#Rimrock Resort Hotel

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The Bow River Flows Through a Valley in Banff National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: This was an overlook point on Tunnel Mountain Rd to the east of Banff. Tunnel Mountain is towards the image right. Sulphur Mountain is far off in the distance, and one can see a little bit of the beginning ridgeline of Mount Rundle on the left.

[beerandsunflowers-blog]

[passporttoparadise]

[eatfabulously]

Blue Velvet Cake I had at The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff [OC] [3264x2448]

[aiiaiiiyo]

Blue Velvet Cake I had at The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff [OC] [3264x2448] Check this blog!

[thehumblepescatarian]

Review: Eden

One of the best restaurants I've ever been to. Please do check out my review of Eden at the @RimrockResort. Delicious fine dining at its best. #FoodCritic #FoodReview #Canada #Banff #Eden #RimrockResortHotel #TastingMenu #Pescatarian #Vegetarian #Delicious

Perfection

Eden in Banff

10/10

The Location

  When I was booking the holiday to Canada I had one thought in mind – book Eden. I’ve heard incredible things about this little gem that I had to find out for myself and boy was I blown away. Eden is based in the Rimrock Resort Hotel surrounded by incredible mountain views which take you away as you pour over their delectable menu choices.

I have…

[stuyalb]

Morning Banff Saturday (at The Rimrock Resort Hotel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiDDtFqvj2Z/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cristianecoach]

Esqui – Badalado ⛷ Chegamos na quarta edição da série de Esqui. Trazemos três estações que estão entre as mais badaladas no inverno do Hemisfério Norte. Para cada uma delas, selecionamos hotéis nos destinos, especialmente aqueles com acesso fácil às pistas, boa infraestrutura e serviços. Courchevel (França) Nos Alpes Franceses, já bem próxima a Suíça, está Courchevel, um dos mais glamorosos e badalados destinos de esqui na França. Ela está localizada na maior área esquiável do mundo: o Les Trois Vallées, que inclui as estações de Val Thorens e Méribel. O agito fica por conta dos restaurantes animados tanto nas pistas quanto fora. Hotéis cinco estrelas, joalherias, lojas de grife e restaurantes também compõem alguns dos atrativos locais. Onde ficar: 🏩 Six Senses Residences 🏩 L'Apogee 🏩 Les Airelles 🏩 Le K2 Altitude Hotel Verbier (Suíça) A estação está localizada na região de 4 Vallées, na maior área esquiável da Suíça. Entre as características que tornam o destino badalado, está a ativa vida noturna. O pequeno vilarejo se transforma à noite, com bares, restaurantes, shows e muita movimentação. A fama de badalado faz jus por seus après-skis e a sua grande festa de Réveillon. O destino também tem campo de golfe, museus, trenó e parapente. Onde ficar: 🏩 Le Chalet d'Adrien 🏩 W Verbier Hotel 🏩 The Lodge Verbier 🏩 Chalet Spa Verbier Banff (Canadá) A cidade de Banff abriga três grandes estações, chamadas de SkyBig3, com Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise e Mt Norquay, cada uma delas com características únicas e diversos níveis de dificuldade. Nas três, há aproximadamente 250 pistas e, fora delas, há também muitas atrações, como restaurantes badalados, bares, lojas de grife, campo de golfe e fontes termais naturais. A abundância de opções dentro e fora das pistas fazem de Banff um dos destinos de neve mais descolados do mundo. Onde ficar: 🏩 Canalta Lodge 🏩 RimRock Resort Hotel 🏩 Moose Hotel And Suites 🏩 Sunshine Mountain Lodge ⚠️ Importante! Consulte sempre as informações atualizadas sobre os destinos nos órgãos oficiais, já que mudanças repentinas estão sujeitas devido à pandemia. #IntrepViagens #DicasInterep #InspiracoesInterep #Esqui https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJNkCDpZV2/?utm_medium=tumblr

[pandemicperipatetics]

Canada National Parks: Banff, Yoho, & More!

