likeable and booming place, whose downtown skyscrapers soared almost overnight on the back of an oil bonanza in the 1970s, CALGARY's tight high-rise core is good for wandering, and contains the prestigious Glenbow Museum. The wooden houses of the far-flung suburbs, meanwhile, recall the city's pioneering frontier origins, which are further celebrated in the annual Calgary Stampede, a hugely popular cowboy carnival in which the whole town – and hordes of tourists – revel in a boots-and-stetson image that's still very much a way of life in the surrounding cattle country. Year-round you can dip into the city's lesser museums and historic sites, or take time out in its scattering of attractive city parks.
LAKE LOUISE VILLAGE doesn't amount to much, but it's an essential supply stop, with more or less everything you need in terms of food and shelter (at a price). Most of it centres round a single mall, Samson Mall, and car park, with a smart youth hostel and a few outlying motels dotted along the service road to the north. There's almost nothing to do in the village, and unless you have a vehicle to take you to the lakes (or rent a bike) you're likely to be bored. The impressive Lake Louise Information Centre, a few steps from the car park, offers not only information but also high-tech natural-history exhibits (daily: mid-June to early Sept 8am–8pm; early Sept to late Sept & early to mid-June 8am–6pm; Oct–May 9am–4pm; tel 522-3833). Almost as useful is the excellent Woodruff and Blum bookshop (tel 522-3842) in the mall, which has a full range of maps, guides and background reading. A couple of doors down, Wilson Mountain Sports (tel 522-3636) is good for bike rental (from $8–12 per hour, $29–45 a day), rollerblade rentals (from $5–8 per hour), fishing tackle for sale or rent (fly rod $11, spin rod $7 and waders $10) and equipment rental (stoves $7, pack $9 and tent $19). They'll also fill you in on the possiblity of canoe rentals for trips downstream on the Bow River to Banff.
A short way from the village, the Lake Louise Gondola (the "Friendly Giant") runs thirteen minutes to 2042m, partway up Mount Whitehorn (2669m). To reach it, pick up the free shuttle which operates from some village hotels or return to and cross over the Trans-Canada, and follow the road towards the ski area; the gondola is signed left after about 1km (daily: June 8.30am–6pm; July–Aug 8am–6pm; Sept 8.30am–6pm; $13.95; tel 522-3555). Depending on your susceptibility to either vertigo or claustrophobia you can choose between enclosed gondola cars, open chairs, or chairs with bubble domes. At the top (2034m) are the usual sensational views – rated some of the best in the Rockies – a self-service restaurant, sun decks, picnic areas, souvenir shops and several trailheads through the woods and meadows. One track takes you to the summit of Mount Whitehorn, a stiff 600m above the gondola station.
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