🚑 Fatal Crash. RCMP Seeks Help.

Good morning, Bow Valley!

A heads-up if you’re heading into Banff between now and Friday. There’s paving happening along several major downtown streets, including Bear, Lynx and Caribou, which means closures and detours over the next few days. Businesses and sidewalks will remain accessible, but you’ll definitely want to give yourself some extra time getting around downtown. Here’s the full map of what’s affected.

-Ben S., Cassandra Stefanic, Fortune Whelan, Brendan Nogue, Alexia Chambers, Keith Fernandes

CANMORE CONSERVATION GROUP NAMED FINALIST FOR £1M EARTHSHOT PRIZE

What’s Happening? A Canmore conservation group has made the final three for one of the world’s biggest environmental prizes. Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is a finalist for the Earthshot Prize, a global environmental competition founded by Prince William that awards £1 million ($1.8m Canadian) to each of five winners.

Y2Y made the cut from nearly 7,000 nominations across 169 countries. Not bad for an organization headquartered in Canmore.

This Is A Very Big Wildlife Corridor. How big? Try 3,400 kilometres. For more than 30 years, Y2Y has worked to keep wildlife habitat connected from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the U.S. all the way to the Yukon.

Earthshot credits Y2Y and its 800-plus partners with helping protect about 25 million hectares and supporting more than 200 wildlife crossings.

And The Bow Valley Is Right In The Middle Of It. Literally. Y2Y considers the valley one of four especially important east-west wildlife connections across the entire 3,400-kilometre region.

Banff and Kananaskis offer huge stretches of protected habitat, but wildlife still has to move between them through a narrow valley filled with highways, development and recreation.

That’s where things like the Peter Lougheed Wildlife Overpass come in. The crossing east of Canmore opened in 2025 after years of advocacy for better wildlife crossings along the highway.

But Y2Y Says The Work Isn’t Finished. President and chief scientist Jodi Hilty, who lives in Canmore, warned that development around Banff could amount to a “death by a thousand cuts,” with individual projects gradually squeezing wildlife corridors and potentially isolating the national park from the larger landscape.

What’s Next? Earthshot winners will be announced Nov. 17 in Mumbai, with each receiving £1 million. Regardless of the result, all 15 finalists get mentorship, technical support and connections to businesses, investors and funders.

If Y2Y wins, Hilty says the ambition goes well beyond Canmore. The goal is to raise the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region’s international profile to the level of ecosystems such as the Serengeti or Great Barrier Reef.

As she put it, “What happens here matters and reverberates across the region.”

Read our full story

THIS IS QUIETLY BECOMING ITS OWN LITTLE NEIGHBOURHOOD IN CANMORE

If you’ve been through Three Sisters lately, you’ve probably noticed Altitude starting to take shape.

And the interesting part is that it’s beginning to feel less like a single condo project and more like its own little community.

The full development includes 239 homes between condos and townhomes, a municipal reserve with a park and playground, and direct connections into the Bow Valley pathway system.

There’s also a private residents-only spa facility planned with a hot tub, sauna, outdoor firepit, and change area.

And now that a 4th show home has opened, people can actually walk through different layouts and get a better feel for what the community will eventually look like.

Some buyers are looking at the condos starting from $544,900 as one of the more realistic entry points into Canmore ownership right now. Others are gravitating toward the larger townhomes currently under construction starting from $1.165M.

Book a private showing and tour all 4 show homes.

_{*Presented by Logel Homes.}

THE DIGEST

• 🚑 RCMP Looking For Banff Witnesses After Fatal Highway 93 Crash. BC Highway Patrol is asking anyone who saw a man and woman with a black Nissan Maxima in Banff on Oct. 2 to come forward. The pair was later involved in a crash on Highway 93 South in Kootenay National Park, near the Floe Lake trailhead, that killed a 23-year-old Invermere man. Investigators are looking for Banff sightings from around dinner until 10 PM, plus dashcam footage or observations from Highway 93 later that night. Anyone with information can call 250-420-4244.

• 🐻 Grizzly Activity Closes Two Banff Campgrounds. A heads-up if you’re heading into the backcountry near Lake Louise: Parks Canada has closed Hidden Lake and Baker Lake campgrounds after grizzlies entered campsites and investigated tents and gear. Both are in the Skoki area, accessed from near the Lake Louise ski area. The closures follow a September warning about a grizzly showing bold and curious behaviour in the area. The trails remain open, but camping is off-limits until Dec. 1.