Lake Louise at sunrise

BANFF NATIONAL PARK

Banff National Park is an all-time favorite destination for us. The park has incredibly beautiful lakes and mountains, is close to multiple other incredible national parks (Yoho, Jasper), and has the lovely city of Banff. Banff is especially good for amazing views without much effort -- versus, say, Glacier National Park which is much better seen through its epic hikes.

The city of Banff itself looks like a European alpine village surrounded by jaw-dropping mountains, and it is a very comfortable place to stay – great food, nice and plentiful accommodations, and a shuttle that conveniently goes through town. It felt fairly similar to Jackson, WY – the billionaire-fueled resort town by Grand Teton National Park. We highly recommend staying in Banff and using it as your jumping-off point to any of the beautiful destinations in the area – we spent one night in Banff and two nights by Lake Louise and definitely preferred the former for better accommodations, food, and overall value for money.

Downtown Banff in the evening

WHAT TO DO (our favorites, starting with our most recommended)

1. Day Trip to Lake Louise (see our Lake Louise blog post for much more information)

Lake Louise at sunrise

a. What: A lovely lake that is the most famous attraction in Banff National Park, and has some wonderful hikes, teahouses nestled in the mountains, and the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. If you have half a day and are willing to hike about 13 miles, we REALLY recommend the teahouses hike. While you’re in the area, visit stunning Moraine Lake nearby as well!

b. Where: About 40 minutes’ drive from downtown Banff

c. What else to know:

Food and accommodation options in the Lake Louise area are limited, so it can be nice to stay in Banff for your entire trip and drive out to places like Lake Louise and Yoho National Park for day trips. This adds driving time but we think it is worth it.

Parking at Lake Louise can be very challenging – it is recommended to get there early or consider making a Banff shuttle reservation to get to and from the lake. We read somewhere that you can get your Lake Louise parking validated if you eat lunch at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (we read it’s best to get a reservation at the hotel as it gets crowded). That said, when we visited on the Wednesday after Labor Day, there was plenty of parking both in the morning and the afternoon, and it seemed easy to pay at one of the walk-up pay stations in the parking lot.

2. Half-Day Trip to Yoho National Park (see our Yoho blog post for more information)

Emerald Lake in the afternoon

a. What: A national park bordering Banff that has some beautiful sights, especially Emerald Lake and Takkakaw Falls, and some neat mountain hikes that allow you to see impressive glaciers, gorgeous glacial lakes, and more beautiful scenery

b. Where: About 70 minutes’ drive from downtown Banff

3. Half Day or Day sightseeing other nearby lakes and scenic areas

Johnson Lake in the afternoon

a. What: See other nearby lakes like Johnson Lake, Lake Minnewanka, etc (the list goes on). And check out lovely sites like Johnston Canyon.

Minnewanka Lake in the afternoon

4. Spend an evening in downtown Banff

Dinner in downtown Banff

a. What: The downtown area is full of shops, food, and great views

b. Why: At a minimum, you’ll probably want to eat here. There are some really delicious food options!

c. What else to know: Parking can be hard to find and is paid in most parts of town; also, driving can get very jammed (as we experienced on Labor Day). There is a free parking lot by the train station that we were told usually has spots and is about a 10 min walk from downtown. We opted to take the ROAM shuttle around as it was incredibly convenient (a day pass costs CAD$5 per person; our hotel gave us day passes for free)

5. Drive the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper

Bow Lake, one of the first stops along the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper

a. What: A very scenic drive 

b. Why: It has many, many glaciers, icefields, glacial lakes, and otherwise impressive scenery

c. What else to know:

Download the Gypsy Guide app audio tour ($7.99 for Icefields parkway) for narration during your drive; it will guide you to popular stops along the way.

Even if you don’t have time for the whole drive, Bow Lake and Peyto Lake are early in the drive and very worthwhile to visit. If you have more time, the Columbia Icefield is amazing – you can literally walk right up to a glacier. Just check ahead of time that things are open – Peyto Lake was unexpectedly closed during our visit!

