With summer nearing, SÉPAQ promotes local camping getaways
With school ending soon, SÉPAQ is encouraging families to explore local parks and camping options, even as recent strike action raises some uncertainty.
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CTV News
39 minutes ago
- CTV News
Kananaskis: An explainer on Alberta's cherished park and G7 host location
A road sign warning of no access to the site of the G7 leaders' summit is pictured in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, June 2, CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh CALGARY — For the next week, Derek Ryder will be temporarily divorced from his favourite mountain range and beloved trails in Kananaskis, Alta., so the world's most powerful people can safely gather for the G7 leaders summit. The spokesman for Friends of Kananaskis Country, an environmental stewardship group for the region, has been trekking in Kananaskis Country, informally known as K-Country, since 1976. 'I've been basically everywhere,' says Ryder, who added he's traversed more kilometres in Kananaskis than he can count. As the G7 leaders prepare for the annual meeting in Kananaskis, which first hosted the summit in 2002, the world's eyes will be on the region's dense forest and jagged alpine. What is Kananaskis? Comprising several provincial parks, Kananaskis was created by former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed in 1978. The Alberta Parks website says Lougheed was convinced to establish the park after a single helicopter ride over the jagged mountains. From above, the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge — chosen as the leaders' residence for the summit — is a mere pinprick surrounded by over 4,000 square kilometres of Rocky Mountain wilderness abutting Banff National Park. Unlike past summits in urban centres, the leaders are to be cordoned off from the outside world. Kananaskis has a small local population of 156, according to the most recent census. 'Block one road on two ends, and you pretty much have an isolated world in K-Country,' Ryder says. Who will be at the G7? Prime Minister Mark Carney will chair the summit. He is to be joined by: U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The presidents of the European Council and European Commission usually represent the European Union. A prominent group of invited non-G7 leaders are also to attend, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The late Pope Francis was at last year's G7, becoming the first pontiff to address the forum. There's been no public chatter about whether Pope Leo XIV might be in Kananaskis. The three-day summit starts Sunday. How do you get to Kananaskis Village? Kananaskis Village is roughly 75 kilometres southwest of Calgary. It has two entry points. The first is off the Trans-Canada Highway en route to Canmore and Banff. Drivers can otherwise enter through a rural road. Other sections of the park, mostly south of the village, are still set to be open during the summit. Is it similar to Banff? Though it shares a mountain range with Banff National Park, Ryder says the wilderness in Kananaskis has a unique feel that separates itself from the national parks. 'To me, it feels less like a museum,' he says. The area's popularity has increased over the past decade, adds Trevor Julian, executive director of Friends of Kananaskis. But its relatively quieter trails are alluring to some hikers, he says. Banff, meanwhile, attracts more than four million people every year. 'I find there's so many hidden pockets of Kananaskis where you can go for the day — or days — and not see people.' Julian says. Are bears a risk? Kananaskis is native bear territory, Ryder says, and the animals happily traverse through Kananaskis Village on any given day. Two layers of fences line the perimeter of the village. Ryder doesn't believe that will keep them out. 'Fences, unless they're electrified, don't stop bears from doing anything,' Ryder says. But bears are more interested in eating plants than wreaking havoc on talks between prime ministers and presidents, he says. During the 2002 summit in Kananaskis, a bear climbed a tree near the site and, as conservation officers tried to lure it down, the animal fell and died from its injuries. 'There's no magic in this,' Ryder says. 'There's only really good people doing the best job we can.' What else should I know about Kananaskis? In 2013, Kananaskis saw hundreds of kilometres of trails washed away by sudden flooding, which also forced out 110,000 people downstream in Calgary. The historic flood wiped out much of the picturesque 36-hole golf course at Kananaskis and took five years to rebuild. Darren Robinson, general manager of Kananaskis Country Golf Club, says a few employees stayed on during the closure. Ryder, who has written a book about the flood, says it 'massacred' trails and the road winding through Kananaskis. In some areas, the flood redirected water flows in such a way that former ponds are now dry pits. 'It was pretty traumatic,' he says. Ryder was among an army of volunteers who helped rebuild trails, bridges and boardwalks, though many trails have permanently disappeared. 'In restoring K-Country, I think in a lot of ways, we restored ourselves,' he says. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