• 🔥 Wildfire Risk Climbs To High Around Canmore And Kananaskis. Wildfire season isn’t done with us yet. Alberta Wildfire says the Calgary Forest Area is at high wildfire danger after dry conditions and little precipitation. Crews are also continuing hazard-reduction burns on Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation, so residents and visitors may see smoke, flames, firefighters and equipment from Highway 1, Highway 1A, near Ghost Lake and around Mînî Thnî in the coming weeks. Luckily, no traffic impacts are expected.

• 🎨 There Are Plenty of Ways to Experience the Arts In The Bow Valley. It’s one of the most common questions we get: where can you experience the local arts scene? From galleries and live theatre to pottery, choirs, free improv and by-donation poetry nights, there are lots of affordable options. And if you’ve been wanting to get involved yourself, we also rounded up local groups where you can sing, act, create or just try something new. Read our full guide here.

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THE FUNKIEST BIKE RACKS IN CANADA MIGHT NOW BE IN BANFF

What’s Happening? Banff has three new bike racks on Caribou Street, although we’d forgive you if you mistook them for something else entirely. The five-foot-tall steel cyclists are part sculpture, part bike rack and among the final additions to Banff’s $6.8-million Caribou Street makeover. You’ll find them beside Canada House Gallery, ready for bikes or just a second look. 

Not Your Average Bike Rack. Blacksmith Paul Reimer designed each rack so the cyclist and bicycle flow together in one continuous piece of steel, inspired by the blur of a cyclist speeding past.

Reimer spent nearly six months making the three sculptures the old-school way: heating and hammering the steel by hand.

The racks are valued at about $7,650 and were donated by Canada House Gallery. Banff contributed an additional $10,200 for installation and long-term maintenance.

They’re Also The Finishing Touch. The funky new racks cap off the Caribou Street reconstruction, which started in September 2025.

And while the bike racks might be the eye-catching part, much of the work happened underground. Crews replaced infrastructure approaching 100 years old in some spots and moved utilities below ground.

Up top, they laid more than 37,000 paving blocks, planted 10 trees and 30-plus shrubs, and added a small parkette beside Canada House Gallery.

Why Bike Racks? Cycling is already a pretty big deal in Banff. About 67 percent of residents report walking or cycling as their primary way of getting around in summer, and the Town says it regularly receives requests for more downtown bike parking.

So the new racks are doing double duty: giving cyclists three more places to park while adding a little more art to Banff’s streets.

As Reimer put it, the goal is to create something “functional for locking your bike up” while also being a piece of art.

Read our full interview with Reimer, or watch our video from when we stopped by Caribou Street to see the racks for ourselves.

THINGS TO DO

Wednesday

• Canmore Brewing’s Weekly Mountain Bike Ride. The free group ride heads out at 6 PM, with intermediate to advanced riders tackling a local trail before returning to the brewery around 8 PM. With sunset coming earlier, make sure you bring charged bike lights. 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Canmore Brewing Company. Free.*

• Canmore’s Free Improv Drop-In. This week’s session focuses on the basics of building a scene, including establishing who, what and where. No theatre or improv experience is required, and there’s no need to register ahead of time. Just show up ready to give it a try. 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Elevation Place, Room 212. Free, 18+.*

Thursday

• Ecstatic Dance Night in Banff. Night Bloom at Flow State is an ecstatic dance night built around movement, music, and zero pressure to perform. Start with grounding meditation and breathwork, then let DJ Bunny Hops take things into deep bass and melodic house. No choreography, no dance experience and no “right” way to move. 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM. Flow State Yoga Studio, Banff. $10.50.

A THREE-COURSE THANKSGIVING DINNER FOR $60.

Thanksgiving dinner is wonderful. Spending most of the day cooking it and the rest of the evening cleaning up? Slightly less wonderful.

This year, Canmore’s Rhythm & Howl is taking care of the work with a three-course harvest dinner served on Sunday, Oct. 11 and Monday, Oct. 12.

The evening begins with a warm brassica and fig salad made with roasted broccoli, radicchio, feta, Black Mission figs, fried kale, hazelnuts, orange supremes and charred orange yogurt dressing.

The main event is a garlic scape-infused turkey roulade accompanied by lemon-dill root vegetables, whipped potatoes, brown butter gravy, apple-cranberry cinnamon relish and brioche “stuffins.” Yes, those are stuffing muffins, and yes, they sound excellent.

