The Albertan towns of Banff and Canmore boast several mountain-view restaurants that impress millions of annual visitors, but the eatery with perhaps the best vantage point in the area remains unknown to most vacationers.
The Summit Restaurant, located inside the clubhouse at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis Village, provides stunning views of the soaring Canadian Rockies peaks.
Just 35 minutes southeast of Canmore, the golf course is in the heart of Kananaskis Country, which borders Banff National Park. Kananaskis Country is a massive, multi-use park and recreation system covering nearly 2,500 square miles along the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. It was created in 1978 by then-Premier Peter Lougheed to protect the fragile ecosystem while offering a diverse range of public-land uses, including the golf course.
The Summit Restaurant includes a massive outdoor patio to catch unimpeded views of Mount Kidd and Mount Lorette, which tower behind the lush green grass of the two 18-hole courses. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during golfing season, and anyone is welcome to dine.
High-quality sandwiches, burgers, and appetizers tempt diners, but the real stars are the entrees. The 10-ounce Northern Gold New York Striploin features 28-day aged Alberta beef, cowboy steak butter, roasted heirloom carrots, grill asparagus, fondant potatoes with Park maple whiskey bacon jam and crème fraiche. What a treat!
The Legacy Lager is a refreshing beer crafted by ToolShed Brewery for the golf course. Every year, a different flavor is made; the 2026 version features a crisp, refreshing aroma that mingles the cereal notes of Alberta-grown malts with a subtle crisp hop note.
While kicking back and enjoying the food and drinks, visitors are awestruck by their surroundings. And to think, none of this existed before 1983.
The golf course is owned by the provincial government of Alberta. In 1978, Lougheed, who now has a provincial park named after him, noticed that Banff and Lake Louise were getting so busy that Albertans couldn’t afford to go there.
Lougheed had the vision of creating a valley that Albertans could go to.
The provincial government picked this valley and built Alberta Highway 40 (also called Kananaskis Trail) in stages. The focus was on building the golf course, which opened in 1983 (Mount Kidd course) and 1984 (Mount Lorette course); a ski resort, which opened in 1986 ahead of the 1988 Winter Olympics; and Kananaskis Village, which opened in 1987.
Lougheed commissioned world-renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design Kananaskis Country Golf Club. Jones famously called it “the finest location I have ever seen for a golf course.”
The original operator from 1983 still controls the course today under supervision by Alberta Parks. Because the course is government owned, the operator has always given Albertans relief on the golfing rate. It costs Albertans $145 (Canadian) per round to golf at Kananaskis Country Golf Club; at Banff Springs, it costs $550 per round, and in Canmore, it costs around $275 a round. Golf Digest named the course as the best super-value golf destination in North America.
The Mount Kidd course has been ranked as high as ninth in the country, and the Mount Lorette course 19th). Approximately 700 players use the course daily, and the Summit Restaurant serves 400 to 600 people a day.
In June 2025, the golf course and restaurant became the first venue to host the G7 Summit twice (they also hosted the G7 in 2002). Participants in 2025 included U.S. President Donald Trump, France President Emmanuel Macron, the prime ministers of Great Britain and Canada, and other world leaders.
They were treated to unforgettable views while enjoying delicious fare.
The Summit Restaurant (1 Mount Lorette Drive, Kananaskis Village, Alberta) operates on the same schedule as the golf course: from the first Wednesday in May to the second Sunday of October, weather permitting.