Legacy-Minnewanka road ride

The Legacy Trail is brilliant! It was built between the Banff Townsite, and the east park gates as a celebration of Banff National Park's 125th anniversary. It was subsequently connected to the town of Canmore, and makes for a great road ride from Grandview Chalet B&B to Banff, and beyond. The electronic sign above is situated near the Alberta Tourist Information Centre in Canmore, and it counts the number of users going by. On this April Monday, there were 84 users by noon when we went by, and over 220 by the time we came back mid-afternoon. The Legacy Trail has been a big hit, and it's obvious that the trail should be extended to Lake Louise along the Bow Valley Parkway highway.

On this day, we took the turn off near the Banff townsite that takes a nice safe route under the highway into the Cascade Ponds picnic area. From there, we made our way around the Minnewanka circuit. A portion of the circuit (~5 km) was still closed to vehicular traffic (as part of a winter wildlife corridor), but is easily used by bikes and walkers. Although the Minnewanka road is speed restricted (50 kph), it's great not to see any cars at all.

By the way - a couple of the famous Parks Canada red chairs are located in the rest stop along the Legacy Trail, with a  view of the Rundle Range. The chairs have been somewhat controversial for some critics, but having sat in a couple in Gros Morne National Park with a great view on a nice hike, we think they have merit.

The Legacy Trail is supposed to be continued up into the Nordic Centre in Canmore - just not sure when. That will take it very close to Grandview.