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Spring Creek Canmore Real Estate

Spring Creek explained for buyers: the lodge-style condo buildings between two creeks a block from Main Street, which ones allow nightly rentals, what they cost and what to check before you buy.

Updated August 27, 2026Canmore Properties editorial team6 min read
Lodge-style condo buildings beside a creek in Canmore, the style of Spring Creek
Sun exposure
valley floor
Short-term rentals
some tourist-home buildings
Property mix
Newer condo and townhome buildings between Policeman’s Creek and Spring Creek
Suits
Weekenders, Downsizers, Investors
Short answerSpring Creek is a 70-acre master-planned community of condo and townhome buildings on the edge of downtown Canmore, between Policeman’s Creek and Spring Creek. Developed by Frank Kernick on his family’s former dairy farm since 2006, its Area Redevelopment Plan allows up to 1,000 homes and 250 hotel rooms, and it is Canada’s first Built Green Platinum community. Most buildings are residential; the Tamarack, White Spruce Lodge and Timberstone Mountain Lodge are the ones the developer sold with nightly-rental flexibility. Condos run from the high $500Ks to $2M+.
Key takeaways
  • Spring Creek is a two-minute walk from Main Street on flat ground. The most walkable newer-build neighbourhood in Canmore.
  • It is a condo neighbourhood: lodge-style buildings with underground parking, geothermal heating and hot tubs, plus 43 townhomes and a handful of single-family lots.
  • Only some buildings allow nightly rental. The developer has marketed White Spruce Lodge and the Tamarack as tourist-home zoned; Jack Pine, Grey Wolf and most others are residential.
  • Newer buildings mean lower immediate repair risk but condo fees that reflect geothermal, elevators and amenities, read the reserve fund study anyway.
  • The Malcolm Hotel, the Canmore Opera House and the BEAT commercial hub sit inside the community, so it has its own restaurants and shops.

Spring Creek Canmore is for people who want a newer condo, no yard work, and Main Street within a two-minute walk. It is a single master-planned community, so the buildings share a look, a builder and a set of rules, and the rules differ from building to building in one way that matters: which ones can be rented nightly. This page covers the buildings, prices, zoning and checks.

Where Spring Creek, Canmore is and what it feels like

Spring Creek sits on 70 acres between Policeman's Creek and Spring Creek, immediately south-east of downtown. The land was the Kernick family's dairy farm from 1927, then a trailer park; Frank Kernick bought it in 2002 and started building in 2006. The Spring Creek Mountain Village Area Redevelopment Plan, as amended by Bylaw 2021-22 in August 2022, sets a maximum of 1,000 residential units and a minimum of 800 at build-out, caps hotel rooms at 250, and paces growth at an average of 80 units a year across four stages. About 400 units were built by 2019 and construction has continued since.

The feel is resort-village: timber-and-stone lodges of four storeys, creek-side paths, the Malcolm Hotel (124 rooms, opened November 2018) and the Canmore Opera House (2017) at the entrance, and the BEAT commercial hub with a water feature that becomes a skating pond in winter. It is the first certified Built Green Platinum community in Canada, and the buildings run on geothermal. Who lives here: downsizers and retirees, including at Origin; Calgary weekenders who want lock-and-leave; and investors in the two tourist-home buildings. Few families. There are 43 townhomes and eight single-family sites, but the community is overwhelmingly apartment-style.

Spring Creek condos for sale: the buildings

BuildingUnitsOpenedRental status (developer marketing; verify the unit)
Glacier Rock Lodge50early 2008Residential
Rundle Cliffs Lodge59late 2009Residential
Creekstone Mountain Lodge56 plus live/work and commercial bays2018Residential
Moraine Ridge Lodge46late 2018Residential. The developer markets it as Spring Creek's only +40 condo homes
White Spruce Lodge492019Tourist home
Origin at Spring Creek (808 Spring Creek Drive)about 110 suitesopenSeniors residence marketed by the developer as “+65 Origin at Spring Creek”: independent living, assisted living, memory care and respite. Sold out, leasing available. Neither the developer nor the operator publishes an enforced minimum age
Jack Pine Lodge (1105 Spring Creek Drive)492021Residential
The Tamarack (1309 Spring Creek Gate)80 in two buildings2022Tourist home
Grey Wolf Lodge,now sellingResidential (developer listing, August 2026)
Mountain Lynx Lodge & Chalets,now sellingMarketed as a blend of residential and vacation rental: check each unit
Timberstone Mountain Lodge,launched September 2021Sold out. Developer says it is “zoned for flexible rental options”, with on-site vacation management
The Arnica Lodge,,Sold out. Developer unit listings show residential zoning
Black Swift Lodge49,Sold out. Developer unit listings show residential zoning
Creekside Villas3- and 4-bedroom townhomes,Sold out, resales only. The developer does not state a zoning: confirm the land use district for the specific unit

