I had been to Calgary a lot of times already, I cannot even remember how many times, so I stopped counting. I have most of my friends there, so it’s more of visiting my friends than visiting the sites, but Calgary attractions are always a bonus every time I go there. I’ve seen the most famous attractions like Lake Louise, Banff and Jasper. The three top most visited parks and the most recommend among visitors and locals. The view of  these attractions are breathtaking and beyond amazing. Although these are the most popular destinations, there a numerous other beautiful not so popular places which I call hidden nature treasure. I recently visited Calgary to be a God parent to my friend’s daughter. Although that was the main intention of the visit, my friend was very kind enough to accompany me to see other sites, it was like a girl’s day out road trip. After the last minute of thinking where to go, we decided to visit Canmore.

Canmore is another town outside of Calgary, around 1 1/2 hour from my friends place SE of Calgary. It was Monday when we went there, and there was no traffic at all. Our main destination is the Grassi Lakes and Downtown Canmore. It was a sunny day and a little bit warm so it was really a perfect day for a road trip. Let me share with you my travel experiences and show you a little bit of Canmore, Alberta. Let’s get started!

Scenic View

The scenic view of the trip alone is attraction on its own. We had to stop quite a few times to take photo. These are some of the photos I took when we stopped.

The icy Mountain View and green trees and awesome. It is so picture perfect that we cannot helped ourselves but to stop to admire it.

Spray Lake

This was the accidental bonus attraction. We ended up in this Lake by accident as we were looking for the Grassi Lakes. The view is spectacular! The place is very peaceful, it was an up close experience with nature.

I cannot take my eyes of the scenery as it looks so unreal to me. Everything in one place. Mountain View, water view and land view of the trees. I’m glad we decided to follow the road and explored the area.

Grassi Lakes

Now, let’s go to the main attraction of this trip. The Grassi Lakes. These 2 emerald lakes were names after lawrence Grassi. Grassi Lake is one of the top attractions that came out when I searched for attractions in Canmore, and it really deserved to be on the top list. The 2 emerald lakes are hidden in the middle of the forest. We hiked and followed the easy route, which only took us around 1 hour one way. If you have time and feeling more adventurous, there are 2 other paths that you can choose from. The path we chose was easy to follow, although they are not marked. It’s slightly uphill in some area, but it gets flat past 1/2 of the path. As soon as you get to the destination, these are the breathtaking unbelievable extremely beyond believe view that you will see.

This area is like a lookout. From the here, we had the birds eye view of where we started from.

This is the first Grassi Lake. Look at the colours of the water! It’s a shade of different kind of blue and green. It was like I was transported into a different place as soon as we entered this area. I cannot stop taking photos right and left. I cannot believed that there is such a beautiful place like this hidden in the wilderness. This kind of view is really worth the short and easy hike.

When I thought I’ve seen it all, I was actually wrong. Just as we were continuing our walk, we saw the 2nd Grassi Lake, which is even better than the first one. The second lake gave an additional view of the icy mountain on top of the emerald blue lake. The color of the lake stands out even more in the second lake because of more exposure to sun. The uneven formation of the mountain side adds to the majestic composition of the view as well. I cannot get enough of this mesmerizing nature view. Calgary nature never failed to amaze me. Thumbs up and 10 stars for the Grassi Lakes!

Canmore Downtown

After a short wonderful hike, it’s time to explore more of Canmore. Next stop, the small and beautiful Downtown Canmore. The downtown itself is so small that you can actually see everything in 1 hour. It a small town, with small quaint stores and cafe. The structures are quite different, but  in a good way. It has a resort country style vibe.

I like the small specialized shops, and the unique cottage style houses, but the best thing I like about this place is the stunning view of the mountains. The town itself is situated at the foot of the mountain. I had never been this close to the mountains and it feels amazing just sitting in a restaurant or walking around while enjoying the view.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.

It’s time to feed out growling hungry stomach, so we started walking around to explore places to eat. We asked locals for places to eat, and the lady recommended The Rocky Mountain Flatbread. The place specializes in wood-fired pizza and flatbread, salads, pasta and some amazing and mouth-watering dessert. I found out while I am writing this that they have a branch in Vancouver, BC. which means I will be going back for more, by more I mean dessert please. But before that, let me show you what we had.

Basil and Blackberry Salad

Assorted Greens, Crimini Mushrooms, Mango, Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Basil & Blackberry Dressing, and Pea Shoots.The combination of greens, mango, grilled bell pepper and Mushroom worked well together, but the one the pulled it all together is the Basil and Blackberry dressing. The salad has a combination of sweet and tangy taste, and plenty of crunch and texture. 100% recommended.

Naturally Meaty

8″, thin crust wood-fired pizza  with Organic Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Green Peppers, Certified Organic Ground Beef,  Italian Sausage, Red Onions, Roma Tomatoes, Herbs and Asiago cheese.

Pesto Shrimp

8″, thin crust wood-fired pizza with Organic Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Ocean Wise Shrimp, Red Onions, Artichokes, Three Herb Pesto and Asiago cheese.

Pasta

I enjoyed the meal, the food was great, the view was stunning and I was with my best ever travel buddy what else can I asked for?

Rocky Mountain Bagel

On our way back, I stopped by at Rocky Mountain Bagel Co, another place recommend by my friend’s friend. We were told that this place is well-known for their Bagel. You know the saying curiosity kills the cat?

That’s certainly what happened here. I have to buy and try it, and I have to say they are actually good quality Bagel. They had only few variety left, but I got what I wanted which are the Jalapeño Bagel and Cheddar Bagel. The texture of the Bagels are softer than the usual compact Bagel. I love it and would actual recommend it 100%.

There are still a lot of beautiful hidden places that are waiting for me to explore, food and attractions alike. If you want to see more of the photos I took, please check my Facebook. I cannot wait till my next adventure to happen. I hope you enjoyed this post, till my next travel escapade!

Yours truly,

Your SweetNSpicy travel buddy♥

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I travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape me

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