The entire drive from Banff to Jasper takes about 3 hours on a one-lane road. When I did this previously, a car accident caused a 3+ hour delay and we waited in an extremely long line of cars on the road. Make sure you have plenty of fuel before you get started and other preparations in case you get stuck on the road (snacks, warm clothes, etc.)

6. Hike Tunnel Mountain in Banff (~3km hike roundtrip, moderate)

View of Banff from Tunnel Mountain in the afternoon

a. What: This hike is a short but steep incline up to lovely views of the city of Banff.

b. Why: The views are great, and it’s a great starter hike to see the town and get into hiking mode.

c. Where: Just a few minutes’ drive from downtown Banff

d. How: Search for Tunnel Mountain in Google Maps – you’ll drive partway up the mountain and find a small parking lot. We visited in the afternoon on Labor Day and were able to find a spot immediately.

e. What else to know: If the sun is out, it can feel really hot during the hike – especially given the continuous incline – but it is cold and windy at the top, so take a jacket! There are plenty of good views to sit amongst the rocks or on the ground and have a snack at the top.

7. Drive through Kootenay National Park 

This is a national park that happened to be on our drive from Kalispell (near Glacier National Park) to Banff. The scenic drive through the park is exceptionally beautiful – gorgeous rivers, forests, and of course the Rocky Mountains. Going-to-the-Sun Road is one of Glacier’s main attractions, and we thought this drive was at least as nice.

We didn’t have time to stop at any of the attractions and aren’t sure if they would be worth the time (at least in comparison to all the things to do in nearby Banff National Park).

Note: There is no cell phone coverage on virtually the entire drive to Kootenay!

NOTABLE STUFF WE DIDN’T DO

1.Hiking at Johnston Canyon

a.       What: There are a couple of miles of trails to a well-known waterfall and a hike to the Ink Pots (water pools) that we read are incredible

b.       Why: It’s one of the top recommended attractions in/near the town of Banff!

c.       How: Map to Johnston Canyon in Google maps; it’s located between Lake Louise and Banff

d.       What else to know: The entire canyon was closed on Labor Day; when we arrived a ranger told us there had been an accident at the site that morning. Try to check that the Canyon is going before your visit.

2. Ride the Sulphur Mountain Gondola

a.       What: An expensive gondola ride to a high viewpoint in Banff (you can get a slight discount by booking online in advance or going after 5PM)

b.       What else to know: You can alternately take a steep hike up to the viewpoint, but Google and AllTrails reviews indicate the intensity of the hike may not be worth it, especially if you can take the gondola instead. We considered doing this but didn’t have time and didn’t want to take a potentially crowded gondola during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, I took the gondola on a previous visit to Banff and have no recollection of it, so we figured it may not be worth the price.

 WHERE TO EAT (VEGETARIAN, OF COURSE)

We’re admittedly not the most informed on this, as we only stayed in the city of Banff for one night and otherwise ate mostly simple sandwiches that we made ourselves. However, on a previous visit to Banff, I recall the food downtown being really excellent.

One place we must recommend is Nourish Café, a vegetarian café (also very vegan-friendly) that has the most incredible food. We LOVED the mushroom ravioli in coconut sauce and thought the nachos and kimchi burger were also very good. We can’t wait to return to try more of their menu items.

We also adored Saffron for Indian food – the bhindi masala was out of this world and the dal tadka was also excellent.

By Lake Louise, the food options were SUPER limited (there were like 3 places open for dinner), but we were able to get a pretty good vegan pizza one night at Timberwolf Pizza, located inside the Lake Louise Inn. We were impressed that they had vegan cheese and that the pizza tasted pretty good!

 WHERE TO STAY

Given uncertainty around whether we would be allowed to cross the international border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we booked our accommodations on the day we entered Canada. This meant a lot of options were booked out, and we didn’t have a ton of time to do research.

Banff: We loved the Rimrock Resort Hotel. It was admittedly much more luxurious than we were expecting or aiming for. The facility is gorgeous and customer service was excellent, especially helpful with managing the COVID tests that Canadian border patrol mandated we take during our visit. The location is right by the Sulphur Mountain Gondola and is easily accessible to town via the shuttle, which stops right in front of the hotel. The only downside: it is very expensive!

