Popular AB vacation towns that aren't as popular anymore

[nieuwy-89]

Banff, Canmore, and Jasper have really upped their games in terms of attracting top level eateries, restaurants, brewpubs. They have also embraced initiatives like pedestrianizing their roadways and pop-up patios. And of course the scenery and recreation opportunities are absolutely world class.

Places like Sylvan and Invermere have languished and the “downtowns” are pretty dated and faded. Both are still busy on hot summer weekends but quickly revert to typical drab small towns when the tourists leave.

Sylvan Lake made an intentional shift in the 2000’s to become a bedroom community for Red Deer. It has quickly sprawled and the new investments have all been big-box, cookie-cutter style developments on the outskirts, which draws people away from the lakefront and downtown. Kind of a shame when you think of the potential.

[Ahuch]

The waterslides were pretty cool back in the day, but I literally cannot imagine why I would ever consider going to Sylvan Lake.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Banff, Canmore, and Jasper have really upped their games in terms of attracting top level eateries, restaurants, brewpubs. They have also embraced initiatives like pedestrianizing their roadways and pop-up patios. And of course the scenery and recreation opportunities are absolutely world class.

Places like Sylvan and Invermere have languished and the “downtowns” are pretty dated and faded. Both are still busy on hot summer weekends but quickly revert to typical drab small towns when the tourists leave.

Sylvan Lake made an intentional shift in the 2000’s to become a bedroom community for Red Deer. It has quickly sprawled and the new investments have all been big-box, cookie-cutter style developments on the outskirts, which draws people away from the lakefront and downtown. Kind of a shame when you think of the potential.

But busy on hot summer weekends are what we are talking about aren’t we? Those spots are really busy then, as far as I can tell.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Engine09

I've been scanning a few cities in the US, everywhere has jumped in price. I was assuming it's hotels trying to make back the money they lost over the past 3 years or just riding the inflation excuse. Hell, even a Motel 6 on a freeway is $200 now.

Sites like Expedia, Hotwire, Kayak, etc are flooded with Air B&B garbage in bad neighborhoods and the hidden fees are brutal. It sucks right now.

I used a obscure one called Avant Stay in Oahu few years ago. It was pretty good. Then just rented in California and the place was in a kinda sketchy neighborhood and they asked if I wanted the backyard pool heated. I said yes. Then I got the bill $800 for 4 nights to heat the pool alone. Ridiculous

[troutman]

Do people go to Waterton anymore after the fires?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Banff, Canmore, and Jasper have really upped their games in terms of attracting top level eateries, restaurants, brewpubs. They have also embraced initiatives like pedestrianizing their roadways and pop-up patios. And of course the scenery and recreation opportunities are absolutely world class.

Service is bad in Banff, but Banff and Canmore have elite restaurants for small towns. Ex. Eden and Crazyweed.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by troutman

Do people go to Waterton anymore after the fires?

Waterton is a fantastic place to visit but a ####ty place to stay, in my opinion.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by troutman

Do people go to Waterton anymore after the fires?

I’m there/ here right now. We come once a year because we are close by but if you’ve been once there is no need to return anytime soon, unless you are a hiker. Other than hiking, there’s a lake, a canyon and ice cream. The park is really busy in the summer months but virtually closed up November through April.

There is not a night life (one bar) and hotels are all old and in need of renovations (Kilmory lodge excluded). The restaurants are trying to step up their game but being only opened for four months proves many challenges. Getting a camping spot is nearly impossible (randomly placed into a queue with 12,000 others to book a site).

[nieuwy-89]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

But busy on hot summer weekends are what we are talking about aren’t we? Those spots are really busy then, as far as I can tell.

Yes it’s great to be there as a visitor on those 8-10 busy weekends per year. But when your destination is so specifically weather-dependent it’s hard to incubate a sustainable hospitality industry.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by troutman

Do people go to Waterton anymore after the fires?

Is, in September. Planning to stay in Pincher Creek or one of the nearby towns (recommendations appreciated).

[dirk diggler]

so unfortunate about Montana, was always somewhat of a "hidden gem". love that Glacier area

[Buff]

Originally Posted by troutman

Do people go to Waterton anymore after the fires?

