Your Canmore Folk Fest Transportation Guide For The 2022 Festival 

We hope you’re as excited as we are for the 2022 Canmore Folk Music Festival! Everything good comes with a little bit of planning and logistics, but we don’t want you to get bogged down in those. So, we’ve put together a transportation guide so you can get your ducks in a row and get down to the grounds without an ounce of stress. If you’ve ever spent a long weekend in the Bow Valey, you know it’s absolutely bustling. So, planning ahead is always a good idea. Here’s what you need to know:

Parking 

We’ll start by saying that we encourage everyone to utilize alternative transportation whenever possible to get to the festival. We’re all about reducing that carbon footprint and saving you a headache because driving downtown tends to get pretty congested during the long weekend. As you can imagine, parking gets quite tricky, too. But, if you do drive, try to carpool with your fellow folkies and get familiar with parking before you set off. 

Please also note that Mainstreet (between 6th ave and 8th ave) is closed to vehicles and is used as a pedestrian and cyclist-only space. 

In addition, Fifth Street will be closed between Fifth and Sixth Avenues for the duration of the festival. Access to this portion of Fifth Street is limited to vendors, coordinators, performers and local residents in possession of the appropriate parking passes. There are no exceptions.

New in 2022, the Town of Canmore has implemented paid parking. This is in place for the entirety of the downtown core. You can learn more about it here. 

In addition, parking is available on appropriately marked streets surrounding the festival ground, but please be VERY mindful of residents’ driveways. There is also limited parking in the Lawrence Grassi Middle School parking lot on Seventh Ave., adjacent to our site. 

We are not exaggerating when we say that this is one of the busiest weekends of the year, so driving and parking are actually one of the least efficient means of transportation on Festival weekend. 

Biking & Walking 

Canmore is absolutely stacked with walking and biking paths to make your journey simple and beautiful. Why not bike or walk along a lovely creek or forest trail on your way to the festival? If you decide to walk, you don’t have to worry about any logistics! There are plenty of benches and places to stop and rest if you need, so enjoy the walk and meet us at the Fest!

If you opt to bike, we have got you covered! There are places to lock your bike all over town, but we can do you one better. 

The Canmore Folk Festival is pleased to partner with the Canmore Community Cruisers again to offer onsite secure bike parking.

Enjoy the fabulous mountain scenery and local vibe as you pedal from your home or accommodations, without the need to search for parking. After entry at the Main Gate, just walk your bike along the paved path to the fenced bike corral at the rear of Lawrence Grassi Middle School. Cruiser volunteers will put a numbered tag on your bike and give you a matching claim check. You then park your bike in the corral. For extra security, just throw on your own bike lock!

The bike corral will be supervised as follows:

Saturday: 3:30 pm – 11:30 pm

Sunday 9:30 am – 11:30 pm

Monday 9:30 am – 10:30 pm

Should the bike corral reach capacity, there are additional bike racks outside the fenced corral where you can lock up your bike.

The Roam Bus

Because we’re a big fan of options, we also want to tell you about our local public transit! Canmore local service is FREE to ride!. Service extends from Three Sisters to Cougar Creek and all buses are fully accessible with room for up to 3 bicycles. 

Roam Route 5 services many areas of Canmore using two separate routes. Route 5C services the Cougar Creek area of town, and the 5T provides service to the Three Sisters area. Each route departs from the downtown 9th Street Transit Hub (by artsPlace) seven days a week.

For more information on routes and bus stop locations, click here. 

We can’t wait to come together with all of you for the 2022 Canmore Folk Music Festival! Travel safe, plan ahead, and reduce your carbon footprint!