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Long before machines came to the Bow Valley, the First Nations (native Indians) passed through what is today Canmore on their way from their homes on the Plains to hunt, fish and trade with neighbours in the Rocky Mountains.

Canmore has faced many changes but it is still the same town that was founded by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883 as a switching station and named in honour of Malcolm of Canmore, King of Scotland from 1057 - 1093. A tiny settlement emerged at the site where the rails divided, and the town had its first boom in 1887 when coal was discovered below Ha Ling Peak.

For decades, coal mining dominated the town. Canmore had a school, bank and even an opera house--one of the oldest in Western Canada--Canmore was a class act!

Canmore was originally part of Banff National Park, but with the 1930 National Park Act, Ottawa decided mining was an inappropriate activity for a national park and the bounday was redrawn, extending the park boundary just west of Canmore.

Banff, too, had coal mining at Bankhead (near Lake Minnewanka) and at Anthracite (near the trans-Canada Highway). All of these mines are now closed.

On July 13, 1979, the coal mines in Canmore were shut down once and for all as the world's demand for this kind of energy virtually disappeared. The town had an opportunity to reinvent itself.

When the 1988 Winter Olympics came to town, Canmore proudly took the spotlight for Nordic skiing, and the Canmore Nordic Centre remains one of North America's top cross-country ski locations. Canmore showed off its spectacular setting to the world and began to realize the potential of the outdoors as a draw and a base for the local economy.

Today Canmore is a thriving community with a growing and diverse business and tourism sector. History is alive at the North West Mounted Police Barracks and the Connor Memorial United Church. It is also hidden in the hills across the Bow River, where you can find traces of the mines that tell a remarkable story. The bridge crossing the Bow River was once used to transport coal from the mines. Today it is a popular hiking and mountain biking bridge, taking locals and visitors into the river's labyrinth of islands.

A visit to the Canmore Centennial Museum and Geoscience Centre can give you an in-depth look at the area's colourful past.