And it is just so cool to take the live, streaming, user controlled, picture-taking TV cam, swivel it 360 degrees, zoom it all around and check out my favorite Canadian Rockies town.

I zoom up and down Connaught Street, see Jasper’s incredible mountains and even wait for wildlife at the town park next to Whistler’s Inn. Wow. Now that is cool.

Check out some of my latest pics. Take some yourself. Check out Jasper for yourself at Visit-Jasper or live the dream of Jasper National Park at jaspernationalpark.com.

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They have great coffee and breakfast goodies. It’s one of those places where you can go to duck the cold and just hang out as locals, gossiping and doing what small town Joes like to do.

They have plenty of specialty drinks. Unlike Tim Horton’s, Beamers is a place you go to hang out and just do nothing but chat, eat and drink great coffee.

Want to voyeur in on Beamers? Check out the Downtown Canmore Cam located at Rockies.com. It’s live. You control it. You can take pictures. It’s just a dog gone good time.

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It’s not a traffic cam. That’s why Canmore, Canada is so wonderful – there is hardly any traffic to speak of! I take over the Canmore Web Cam, a live, USER CONTROLLED, streaming and I circle it 360 degrees enjoying the Three Sisters, the town and Main Street.

Want to see some good looking people? Well, hop on this Canmore web cam and use it to voyeur in on people on the Grizzly Paw patio. The Grizzly Paw is Canmore’s official stop for locals. Good food and well, incredible local brew is served here.

Tip: Zoom cam left and check out Policeman’s Pond. This is a romantic place to take that special person in your life.

Thanks to CanmoreKananaskis.com, Canmore is the only town in all of Canada with two live, streaming, user controlled cams. If you can’t get on one, try the other.

Looking for things to do in Banff, Canmore and Jasper? Got to Banff Travel and book the best of Banff and Jasper at the best rates, bypassing the middleman!

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If you want to get the most value for your money, always, always avoid the large activities providers who sell anything and everything. These are the middlemen who make their money adding surcharges, while trying to get you to buy stuff you don’t need.

Instead, book your activities directly, avoiding unnecessary charges. The Banff Travel Alliance lets you book each provide directly getting you the best value and discounts that can be had. The Banff Travel Alliance helps you to book the best activities in Banff and Jasper, Alberta. This outfit was formed by local providers who pass the savings directly to the consumer.

Looking for the best whitewater rafting packages and deals for Jasper, Kananaskis and Banff, Alberta? We recommend Alberta Rafting. They get you the best deals and they direct you to local providers – avoiding all middlemen.

The post Tips to Getting the Best Deals in Banff appeared first on Canadian Rockies Vacation Guide | Banff National Park | Canmore Banff Live Web Cams.

Check out the recent pics in the Banff Photo Gallery. I snapped some of them myself! Yes, CanadianRockies.net Photo Editor John Marriott would almost be proud. (He uses actual–well–real photo equipment) But for those of you who just want to have some fun checking out beautiful Banff, Canada, well, the Rockies.com Banff Web Cam is just like, way cool.

The Banff Live, Streaming TV cam is located on top of the Clock Tower Mall on Banff Avenue. Just way, way, way cool.

Book Banff Activities at Banff Travel.

The post Take Pictures of Banff With the Banff Webcam appeared first on Canadian Rockies Vacation Guide | Banff National Park | Canmore Banff Live Web Cams.

With some of the best trails for horseback adventures and pack trips, Canmore and the Kananaskis is an awesome place for horseback riding. Banff Horseback and Trail Rides is one of the best horseback outfitters in our area.

Horseback riding is one of our most popular things to do in the Banff Kananaskis area.

For the best activities at the best prices, avoid the middleman and book direct. Go to Banff Travel.

The post Take Your Family Horseback and Trail Riding in Banff appeared first on Canadian Rockies Vacation Guide | Banff National Park | Canmore Banff Live Web Cams.

Those with the best skills, and the best luck, get jobs as rafting guides. There are many rafting companies around Banff and Jasper. The most sought after and difficult rafting guide job to obtain is for one of Canada’s oldest rafting companies – Wildwater Adventures.

Banff’s Toughest Tourism Job to Get

Considered the most difficult job to obtain in Banff and Banff National Park, Wildwater Adventures is known for having the most stringent customer service and safety policies. Most of their rafting guides are heavily seasoned guides with experience rafting some of the most challenging rivers in the US, Costa Rica and Argentina.

Many of the lower-end companies in town will hire kids with no experience who just got rafting certified.

“We get the best rafting guides coming to us because our rafting guides get treated well and we get great business,” says Ted Bilton. “Wildwater Adventures is is the top area rafting company that handles high level celebrities including top NHL players.”

Wildwater Adventures has been voted “Best Rafting Outfitter” of Banff National Park the past five years.
Want to see Banff, Canmore and Jasper live? Check out the Rockies.com streaming, user controlled TV cams at Rockies.com. Our towns are even more beautiful in person.

The post Best Summer Job in Bannf? Wildwater Adventures Rafting Guide appeared first on Canadian Rockies Vacation Guide | Banff National Park | Canmore Banff Live Web Cams.

For those of you with an adventurous family, here is what I would recommend.