Yes. Being from Lethbridge we go a couple times per year but on day trips. I haven't ever stayed over night at one of the hotel/motel/lodges but we have camped there several times. The hotels seem to be quite full all that time though. We have friends that do a yearly winter getaway at one of the hotels though. It's nice and peaceful for them at that time of year.

Camping has been ridiculously hard to do there because the changes to the booking system. It is nearly impossible to get a spot. Yet, when you go, even though it is all booked up, it is maybe 2/3 full. A couple years ago one of the Parks staff told me that people will book for the day they want to arrive, book it for 2 weeks, and only go for a few days and keep the reservation for the remainder of the time.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

so unfortunate about Montana, was always somewhat of a "hidden gem". love that Glacier area

Went to Whitefish for the first time ever last summer. Buddy is a member at Iron Horse. That town has some serious dollars. We are sitting there eating and he's like "that guy over there owns the Kansas City Chiefs, Steph Curry is a member here". The mansions on the lake. Some Google founder has a ridiculous palace complete with sub-mansion for his ex-wife, makes Kelowna places look ghetto in comparison.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Waterton is a fantastic place to visit but a ####ty place to stay, in my opinion.

It's okay to stay for a night or two as there are 3 or 4 pubs but not really much going on in the town at all. You can always go to Pincher Creek but my fondest memories of Pincher Creek are always leaving Pincher Creek.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Banff, Canmore, and Jasper have really upped their games in terms of attracting top level eateries, restaurants, brewpubs. They have also embraced initiatives like pedestrianizing their roadways and pop-up patios. And of course the scenery and recreation opportunities are absolutely world class.

Places like Sylvan and Invermere have languished and the “downtowns” are pretty dated and faded. Both are still busy on hot summer weekends but quickly revert to typical drab small towns when the tourists leave.

Sylvan Lake made an intentional shift in the 2000’s to become a bedroom community for Red Deer. It has quickly sprawled and the new investments have all been big-box, cookie-cutter style developments on the outskirts, which draws people away from the lakefront and downtown. Kind of a shame when you think of the potential.

Sylvan Lake's lakefront and downtown have new bathrooms and a much better road recently put in. There's lots of shops and restaurants there, including a store with an excellent selection of inflatable water toys. Problem is that the southern end of Sylvan Lake has a fairly small beach. The east side with Jarvis Bay Campground is beautiful but that's part of a cliffside shore almost the entire side.

Still lots of fun kayaking, suping, boating, swimming.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lol! I once took a date to the Torrington Gopher Museum.....and it was amazing!

Was there a second date?

[TheIronMaiden]

The last Chance Saloon in Wayne.
The food is, mediocre at best. The drive and scenery are really nice though. It pairs well with checking out the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is always awesome. I've never been in the Atlas coal mine, but plan on it this summer. You could easily make a weekend of fun out of the trip.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

The last Chance Saloon in Wayne.
The food is, mediocre at best. The drive and scenery are really nice though. It pairs well with checking out the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is always awesome. I've never been in the Atlas coal mine, but plan on it this summer. You could easily make a weekend of fun out of the trip.

Been there, done that. It was awesome.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I have some buddies that have lived in Spokane since the 90's and that Spokane Valley has kind of blown up over the last few decades as it the new communities keep edging closer and closer to Coeur d'Alene which is one of the fastest growing US cities.

When I was a kid in the late 80's Cranbrook and Couer D'Alene became sister cities. Today one has like 60,000 people....the other still has like 17,000. This past summer I was stunned to see Post Falls to the West of Couer d'Alene now has like 27,000 people. Yet the road from just South of Sandpoint to the border is the same despite the increased traffic. Never heard of Rathdrum in those days...it's got like 6,000 people and that road to Spokane is steady traffic all day.

On another note....My work is in Red Deer with some people still living in Sylvan. Apparently it's $25 to park there all day now....when I lived there didn't cost anything.

[Delthefunky]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Unequivocally, in relation to proximity, water body size, and mountain scenery, Kinbasket is the most unheralded, and underappreciated large lake to us. My buddy is the only one with a houseboat on it haha.

Is he the guy that built his own and has it at the mouth of beaver river? Looks like a standard house on pontoons or something with solar panels... it's been beached kind of on the delta all winter as they completely drain the lake. Just curious because I see it every day at work and we all talk about how awesome that house is, and we've never seen another one! Kinbasket is pretty nice, but of course it doesn't fill up until late June/July, but it's nice after that until they drain it.