an updated look inside and menu items that will elevate the dining experience, Marmot Basin has it all covered. From great coffee and snacks to new items like gourmet hot dogs and avacado smashies; you’ll want to stop in!
We are giving away TWO FREE PASSES to Marmot Basin! Leave us a comment below and let us know who you would take with you! The winner will be selected randomly from all the entries from Facebook, Instagram, and our website on November 16th. (Yes, that means you can enter the contest in 3 places for more chances to win)
The contest is open to all residents across Canada.