Lake Louise: We would have loved to stay at the infamous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, but it was booked out. We stayed instead at the nearby Paradise Lodge and were decidedly not impressed for how expensive it was – next time, if not the Fairmont Chateau then we will stay in Banff and drive out to Lake Louise. Note: There is also a very famous Fairmont hotel in Banff, and there is a fun podcast episode on the National Park After Dark podcast about ghost stories in this hotel.

Camping: We didn’t have a chance to look into camping options but would have loved to try this given how scenic the whole area is. Next time!

 LOGISTICS

Crossing the Border: US >> CAN

Crossing the border wasn’t the easiest process due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to:

1.       Register our anticipated border crossing online (or on a Canadian app) within 72 hours of our visit, no sooner. This entailed determining approximately what time and which city we would be crossing at, which required advanced planning.

2.       Take a COVID-19 diagnostic PCR test and receive results within 72 hours of our visit. We were able to book NAAT PCR tests (promised TAT is 24 hours, ours completed in under an hour) at a Walgreens in Montana – tests were in very short supply, so we woke up early 2 days before our desired testing date to snag testing slots as soon as they were released.

3.       Provide our passports and COVID-19 vaccination cards at the border: We had to provide the physical evidence, despite having uploaded images of the cards during our registration as well.

4.       Complete a take-home COVID-19 swab within 24 hrs of arrival: The Canadian border patrol agent informed us we were randomly selected to do this, and gave us VERY detailed written instructions that warned of possible fines and imprisonment for not completing the requirements. In brief, the take-home tests were much more involved than the U.S. Labcorp Pixel take-home test: we had to book a virtual appointment with a contracted testing company and meet with their agent over Microsoft TEAMS to walk us through self-administration of the nasal swab. This required Internet (not a given in the Canadian Rockies, so we were glad to be staying in a nice hotel in Banff) AND an ability to drop off the completed swabs to FedEx or schedule a pickup (which we delegated to our wonderfully helpful hotel), and overall took about 90 minutes of our time during our ~3 day trip to the Banff area. It wasn’t our favorite use of time, but we were very impressed by the Canadian government’s logistical prowess, especially when we received our test results within 72 hours of doing the swab!

Note: Crossing the border back to the U.S. was a very different experience. All we had to do was answer a few simple questions and show our passports. No COVID due diligence whatsoever.

 Entering Canada from the U.S.

A few helpful things to know:

1.       Pause and change your vehicle’s settings to display speeds in km instead of miles. Do this in Waze as well (Google maps seemed to automatically adjust to km). This will help you to follow local speed limits.

2.       Check if your car insurance covers you in Canada. Ours (Geico) has a note on its website that it does cover you for short visits to Canada but not long-term stays (>6 months).

 Entry Fees to Canada National Parks

You can purchase an annual family pass for approximately CAD $140 or a day pass for CAD $10 per person, valid until 4PM on the following day. The pass includes admission to all Canada National Parks. We opted for day passes for 3 days (CAD $60 for the two of us), lasting us from when we stopped at the ticket booth at the entrance to Kootenay National Park (Monday around 10AM) to Thursday at 4PM. We were given a timestamped pass to tape to our car’s dashboard.

[thorsenmark]

The Bow River Flows Through a Valley in Banff National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: This was an overlook point on Tunnel Mountain Rd to the east of Banff. Tunnel Mountain is towards the image right. Sulphur Mountain is far off in the distance, and one can see a little bit of the beginning ridgeline of Mount Rundle on the left.