1) Raft the Kananaskis River: Raft the Kananskis River and enjoy the endless wilderness beauty of our Canadian Rockies. The Alberta Rafting Alliance has great deals to beat back any economic blues. And although the Kananaskis is not going to be a thrill for true adventure bums, it’s ideal for first timers and those who just want to enjoy the paradise we know as Alberta. Check out out Banff Rafting at banffrafting.org for more info.

2) Zip line tours: Zip lining is a rush, and it’s just a short drive from Banff. You can also take a shuttle. The Canadian Rockies outfitters at Banff Travel will shuttle you to base camp for an authentic Canadian Rockies adventure rush.

3) Banff ATV and Quad Tours: Think about this– You are on a dirt road, going 20 plus miles an hour, open air, looking at the incredible Rocky Mountains of Canada, forgetting about everything else, and here you are on a new Bombardier-powered ATV. Yes, that is friggin’ cool! I love ATV tours and adventures. The same outfitters at Banff Travel who provide Banff National Park area zip line tours also do ATV tours and rides. They will get you a guide or you can do it on your own. It’s more fun to go as group, which means it’s perfect for you and your family. These guys are all about safety and have the best track record in our area.

Want to see Banff, Canmore and Jasper live? Check out the Rockies.com streaming, user-controlled TV cams at Rockies.com.

The post Great Summer Banff Vacation Itinerary for Families appeared first on Canadian Rockies Vacation Guide | Banff National Park | Canmore Banff Live Web Cams.

VAIL, COLORADO – I can’t believe I get paid to travel, run up and down the Canadian, Colorado, and Montana Rockies, and blog. You know, this is about as good as my days in the University of McGill drinking lots of beer, hanging with loose women and having free *****.

Starbucks is ready to throw me out, so here is my itinerary for thrill-seeking around the Rockies come June and July: I’ve got a 450-mile bike ride starting in Gunnison, Colorado called “Ride The Rockies,” winding through the Colorado Rockies going to Gunnison. But, being the certified whitewater rafting junkie that I am, I’m not content to leave it at that. I mean come on, this is a guy who plans to name his next child Kicking Horse. That’s right! I’m going to name the the little dude Kicking Horse! (Cool? Or do you think my future mate may have issues?) Anyway, I’m throwing in some whitewater rafting as well.

With nothing more than meager pay, a backpack, a beat up old Volkswagen, and an all-carbon bike, I’ve got some cool Colorado whitewater rafting spots on tap. Yes, the bike is worth more than my car–I’m vintage Canadian.

So here is what I got. Quit drooling. Really.

I’ll hit Durango, Colorado and the Animas River in late May. I am doing to take a raft down the incredible Smelter Run, which is cool because after I flip it, I will swim to shore, hit the park, dry out, and then saunter over to downtown Durango to have some pints at the Carver Brewing company. That’s all they will give me. Then I am going to bum some real rafting down the Piedra and Animas Rivers from Durango Whitewater.

Colorado Springs and some Royal Gorge Rafting

Colorado Springs, Colorado is a little too conservative for chaps of my breed, but I’ve got friends there and that means free digs. Royal Gorge rafting is killer! Even many experienced whitewater rafters can struggle with Colorado rafting if the mountain run-off is determined to be huge that day. It’s jagged, rocky, twisty and–well–some of the most beautiful whitewater rafting south of the Banff, Canada area’s Kicking Horse rafting. Funnily enough, Colorado Springs whitewater rafting companies advertise Royal Gorge rafting as a family friendly deal. Well, like….yeah, maybe for those trailer park relatives you hate or that family that will give you a good inheritance.

Buena Vista, Colorado

I swear, half the tourism economy is rafting and the rafting is pretty mild stuff. Buena Vista is a favorite place of mine because I can go rafting and then take several hours to  bike to Leadville, Colorado (11,000 feet), come back, swill some beer at a Colorado cowboy joint, then think about golfing Collegiate Peaks the next day. Hey! It’s cheap, but the views are killer. They make fun of my accent in clever ways, while thinking I’m a real idiot.

Make sure to check back because I have some more great stuff coming up. And, well, Rockies.com has me traveling, rafting, swan-diving out of airplanes and doing some really jacked up stuff – all in the name of entertaining travelers, tourists and the unemployed who always hope to stay unemployed.

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KANANASKIS COUNTRY, ALBERTA – When you fly into Calgary, Alberta or find your way to the Canmore Kananaskis area, a rafting trip on the Kananaskis is a great family whitewater rafting experience for both beginners and experts. With great Class II and III whitewater rapids, the Kananaskis River provides a thrilling introduction to whitewater rafting that serves as a cool intro to kids and families.

The Kananaskis River is located in the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, making this a convenient trip, and just a short 15 to 20 minute jaunt to Banff, Canmore and Calgary. And once you get comfortable with the Kananaskis, think about moving up the Canadian Rockies whitewater thrill ladder and rafting Banff’s famous Kicking Horse River or Jasper’s mighty Fraser and Athabasca Rivers. Head instead toward the Kicking Horse River for another whitewater rafting adventure, or get back on dry land to explore Banff National Park.

Rafting may be the single most exhilarating of all Canadian Rockies activities. Jasper and Banff, Alberta are two of the best areas in North America for whitewater rafting. Don’t leave our incredible province without exploring the best of Banff National Park, Jasper National Park and the Canadian Rockies.

For all of your whitewater travel needs, make sure to check out the folks at Banff Travel and pay special attention to their section on Kananaskis Country at http://www.banfftravel.com/kananaskis-whitewater-rafting.

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