Best driving roads in Alberta

[xtremepsionic]

Please post which stretch of twisties that entertains you the most in Alberta. I'll try to condense everything into the first post.

Please post the following details about the road:
1. Location relative to major cities in Alberta
2. Time needed to complete a loop from major cities
3. Pictures/links/maps of the road

Here is my contribution:

Route name:
Kananaskis country, Highwood pass, Elbow falls loop - approx 80km from Calgary
Total route length - approx 350km

Map
http://www.cmgonline.com/touring/To...skis/index.html

This seems like a very nice route for a sunday drive, however, it might be a bit too long for some if you plan on finishing it all in one day.

Lots of very beautiful scenery along this route, Highwood pass just south of Kananaskis is supposed to be Canada's highest paved pass (2210meters). The twisties near the Elbow falls area is excellent as well.

This route is only open during the summer months (probably from June to September, please correct me if you have information about this)

Pictures
And here are the pictures from the beyond.ca summer cruise, they went and did the entire route to highwood pass and back to calgary on Hwy 22
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread....es&pagenumber=2



Other roads/highway that is very good in Alberta (but I don't have complete information on at this time)

Highway to Jasper/Columbia icefield
Highway to Waterton national park
Highway 1A from Calgary to Canmore
Groat road in Edmonton

http://www.discoverbanff.com/DrivingTours/
This webpage have lots of nice driving tours of Alberta. Definitely a must see!

Please post any twsties thats fun for you, anywhere from a 5 minute thrill ride to a 3 day road trip. We'll try to keep this thread to Alberta only, and open up other threads for other provinces to keep things organized.

Mirrored on NAM just incase different people surf different forums
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...ad.php?t=50212

[jambo101]

Banff to Jasper part of this guys ride makes for some good reading..

[Mini Steve]

Groat road is over rated. I was born and raised in that 'other city'.

On the fun part of Groat road the speed limit is 50kmh. It's usually packed with traffic. The cops are doing radar OFTEN. And.. the strecth lasts about 30 seconds to a minute!

Highway 93 north of Lake Louise through the icefields, however, is great. I did that run, all the way to Jasper to meet family, in my Cooper in early May this year on a Friday night as the sun set. It was quite fun!

Other than these tidbits, I have no real contribution. Damn prairies!

- Steve

[bigturtle]

I agree!

I'm about as far away from Canada as you can get without actually falling off the planet, but the drive from Jasper to Banff we did on January 1, 2000 (Millenium Bug day) was one of the most inspiring and scenic drives I've ever done. If I make it back to that part of the world as planned next year, I intend to do it again.

[xtremepsionic]

Time to update this thread because I just found a couple more roads which are just absolutely AMAZING fun for anyone who loves twisty roads!

1. Jasper to Mt Edith Cavell - Take Hwy 93A south from Jasper, then turn off at the road to Mt Edith Cavell. 15km of narrow (just wide enough for 2 cars with no room for lines to mark the lanes), twisty, tree lined, and undulating road up the mountain. Throw in 8 hairpins in the mix and it's just absolutely MINI heaven. It's easy to appreciate the quick steering ratio of the MINI on a road like this. No matter if you like driving the car like you stole it, or just taking it easy nearer the recommended 50km/h limit, you'll have fun driving. Plus, the Mt Edith Cavell glacier is absolutely fabulous, very easy hike and amazing to behold!

My rating 8.5/10 (+ awesome fun, awesome view - bad pavement, narrow roads and all blind corners)

2. Jasper to Maligne Lake - Very well paved 2 lane roads by the lake side. Sharp drop into the lake if you miss a corner makes it feel more exciting than it really is. Some great corners here and there, but mostly higher speed cruising. Good fun off season when no one is going to the lake.

My rating 8/10 (+ nice pavement, some fairly tight cambered corners, - requires higher speeds to feel g forces, could be crowded in the summer)

3. Lake Louise to Lake Moraine - This road is fairy tight and twisty, it had just been repaved recently making it quite enjoyable to drive up there. If you've never been to Lake Moraine, then you should. IMO it's prettier than Lake Louise and a little quieter as well.

My raiting 7/10 (+ newly paved, great lake at the destination, - wish it was more twisty, better hope you don't get stuck behind an RV as the road get used a lot by tourists)

4. Honorable mentions include the Mt Norquay road and Lake Minnewanka loop just north of Banff. Both of them are quite twisty and fun, however both are a little on the short side! Still, can't argue with hairpins


In general Highway 93 from Lake Louise to Jasper is nice too, but it gets no ratings from me because it simply isn't twisty enough for the most part Great views and sights though!

Happy and safe motoring!

[MiniDD]

The road from Creston B.C. to Crawford Bay B.C. is amazing. I gets a little conjested in the summer but spring and fall there are very few motorhomes. Kokenee Springs golf course is the destination in Crawford Bay so bring your clubs. I know this is not in Alberta but the Kootenays should be.

[xtremepsionic]

Oh let me start a new thread about best BC roads. I've driven through almost all the great twisties in southern BC the last 2 years and it's ULTRA addtictive.