[beerandsunflowers-blog]

[pintacmd]

Waking up with the urge to put on red 💄. #metime #relax #rimrockresort #banff #torontomua #torontomakeupartist #perksofbeingamua #pintalipstick #pinta #pintacmd #redlips #candacemallaridavid (at The Rimrock Resort Hotel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaA8rflgKt/?igshid=w7t0shkp2haa

[thecarlivh]

o c t o b e r 🍂 // can’t believe this weather we are having! Best little family getaway to the mountains for Grey’s first time in Banff! #therimrockresorthotel #banffnationalpark #travelbanff #BabyGrey #rockymountains (at The Rimrock Resort Hotel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CF6JP3ahzQc/?igshid=1nzgqzmtw3hks

[hloblog]

This is the view we woke up to in our hotel in Banff. 😍😍😍 We arrived close to midnight on the first night so it was too dark to see anything and the next day, it was snowing so hard you couldn’t really see much of anything. It was when the snow stopped on day 3 and the sun came out that this view finally appeared... and what a view it is! 😍😍😍 #ViewsForDays #TheRockies #MyBanff (at The Rimrock Resort Hotel)

[topiom]

Ultra rare white grizzly bear spotted near a tourist resort in Banff National Park | Daily Mail Online

Ultra-rare white grizzly bear spotted near tourist resort in Banff National Park in ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’

Published: 17:20 BST, 25 May 2020 | Updated: 17:20 BST, 25 May 2020

An ultra rare white grizzly bear has been spotted near a tourist resort in Banff National Park in Canada.

Cara Clarkson, a worker at the nearby Rimrock Resort Hotel, spotted the bear while driving on the Trans-Canada Highway with her husband and two sons.

The white grizzly was with its sibling, a more typically colored brown grizzly as they were searching for food near the edge of the highway.

A worker at a resort in Banff, Canada spotted a white grizzly bear while out on a drive with her husband and two sons, something she described as a 'once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity'

While Clarkson said she would normally have driven by and not risked disturbing the bears, the sight of the white grizzly was a 'once in a lifetime opportunity.'

“We were like ‘holy smokes! That is full on a white grizzly bear.’ Clarkson said in an interview with St. Albert Today.

Grizzly bears generally come in a broad spectrum of colors, from light blonde to dark black, but a pure white grizzly is 'exceedingly rare,' according to retired Parks Canada researcher Mike Gibeau.

'I have never in all my time working with grizzly bears – since the early 1980s – seen a white grizzly bear,' Gibeau said.

'I’ve seen a really, really blond grizzly, but never a white one.'

Some initially speculated that the bear might have been an albino, but according to Gibeau that would also have changed the bear's skin and eye color.

Instead, he says the white coat of fur is likely due to a recessive gene in the species that's almost never seen in the wild.

'It’s certainly the only one I’m aware of that’s been seen in our Rocky Mountain National Park,' Parks Canada's Seth Cherry told Global News.

Park officials had first identified the pair of grizzlies in 2018, when they were both cubs and the white bear appeared to be more blonde than white.

Some initially thought the bear might be an albino, but park researchers say if that was the case it's skin and eyes would also have lacked pigment and appeared pale pink

According to Parks Canada workers, the white fur is caused by a recessive gene that's almost never seen in the wild. 'I have never in all my time working with grizzly bears – since the early 1980s – seen a white grizzly bear,' Parks Canada's Mike Gibeau said

At the time, the bears were feeding near a grain spill near train tracks running on next to the Trans-Canada Highway around 40 miles north of Rimrock Resort.

Park workers used a variety of hazing techniques to move the bears deeper into the park and away from areas with higher human populations.

Park officials believe the bears might have returned to the area  in search of food and used tall snow drifts from heavy winter snow to climb over the large fence that runs along either side of the Trans-Canada Highway to protect wildlife from traffic. 

Park workers believe the bear and its brown-furred sibling came down to the Trans-Canada Highway in search of food

'This is a unique bear, and I certainly have never seen one before, but we ask people can appreciate that it’s out there and do things to ensure its safety, like not stopping on the highway,' Parks Canada's Jon Stuart-Smith said.

Stuart-Smith hopes the sightings will be temporary, and once the bears realize there are no major food sources left in the area they'll relocate.

'We hope they move onto other locations and then eventually move up into higher elevations,' he said.

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Ultra rare white grizzly bear spotted near a tourist resort in Banff National Park

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