Banff Trip

I've read a lot of older posts on here regarding the Banff area courses. I'm traveling to the area from New England in late August and was wondering if there are any recommendations on the following itinerary:

- day 1, Stewart

- day 2, Kananaskis - 36 holes - mt lorette in the morning and mt kidd in the afternoon - should we have a back up if mt kidd does not reopen on schedule? it sounds like you guys had a tough April with the weather and i'm worried the course could be behind schedule

- day 3, Banff

- day 4, Silver Tip - this is the course I have seen the most mixed reviews about so I purposely put it on the last day in case we are tired and we won't feel terrible if we play poorly. we are going to make our way back to calgary on day 4 so we can fly out very early on day 5...is there something closer to calgary you would recommend over this?

We have flights and tee times booked already.

We considered Jasper but with the extra travel right after a long day of flying (no direct flights from Boston to Calgary) we decided to cut that out...it also gives us a reason to possibly come back in 10 years with a bigger group (we are mid 30s and a few friends passed this time given the trip cost).

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

I would really try to get in Jasper it is well worth it but if you can't swing it that's understandable cause it would be a lot of travel. I personally don't like Silvertip that much the views are awesome but if I wanted cool instagram pics I'd just go hike up a mountain in Banff, it is still probably worth it to play though. Redwood would be another option though that is more or less on the way back into the city and probably the best unless you have private access.

Great trip! By August all the courses will be in perfect shape, and the days are really long so playing 36 will be no problem whatsoever. Lots of people don't care for Silvertip, it is a little gimmicky in spots. I love it, I play it every summer. You will hit shots there that you don't get anywhere else. Stewart is probably a better pure golf course, but I enjoy Silvertip more because it is so different. And both at Kananaskis are awesome too. This is a great trip, I hope you enjoy it.

Day 4 I’d skip Silvertip and replay which ever course you liked best if possible or if they are booked I’d rather play the Canmore golf club or like knock it close recommended play Redwood instead. Redwood was always one of the top ranked web.com courses by the players when they used to host an event. Silvertip truly is an awful golf course.

Thanks guys. A lot to consider here. It sounds like you all live in the area and Silver Tip truly is kind of a tourist trap/purely for photos. We might be really ambitious on Day 4 and play Canmore in the morning and Redwood late afternoon which is kind of on the way back to Calgary. Really appreciate the help.

Another question that I (stupidly) didn't think of before but do courses typically aerate around this time? I'll be there late August / Labor Day weekend. In New England, courses will start their second aeration of the year right after Labor Day on the early side and will aerate as late as mid-October. I know your season is a little shorter/ends earlier than mine so I'm worried the late season aeration is going to right around our trip. It's too late to really do much about it but more curious than anything. Thanks,

Do yourself a favor, at least drive up to Silver Tip and have lunch on the patio or something. I will bet if you actually see it, you will want to play it. You can eat out on the patio and watch groups hit down the mountain on 18. Its pretty cool actually. But whatever you want, I would never miss playing it when I am in that area. As for punching the greens, I don't think any courses would do that in the middle of the summer. Maybe right in the spring (like now), or in Sept / Oct. I can't imagine any of these courses would be aerating greens at that time, you should be good.

I only played Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge when we went in 2000. I was way more obsessed with golf then, but honestly, it was dwarfed by the scenery and wildlife (including seeing an adult grizzly, up close, trying to take a dump by the side of the road).

Can't believe this trip is only several weeks away now - has anyone that lives in the Calgary area heard about a delay with the last 9 of Kananaskis re-opening?

Thanks to the recommendations from you guys, we are planning on stopping by Redwood on the back into Calgary on day 4 (after silvertip) to cap off the trip.

Any non-golf tips for the trip would be recommended too (non-golf things to see/places with great views, restaurants, bars)? We will be staying in downtown Calgary Wednesday and Sunday night (easier coming in and out), at the Kananaskis Mt Lodge Thursday night, and at the Fairmont on Friday & Saturday nights.

Thanks!

I live in Edmonton so I will let someone from Calgary chime in on good places to eat or drink there. Calgary is a beautiful city though, and when I am down I enjoy driving up to see the old Olympic Village. Its pretty cool to see all of that even if its just a drive by. If you are staying right at Kananaskis, there really isn't much there. There is a hotel lobby bar. There is a casino at the bottom of the hill, but its pretty small and not great. I would suggest going into Canmore for dinners or drinks, its only about another 15-20 minutes away. There is a brewery/pub that has an awesome patio and some really nice restaurants in Canmore. Pretty much everything is on one or two streets, so you can just walk around and stop into places. Some good bars with live music, etc. Banff is crazy busy, but again there should be plenty of good places to have food and drinks. I think once you get there you will see the views are pretty much unlimited, and there is lots to see. You will see all sorts of wildlife and mountain views. Its an unreal trip, I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

OP - it's both a good and bad thing, but lots of fantastic views and vistas are accessible right from the car parks, usually within a few hundred yards on cement or wooden paths. If you have non-golf days, earlier is definitely better, it's all about beating the tour buses out there.

Not a local, but I've been through a few times the past few years including this past May. If you've not been before and/or are not from a mountainous area you will be blown away. It's fricking awesome :)

There are loads of simple 1/4 day and 1/2 day hikes you can do and you'll lose the crowds pretty quick.

Trail up to the teahouse at Lake Louise, trails away from the Peyto Lake car park, Lake Minnewanka car park, car park across from Wapta Lake. These are all easy to find/get to and don't require anything but a decent pair of hiking shoes.

The guys in Calgary are really lucky to only be a couple hours away from stuff like this:

Peyto Lake by dkb123, on Flickr

Have a great trip OP. A couple things I would add when i went with the wife a couple years ago was the Banff Gondola ride (little bit touristy), and maybe a quick trip up to Lake Louise/Moraine Lake just to check it out? It's pretty hard to beat that scenery.

Agreed. I lived in Alberta many moons ago when I was a student. The Rockies from Banff to Jasper are just the most awesome thing to experience. My bible at the time was The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide which told you where every footpath and trail goes. Now if I went back it would be to play golf...mainly. But at some stage it will be so worthwhile to get out on a trail and find a mountain or a lake to take in. Lake Maligne was my favorite place. Take your own food and some beers, much better than sitting in a bar.

Played Silvertip last week. Yes there are some goofy holes, but it is an experience. Here is the view from the patio off 10 tee, and coming down 18 green. Pretty spectacular:

I’m going to have to bite the bullet and play it one of these years. It’s just so hard for me to drive past Stewart Creek to get there.

How was the trip OP? Hopefully the forest fires didn't ruin everything too much for you ...