For dessert, choose between maple pumpkin brûlée cheesecake or a scoop of gelato.

The three-course menu is $60 per person, with an optional wine pairing available for an additional $30. Seatings are offered at 5 PM and 7:30 PM on both evenings.

Limited bookings available.  Reserve quickly for your preferred date:

Book Sunday, Oct. 11.

Book Monday, Oct. 12.

_{*Presented by Rhythm & Howl.}

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• ❄️ Avalanche Canada Has Received Its First Snow Report Of The Season. The Mountain Information Network, or MIN, lets backcountry users share real-time snow conditions with others. The first one this season came from Robertson Glacier in Kananaskis on Saturday, where a skier reported up to 30 cm higher on the glacier. Avalanche Canada warns that avalanche hazards can exist anywhere there’s snow. Daily forecasts begin Nov. 25, but until then, MIN reports are already coming in from people chasing early-season turns. 

• 🍽️ Turkey Dinner And A Game Show In Exshaw. If you’ve never been to an Exshaw Legion event, they’re an awesome time. You’ll find everyone from 30-somethings to longtime locals hanging out together. This Saturday, The Amazing Feud mixes Family Feud-style questions with Jeopardy and speed trivia, with a turkey supper included in the $30 ticket. Dinner is at 5:30 PM, and the show starts at 7 PM. Call Kim at 403-673-2792 for tickets.*

• 🥧 Thanksgiving Dinner At The Golf Club. For another Thanksgiving option, Sandtraps at the Canmore Golf & Curling Club is serving roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, gravy and cranberry sauce, followed by pumpkin cheesecake. It’s available for dine-in or takeout Oct. 11 and 12 from 4 PM to close for $33.95 per person. Takeout orders must be placed the same day. Check full details.*

• 🤝 Have An Idea That Could Bring Bow Valley Locals Together? The Banff Canmore Foundation is accepting applications for its Wellbeing in Community grants, which fund grassroots projects focused on connection, belonging and community wellbeing. Past funding has supported everything from Indigenous sharing circles and newcomer peer support to injury-recovery workshops, first-responder fly-fishing and mental-health training for local leaders. Got an idea of your own? Applications for the fall round are open until Oct. 31.

• 🍃 What Nature Can Teach Us About Diversity. The latest Overheard Podcast episode visits the recent Queer(y)ing Ecologies exhibition at Canmore’s artsPlace and explores diversity in the natural world, including same-sex behaviour documented in species such as bighorn sheep, orcas and penguins. The conversation looks at why some of these examples have historically been overlooked and how art and science can get people asking different questions about nature. 

• ✍ You Can Make Up To $100K Writing Newsletters And Social Posts For Alberta Parks. While this is an Edmonton-based position, we think there are a few people in our audience who might be a fit. The province is hiring a full-time Public Information Strategist to create social media, website content, blogs and newsletters. Here’s the kicker: the job pays up to $100,492 a year. Apparently, we picked the wrong newsletter niche. Applications close tomorrow (Oct. 8). 

CIVIC NEWS

• Harvie Heights Faces A Big Tradeoff Over A Rebuilt Power Line. AltaLink is weighing four routes for its aging Canmore-to-Banff transmission line, including one through Harvie Heights with poles up to 35 metres tall. Residents are raising concerns about wildfire safety, tree clearing, property impacts and emergency access. The upside: a second circuit could improve power reliability for Banff and Lake Louise. AltaLink expects to file its preferred plan with the regulator by year-end.

LIVE MUSIC

• Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 10:00 PM: DJ Bunny Hops. Location: High Rollers, Banff. No Cover.

• Thursday, October 8, 2026, 10:00 PM: 90's & 2000's Hip Hop Night. Location: Sizzler’s, Banff. No Cover. No Cover.

SPORTS

• Canmore Eagles Put 58 Shots On Net And Still Lost. The Eagles fell 5-4 to the Devon Xtreme on Sunday. One bright spot from the weekend: captain Aidan Tkachuk scored twice and took over the AJHL points lead. The Eagles are back home Friday night when they host the Calgary Canucks.

That’s all, folks!

We’ll see you back here on Friday, same time, same place! 

Heads Up: We sometimes feature paid promotion from local businesses and organizations we trust. When you see a little asterisk (*), that means it’s a sponsored post. We only work with partners we think our readers will actually care about.