Banff Winter 'Fests: Banff SnowDays & Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival

Sometimes (not often) winter is worth celebrating. Christmas. Snow days. Curling up by the fire while big, fluffy flakes drift slowly to the ground outside. These are all things I actually do enjoy about winter.

In Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, parks personnel take celebrating winter to a whole new level. 

When I gifted my husband a trip to the mountains for his Christmas present this year, we were lucky enough to arrive on the same weekend that both the Banff SnowDays festival AND the Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival were happening. It made the weekend that much more full of interesting and beautiful sights, beyond the usual majesty of a winter mountain vacation.

Skate and Sleigh on Alberta's Frozen Lake Louise

Skating on a frozen lake can be an enjoyable experience.

But skating on frozen Lake Louise in Alberta's majestic Rocky Mountains is even better. With the incredible backdrop of Mount Fairview, Mount Whyte, and the Victoria Glacier surrounding you, gliding across the exceptionally blue ice is an unforgettable adventure.

Combine your skating activity with a sleigh ride around the snow-covered banks of Lake Louise, and you have created a perfect scenic winter day in the mountains. This is exactly what we did in January of 2018 when I took my husband and kids to Banff National Park as a Christmas-gift-experience. If an outdoors adventure of this nature appeals to you, then read on for more details on how you can organize your own winter getaway!

Incredible Ice Castles of Edmonton, Alberta

"When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels." (Anonymous)

OR.... Or you could make awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, majestic ice castles complete with towers, slides, and caves.

Well, if you are Edmonton, Alberta, that's what you would do. (More accurately, that's what they DID!) And last weekend, we went to explore this Narnia-esque wonder as a family.

I had been seeing advertisements about the Edmonton Ice Castle over and over again on Facebook. (Facebook must know how travel-obsessed I am.) I had been hinting repeatedly to my husband that we just had to go see it, and for about three weekends in a row we had made plans, and then everything would fall through. Last weekend, I announced that I was going no matter what.

Rogers Hometown Hockey hits Lacombe, Alberta

Sometimes you don't have to hop on a plane to be part of something new and unique. Sometimes, new and unique comes to you.

That was the case in Lacombe, Alberta this weekend, when our little main street was turned into a hockey-loving winter festival, all thanks to Rogers Hometown Hockey and Sportsnet. Free for everyone to enjoy, the Hometown Hockey event offered locals a chance to see the Stanley Cup, meet some hockey celebrities ranging from players to announcers, dance to some live music (and also to stay warm), and even get their faces on national television as TV legend Ron MacLean broadcasted live during an NHL game.

Despite the nearly -30 weather this weekend, hordes of dedicated, hockey-loving rural Albertans showed up to the Hometown Hockey event to see the sights, my family and I included. What was there to see and do? Here's my list of our favourite things about Rogers Hometown Hockey in Lacombe.

Banff's Fox Hotel and Suites: Hotel Review

Since Banff, Alberta is such a popular tourist destination in both the summer and the winter, there are plenty of places to select from when looking for hotels, hostels, and bed and breakfasts. The most famous of all is the Banff Springs Hotel, which looks like a castle, is rumoured to be haunted, and is totally on my bucket list. I have yet to check that one off. (At what point do travel bloggers start to get free stays in fancy hotels? Because I'm still waiting...)

However, two weekends ago my family and I reserved rooms at the Fox Hotel and Suites on Banff Avenue right downtown, and it was an amazing mini-vacation. I'd like to give you the details on our stay so you can decide for yourself if this hotel is right for you when coming to visit Alberta's mountain wonderland.