Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-)

Greetings all! I am in the advanced planning stages for a trip to Kicking Horse Pass. We plan to fly in and out of Calgary and most likely will spend a day there checking out the light rail system I am looking for some info... 1. Places to stay up on the area of the pass, rail view would be great but not needed. Looking to spend a week and 1/2 there so would like to have a nice place. Seen ads for the West Lake Louise Lodge and Kicking Horse Pass Lodge. My trip is being planned in May 2. Any hotels near the airport in Calgary or near the light rail line. Many thanks! Bob & JaniceFlorida Railfan Page
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RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), whockin, Dec-10-04, 01:47 AM, (1) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), wmalder, Dec-10-04, 02:01 AM, (2) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), andrewpickell, Dec-10-04, 06:20 AM, (3) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), SVTS, Dec-10-04, 08:18 AM, (4) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), Eric in UK, Dec-10-04, 10:24 AM, (5) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), CPR_9102, Dec-10-04, 12:06 PM, (6) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), westerngy, Dec-10-04, 04:22 PM, (7) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), Kentucky86, Dec-10-04, 10:26 PM, (8) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), Grimace780, Dec-12-04, 12:42 PM, (9) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), Kentucky86, Dec-13-04, 07:47 PM, (10) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), westerngy, Dec-13-04, 08:24 PM, (11) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), bigbadCN_man, Dec-13-04, 08:48 PM, (12) RE: Kicking Horse Pass Trip Help :-), Kentucky86, Dec-13-04, 09:25 PM, (13)

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There are some nice bed and breakfast places right in Field and a small hotel. May in Lake louise and Banff is between seasons, so should not be a problem getting a place. Canmore has Hotels but they get pricey. Golden is also a good place to stay, Roger's Pass is close by too. In Calgary, there is a hotel right at the airport, dont know the prices. There are also some good ones 10 mins away. Tourism, chamber of commerce, and national park websites will have lots of info. PM me if you need more help or info. I live in Calgary.

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Just my 2cents worth, Kicking Horse Pass is interesting but for me Rogers Pass is even more spectacular and to a large extent even Eagle Pass just to the west has much to recommend it including Craigaillachie (sp?) where the Last Spike of the CPR was driven. If you're into railroad history it's all through the Rockies. I don't know how much travelling you want to do but within one days (longish) drive west of Field you can also see the Fraser Canyon with both CN and CP sharing tracks on opposite sides of the river.
Whatever you look at I think you will enjoy your visit.Bill Alder

Resurrecting the KVR one pixel at a time.

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Bob,I 100% recommend staying at the Kicking Horse Lodge. Last February I went on a railfan trip and we stayed there. We had a full suite with stove and fridge and all the cookware we needed. A good bonus is it was overlooking the Field yard.The owners were very nice and extremely helpful. They even allowed us to use their computer to check train lineups.The price was very reasonable, however I think we were there in their off season.Staying in Field allows a great deal of flexibility. You can follow trains east up the hill easily towards Banff, or go westward towards Golden.Check out their site...you wont be disappointedhttp://www.kickinghorselodge.net/ AndrewBC Rail Squamish Subdivision for MSTS

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I have never been ther,e but the trans canadian highway pretty much follows the line, so you should have no trouble following the route. Just get yourself a good map. There is a real nice lodge in Banff, which was built by the CP in the early 1900's to attract tourist to the region.I have a few KHP videos if you want to borrow them, just drop me a e-mail and I will send them to you. tailsnrails@hotmail.com
Chris Bogley
Syracuse New York
http://photobucket.com/albums/v520/CBP/

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Go to the discoverbanff website and check out accomodations.We have stayed three years at the At Wit's End B&B and would highly recommend it, if it is still operating.Johnston Canyon Resort and Cathedral Mountain Chalets are also good.Field (and Golden) is/are an hour or so from Banff on Highway 1.While in the area don't forget to take in all the scenic attractions !Eric in UK

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Yea... In Banff visitSulpher Mountain gondola....nice view of the tracks from the top
The hot springs swimming pool...fun to relax in
And the CPR now Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.Remember too, you have to pay for the visit since your in the National Park One good thing about being west of Golden is you have 10X is many trains with all the coal traffic.

