Banff Lake Louise News

Travelers are talking about us!

I feel proud to be a part of a destination which was rated #1 for Canadian destinations by TripAdvisor travellers! Not only did Banff land at the top of the list in the #1 spot but Lake Louise was close behind at #3.

If that isn’t exciting enough Banff went on to be voted 9th out of the top 100 destinations in the World while Lake Louise was 19th!

From what I see the winning destinations are awarded their status through traveler ratings found throughout the tripadvisor.com website. You can see the full list at tripadvisor.com/TCDestinations

Last year in December TripAdvisor put out a list for the top 10 Ski Getaways and Banff placed #1 on that list as well. See the blog post from December 2007 titled Banff is tripadvisor's top ski destination for full details.

I’d like to congratulate the team here at Banff Lake Louise Tourism and all of our members and partners for creating such a memorable experience for visitors, so memorable that they are going home and writing about their trip on TripAdvisor.com!

If you love winter in all it's variety, Banff National Park is certainly the place to be this weekend.

Ice Magic fills Lake Louise with events that will fascinate, amaze and entertain you.

• watch teams of master carvers turn 4500 pounds of ice into gorgeously detailed sculpture.
• give the kids a chance to create their own ice sculpture at Little Chippers.
• play a game of pickup hockey with the Canmore Eagles hockey team.
• be enchanted by The Banff Centre's musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

There's much more - check out our Ice Magic page for the rest of the details.

How about 90 years of entertaining visitors and locals alike? The Banff Winter Festival takes advantage of all that history to provide unique challenges and experiences for locals and visitors from tomorrow (January 25) right through January 30.

• challenge yourself or your team to ski 65 km in the Lake Louise to Banff Cross Country Ski Loppet and Relay (or just watch as others do all the work!).
• photographers, don't miss Chic Scott's photographic exploration entitled Powder Pioneers, the Story of Skiing in the Rocky and Columbia Mountains. There's even an outdoor slide show of his work tomorrow night!
• foodies will want to check out the Annual Chili Challenge and the Iron Chef Caesar Salad Competition
• test your spelling skills and trivia talents against the best at the Jon Whyte Spelling Bee & Trivia Challenge

There's even a cardboard sled derby and a Heritage Family Swim at the Banff Upper Hot Springs. For the whole story, check out the Winter Festival at www.banff.ca.

Banff offers many special ways to ring in the New Year, from fine dining at one of our special restaurants to nightclub dance parties.

Here's a list of New Year's Eve Specials (pdf 34.91 kB) to help plan your night.

And what would New Year's Eve be without fireworks? Banff's fireworks display will celebrate the stroke of midnight and be fired from Tunnel Mountain - the mountain to the east of the town site. The display will be visible from most of town, so bundle up and step outside at midnight to watch the colours light up 2008.

Happy New Year!

Highly respected travel website tripadvisor.com has listed their Top 10 Ski Getaways and Banff is number one! The list is on their homepage about a third of the way down - a screenshot is included below.

Because we're locate in a protected National Park, skiing and snowboarding have always been a unique experience here. Three world-class ski resorts - Lake Louise Mountain Resort, Sunshine Village and Ski Norquay - provide spectacular unspoiled views and champagne powder on over 270 runs. And when you're not skiing, there are plenty of wonderful things to fill your time. Delicious food and vibrant nightlife, plenty of winter adventure, and a full range of accommodation choices help make a ski vacation to Banff and Lake Louise the highlight of your winter. Just ask tripadvisor!

Subscribe to our newsletter and you could win a chance to experience tripadvisor.com's top ski destination for yourself - a Banff and Lake Louise Mountain Getaway.

November 24- December 8 - Check out our Calendar of Events for full details!

The arrival of winter and the new ski/snowboard season is celebrated with fun and events throughout Banff National Park.

• World Cup Mens and Ladies ski races, Lake Louise Mountain Resort, Nov. 24-25 & Dec. 1-2 Daytime
• Christmas in the Rockies, 200 Block Banff Ave. Nov. 24 2-7pm
• Santa Claus Parade of Lights, 200 Block Banff Ave. Nov. 24 7-7:30pm
• 2007 TGR Film Premiere , The Elk & Oarsman 7:30pm
• Banff Film Premiere Warren MIller's Playground plus local short film Snow Chasers, The Banff Centre, November 29, 6-9pm
• CP Rail Jam, November 30 and December 1, 200 Block Banff Ave. 4-10pm
• A Whyte Christmas, The Whyte Museum, December 8, 1-4pm

This is today's MountainFM 106.5 contest entry page - Listen to Mountain FM 106.5's morning show for your cue, then e-mail us with your answer to the question about the photo above, plus your name and phone number by the cut-off time to enter.

UPDATE: The contest is over for today. Thanks to all who entered!
Listen to MountainFm at 106.5 on the FM dial during Wednesday's and Thursday's morning show with Rob and Desirae for the next clues/.

Banfflakelouise.com celebrates it's 10th anniversary with a whole new look and plenty of new features to enjoy. You can check out all the exciting activities the park has to offer, find the perfect place to stay on your visit, get tips for preparing for your trip, or find out more about the towns of Banff and Lake Louise and our National Park.

We'll also continue to add new areas of interest over the next several months. We'll be getting our locals' blog up and running, along with providing those who have travelled here the chance to add their favourite trip photos to our photo gallery.

Want regular updates about what's happening here in Banff, Lake Louise, and Banff National Park? Be sure to sign up for our Rocky Mountain Reader. We'll fill you in on all the exciting things there are to see and do here!

Please be sure to come back and visit banfflakelouise.com often. We look forward to sharing this magical place with you.