One Last Scenic Drive
Our final day in the Canadian Rockies was intentionally easy. We slept in, enjoyed our usual cappuccino at the Moxy Bar, and planned a leisurely drive toward Calgary with lunch somewhere in Kananaskis.
Before leaving, I tipped the bartender who had served us during our stay with a $20 U.S. bill. I asked whether U.S. cash was useful to him. He laughed and said he loved receiving U.S. bills because they were worth more and he was saving them for a future trip to the United States.
We finally pulled away from the hotel at about 9:30 a.m. and reached Kananaskis Village around 10:15. It was quiet when we arrived. Few people were around, and most shops and restaurants had not yet opened, so we spent time walking the paths around the village and taking in the mountain views.
Kananaskis Village
Kananaskis Mountain Lodge had appeared in our Marriott searches while we were planning the trip, and at one point it was a viable alternative to spending time in Golden. After visiting the village, I was glad we had chosen Golden instead.
That is not a criticism of the lodge. The Kananaskis property and its setting are beautiful, and the accommodations certainly looked more polished than our refurbished Ramada in Golden. But our trips are usually built around what we can see and do rather than around the hotel itself. Golden gave us the drive through Yoho National Park, the town and surrounding scenery, and our trip toward Glacier National Park and Rogers Pass. If you have extra nights in a Canadian Rockies itinerary, Golden remains one of the additions I would recommend.
Lunch With a Mountain View
After walking around Kananaskis Village, we had a decision to make: eat at one of the restaurants that was beginning to open in the village or heading to the golf course. The views we had seen from the pathway made the decision easy.
Lunch at the Summit Restaurant at Kananaskis Country Golf Course turned out to be an excellent choice. We sat on the patio with the mountains rising beyond the course, shared a soba noodle bowl and a salad, and enjoyed a relaxed final lunch in the Rockies. I was particularly impressed with the noodles. Including drinks and tip, our total was about $54 USD.
A Few Hours in Calgary
From Kananaskis, we continued toward Calgary. We had an airport hotel for our final night, but there was no reason to rush there. Over lunch we had settled on a simple plan: spend time at Prince’s Island Park, walk across the Peace Bridge, and then make a brief stop in Inglewood before dinner.
Prince’s Island Park sits in the Bow River immediately north of downtown Calgary. The location made it easy to combine a walk through the park with one of the Calgary sights I most wanted to see: the Peace Bridge.
Prince’s Island Park and the Peace Bridge
I have always had a strong appreciation for architecture, and the Peace Bridge caught my attention while I was researching Calgary. The pedestrian and cycling bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is unlike anything else we had seen during the trip.
We found convenient parking about a block away, and our first view confirmed that the stop had been worthwhile. We walked across the bridge and back, enjoying views of the Bow River and Prince’s Island Park along the way. People were boating and fishing on the river, which naturally caught my attention.
Fishing has been a passion of mine since second grade, when I watched my father catch a striped bass while surf casting on Cape Cod. The Bow River is well known for trout fishing, and seeing anglers in the middle of Calgary made me wish we had enough time to join them.
Instead, we walked onto Prince’s Island and slowed down for a while. The park was surprisingly quiet. We had hoped to get a cappuccino at River Café, but it was closed for a private event, so we simply walked, found a couple of benches along the river, and enjoyed the setting. We spent well over an hour walking, sitting, and taking in this peaceful green space in the middle of the city.
A Quick Look at Inglewood
Our next stop was Inglewood, Calgary’s oldest neighborhood. Coming from Chicago, where we regularly enjoy neighborhoods such as Andersonville, Wrigleyville and Roscoe Village, our expectations were probably a little too high. Inglewood has historic character and an interesting main street, but on this afternoon, it did not grab us the way we had hoped.
We did find an outdoor patio at the Hose & Hound where we could sit down, have a drink and coffee, and decide exactly what we wanted to do for dinner.
One Last Dinner
For our final night we were using an IHG free-night certificate at a Holiday Inn near Calgary International Airport. The hotel offered a free airport shuttle, which made it practical for me to return the rental car that evening and leave us with an easy departure the next morning.
One restaurant that had caught our eye while looking at options near the airport was CattleBaron Steakhouse & Bar. Since we were passing it on the way to the hotel, we changed the order of things and stopped for dinner at about 6 p.m. before checking in.
We were able to get an outdoor table. Service was quick, and our server knew both the wine list and the menu well. There was a large private event in the bar area, so sitting outside also turned out to be the quieter choice.
As usual, we shared. We ordered a 14-ounce prime rib, medium rare, with a loaded baked potato and broccoli, plus an order of lobster mac and cheese. Everything arrived hot, and the prime rib was cooked exactly as ordered. It was a satisfying final dinner before heading to the airport hotel.
The End of an Unforgettable Week
After dinner, it was time to check in, unload our bags and return the rental car. Just like that, our seven days of exploring the Canadian Rockies were over.
Looking back, what stands out is how different each day felt: mountain towns, lakes, waterfalls, wildlife, scenic highways, gondolas, glaciers, and long stretches of road where the drive itself was part of the experience. We planned carefully, but some of our favorite moments came from leaving enough room to stop, wander and change plans along the way.
It is a trip I will always cherish and remember—and one I would gladly make again.