What's in Kananaskis? Explore the outdoor escape where G7 leaders will gather
The G7 Leaders' Summit descends on Alberta's Kananaskis Country from June 15 to 17. Kananaskis – just an hour's drive from Calgary – isn't a national park. Rather, K-Country, as locals call it, is a 4,000-square-kilometre network of connected provincial parks, reserves and recreational zones encompassing mountains and foothills. Parts of it feel so isolated and eerily quiet they were able to serve as post-zombie apocalypse terrain in HBO's The Last of Us. Sounds like the perfect place for a series of ultra-secure meetings of the most powerful leaders in the world. Kananaskis is closer to Calgary than the substantially more tourist-heavy Banff, Alta., and it has a relative lack of commercial services surrounded by fortress-like mountains with placid lakes and streams. This region at the eastern foothills of the Rockies has long been a beloved escape for nature lovers. It's also the second time such a meeting has been held in Kananaskis: Former prime minister Jean Chrétien hosted the G8 Summit here in 2002. This year's G7 group of political and economic leaders will also descend on one of the few hotels located deep in Kananaskis – the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge – to take advantage of both the luxury resort and its easily secured perimeter. If this place has the power to relax politicians as they make potentially world-altering decisions, just imagine what it can do for regular Canadians looking to clear their heads. 'Banff feels more curated, but in Kananaskis, we let the nature do the talking,' says Lodge general manager Elizabeth Tovey-Smith. The main draw of the area is the nature itself: hikers, sports fishermen, wintertime skiers (cross-country or downhill at the Nakiska ski hill), paddlers, cyclists and anyone just taking in the scenery. Kananaskis has campgrounds and glamping options, including Sundance by Basecamp, a hip hotel group known for its affordable and Instagram-worthy accommodations throughout the Rockies. There are also a couple of smaller-scale mountain lodges including the luxe Mount Engadine and the more rustic William Watson Lodge, the latter of which provides barrier-free accommodations for people living with disabilities and Alberta-based seniors. Opinion: A river cruise with our American frenemies – what could go wrong? I paddled a voyageur canoe to discover the beauty and resistance of Manitoulin Island To support the region, the Alberta government instituted a Kananaskis Conservation Pass in 2021, a mandatory user fee that helps fund wildlife conservation, public safety and recreational services. Paved, wheelchair accessible walkways and interpretive trails are scattered through some of the most popular areas. And travelling though scenic routes by car rather than by hiking boot has certain advantages: wildlife, including both black and grizzly bears that you wouldn't want to run into on the trails, are commonly spotted in K-Country. But it's not all bears and remote forest bathing – or at least doesn't have to be. Those who would rather nature gaze through the window of a stylish restaurant or who need to up their level of human interaction can head to Kananaskis Village, centred around the Lodge. Book a fine dining table at the Lodge's Cedar Room restaurant, helmed by Quebec-born executive chef Sébastien Roelly. With five eateries on site (as well as a restaurant exclusively for spa patrons), the Lodge is Kananaskis's main dining hub, though restaurants are also found at Mount Engadine lodge and Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino just off the highway on the edge of K-Country. There's also a 36-hole golf course nearby (which, par for the course, occasionally posts bear warnings), but the region's crown jewel is the Kananaskis Nordic Spa. A classic hot-cold-rest-repeat-style spa, the ever-expanding facility deftly uses the mountains and forests as a therapeutic backdrop. According to Tovey-Smith, approximately 200 visitors a day flock to Kananaskis just for the spa, never mind all the hiking and other outdoor activities. 'It's absolutely a draw for a different kind of traveller than Kananaskis typically sees,' she says. While no one can confirm if Mark Carney has plans to treat Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky to some spa time, or to gather around the Lodge's outdoor fire pits for a round of s'mores, or if most meetings will be confined to boardroom tables, Kananaskis will undoubtedly provide world leaders with ample space for blue-sky thinking. Once the politicians and their entourages have left, K-Country goes back to the quieter business of providing a balm for the rest of us.
CTV News
40 minutes ago
- CTV News
Windsor-Detroit Tunnel toll increases again
Windsorites will be parting with a bit more coin to take the tunnel to Detroit, CTV Windsor's Robert Lothian has the details.