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LAST EDITED ON Dec-10-04 AT 04:25 PM (EST)

Bob you won't be disappointed.As Andrew has mentioned my first choice would be the Kicking Horse Lodge.Ask for the room or suite that over looks the station(yard),its the room upstairs that faces the tracks and highway but you'll get more train noise than highway.
Most of the crews are pretty friendly so you shouldn't have any problems but do respect RR property and do it safely.For Morants curve take the Lake Louise turn off and head towards the ski hill but turn off down Highway 1A and go about 5 km's.You can't miss it as its the first point the road and tracks see each other.Check out also the old Louise train station and for that you have to head towards the lake itself under the tracks and at the 4way stop turn right.
If you travel along 1A you pretty much parrallel the tracks and photo ops are numerous.to get from Banff to Lake Loiuse fast use Hwy1.It takes about 45mins to an hr for a train to traverse from Field to Stephen at the divide(top hill).Many spots from Field to Divide to grab photos.Climbing the hill from Field just before you go over the tracks to your right will be a service road up to the tracks.Here you get a good shot of Yoho siding and the grade and then continuing on up the hill along Wapta lake the road after entering back into Alberta goes over the tracks and at the east end of that bridge turn right and your at or just east of the summit.
To get into Divide or Stephen the road in winter is closed...read not plowed so this is the closest spot to the actual continental divide in the Cdn Rockies but since your going in May it will be open and beware of bears as their hungrey and love feeding on railfans wandering about.
Enjoy your trip you'll love it.Just Rollin Down The Tracks

Dale

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WOWThank you all for the responses....We both love trains and nature so it seems like a good place to goLet me digest all this STUFFBobFlorida Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentucky86.geo/Boston MBTA Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/BostonMBTAKentuckiana Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentuckyrails

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>2. Any hotels near the airport in Calgary or near the light
>rail line. Not sure what is near the airport but there is a whole block of hotels near the Banff Trail station. Banff Trail is a bypass road about two blocks long. On one side of the road is the LRT (or C-Train as Cowgarians call it) and on the other side is a whole row of hotels.
Any hotel that has an address on Banff Trail will be less than one block from the Banff Trail LRT station.A C-Train map can be found at http://www.calgarytransit.com/Routes/lrt_stop.html .Enjoy your stay.
Gary Cameron
Grande Prairie "The last civilized stop before Alaska," AB
Canada

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Thanks again!The person who lives in Calgary I will be in touch later, thanks again....We may have settled on Castle Mountain Chalets still working on a few other ideasThanks!!!BobPS I understand there is about 20-30 trains a day, does that still stand?Florida Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentucky86.geo/Boston MBTA Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/BostonMBTAKentuckiana Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentuckyrails

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LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-04 AT 08:24 PM (EST)

Also a good choice as the tracks run right behind the place at the Jct of Hwy 1A.Ask for a chalet towards the south or close to the tracks.While your out there you might as well take a side trip up to Jasper and catch CN at its division point.About a 3 hr drive but well worth it.Just Rollin Down The Tracks

Dale

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LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-04 AT 08:50 PM (EST)

Anywhere in Canada is good to visit and/or live. Just don't ever ask for a real Canadian snow storm (don't want to discourage you, but yes snow is very possible in May). Last one we had parts of my province (Nova Scotia) were without power for about a week. Have a good trip,
Morgan

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Well I am from Boston so I have seen my share...Would not mind seeing a little bit of it BobFlorida Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentucky86.geo/Boston MBTA Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/BostonMBTAKentuckiana Railfan Page
http://www.geocities.com/Kentuckyrails

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