Welcome to Cvent's Meeting and Event Planning Guide to Canmore Kananaskis, a guide for meeting professionals. A major sporting and arts community known for its mountain lifestyle and legendary Canadian Rockies views, Canmore Kananaskis is also a premier meeting and event destination situated just one hour west of Calgary, and the closest mountain destination to both Calgary and Edmonton. The host of the cross-country skiing and biathlon components of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, Canmore Kananaskis features many unique venues built for and after the Olympics, which range from modern theaters to rustic ranches, as well as three convention hotels and several event-specific golf and sporting venues.
A relatively unknown destination before its role in the 1988 Olympics, Canmore Kananaskis is now the largest community in the Canadian Rockies. Situated on the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies and surrounded by Kananaskis Park, with Banff National Park to its west and north, Canmore Kananaskis is the closest mountain community to Edmonton, Alberta's capital. The community boasts areas for a variety of recreation, as well as a thriving downtown core and a network of convenient multi-use trails. Visitors to Canmore Kananaskis fly into Calgary International Airport, which sits 75 miles from Canmore Kananaskis and offers nonstop service to major domestic and international destinations. As Canada's fourth-busiest airport, Calgary International served nearly 13 million passengers in 2011, providing nonstop service to such markets as Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco. Meeting delegates can easily hop on the airport's number of shuttle services to reach Canmore Kananaskis area lodges and resorts, including the popular Delta Lodge at Kananaskis.
Situated within Kananaskis Village, which is lined with restaurants, lodges and spas, and 32 miles from Canmore Kananaskis, Delta Lodge features more than 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as a host of team building and recreation activities. The 412-room, year-round resort offers six dining options, a spa with an indoor pool and a convenient location adjacent to the Nakiska ski area, 36 holes of premium golf at Kananaskis Country Golf Course and miles of hiking, biking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails. Meeting spaces include the newly renovated 5,700-square-foot Olympic Ballroom, the 3,016-square-foot Mount Kidd Ballroom, the 2,336-square-foot Explorer Ballroom and the 2,100-square-foot Rockies room, which overlooks the resort's pond and waterfall. Groups can also gather in the 2,400-square-foot indoor tent, complete with carpet, heating and windows, for events held from May through October. Take an event outdoors with the resort's team building offerings, which range from scavenger hunts and yoga sessions to rafting and guided hikes, among many other options. Offering the largest event space in Canmore itself, the non-smoking, 164-room Radisson Hotel and Conference Center Canmore spans 10,000 square feet of meeting and convention space throughout 10 meeting and function rooms, including the 6,000-square-foot Wild Rose Ballroom. The hotel and conference center accommodates functions for 8 to 600 guests and features on-site dining, catering and audio-visual services.
Aside from Delta Lodge and Radisson Hotel and Conference Center Canmore, many of Canmore Kananaskis's unique venues enable meeting participants to gather in nature-inspired spaces, or be right in the middle of nature. What's more, there are no park fees associated with holding an event in Canmore Kananaskis. Built for the 1988 Olympics, Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park spans five buildings housing multiple rooms to rent, as well as features winter and summer season activities perfect for team building and bonding. Groups can enjoy the park's winter and summer orienteering and disc golf courses, as well as ski and hike on its trails, depending on the season. The on-site pro shop offers group programs and rentals for the park's recreational activities. Surrounded by mountains, the Canmore Golf & Country Club serves as a fantastic venue for golf getaways, curling bonspiels and corporate functions in its 130-person dining room and 50-person curling lounge.
Both Silvertip Golf Resort and Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club welcome corporate golf tournaments and private events in their variety of event spaces. Perched on 600 acres of peaks, grasslands and valleys on the benchlands of Mount Lady MacDonald, Silvertip Golf Resort is home to an 18-hole golf course carved out of original Rockies terrain, as well as on-site dining and a Wine Cave for up to 30,000 bottles. Groups can gather in the resort's 11,000 square feet of function space while basking in sunshine, as Silvertip is the only resort to fit on the south-facing, sunny side of the Bow Valley. Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club's 18-hole course features layered fairways, subtly sloped greens and 35 bunkers around streams, lakes, rocky outcrops and restored mine entrances. In addition to its high mountain course, the club welcomes events in its three rooms during its mid-September through mid-May non-member event season. Groups can make their way indoors to meet in Canmore Kananaskis's Cornerstone Theatre, a versatile hall and theatre venue that hosts the award-winning Oh Canada Eh? dinner show, as well as year-round sing-alongs, game shows, comedy nights and musicals. Groups can rent out the theater's 6,000-square-foot empty flat floor space, as well as its 500-square-foot reception area, 500-square-foot stage and 250-square-foot backstage area.