Unit counts and opening years are from the developer and from RENX (April 2019) and CREB (February 2020); later phases are as shown on the developer's site in August 2026. Pricing runs from the high $500Ks for the smallest older suites to $2M+ for penthouses and townhomes; a one-bedroom Grey Wolf suite was listed at $759,000 by the developer in August 2026. The Canmore condos for sale page sets these against the rest of the town.

Sun exposure and winter on the valley floor

Spring Creek is flat and open, with no hillside behind it, so it gets the same low winter sun as downtown, better than the south-side neighbourhoods at the base of Rundle, shorter than Silvertip's slope. Because it is a condo community, snow clearing on paths and parkades is done for you, which is a large part of the appeal for part-time owners. Creek-side units get shade from mature trees and a cooler microclimate in summer.

Short-term rentals and tourist-home status in Spring Creek

The Area Redevelopment Plan says tourist homes are permitted in the plan area and that “as a general guide the number of Tourist Homes should not exceed 300 units”, out of the 1,000 the plan allows; the Land Use Bylaw makes Tourist Home a discretionary use in the Spring Creek direct-control district “to a maximum 300 in the ARP area”. The developer sold White Spruce Lodge and the Tamarack on that basis, with Spring Creek Vacations managing nightly rentals in them, and markets Timberstone Mountain Lodge as carrying flexible rental options. Everything else in the community is sold as residential, and renting a residential unit nightly draws fines from $2,500. The designation attaches to identified floors and units, not to a whole address, so get the development permit for the exact unit.

Trails, amenities and what to check in the building

Everything is on foot: the creek paths, the Bow River loop, Main Street and its summer pedestrian zone, Elevation Place's pool and library, Lawrence Grassi Middle School on 7th Avenue. The buildings have fitness rooms, outdoor hot tubs, heated underground parking and residents' lounges.

Who Spring Creek suits, and how it compares

It suits downsizers, weekenders and anyone who wants a walkable, low-maintenance base with a hotel-grade finish; investors only in the tourist-home buildings, and only after the non-residential tax rate is in the numbers. It does not suit buyers who want a yard, a garage of their own, or a quiet street away from visitors.

The Downtown Canmore condos for sale a few hundred metres north are in older buildings at lower entry prices, with more variation in fees and condition, and the noise of Main Street itself. South Canmore homes for sale, across Policeman's Creek, are the detached alternative: the same walkability with a yard, at the highest average prices in town. Spring Creek is the middle option: newer than downtown, cheaper than South Canmore, and the only one with buildings built for nightly rental.

What this means if you're buying

Choose the building before the unit. Decide whether you need nightly rental (two buildings) or not (all the rest), then compare fees, reserve funds and age across the lodges you can afford. Verify the zoning of the exact unit on the Town's map, price the condo fee and tax class into the buyer cost calculator, and view in winter to see which creek-side suites keep their light.

Want a building-by-building rundown of Spring Creek, Canmore?

A local REALTOR® tracks fees, reserve funds and rental status for each lodge. Fifteen minutes, free, before you shortlist.

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Frequently asked

Where is Spring Creek in Canmore?

Directly south-east of Main Street, on the land between Policeman’s Creek and Spring Creek. Its sales centre is at 1309 Spring Creek Gate, and the community is one block from downtown. Everything on the valley floor, the Bow River loop, Elevation Place, the schools on 7th Avenue, is walkable.

Which Spring Creek buildings allow short-term rentals?

The Tamarack (80 units at 1309 Spring Creek Gate) and White Spruce Lodge were both sold by the developer with tourist-home zoning; the developer’s Spring Creek Vacations arm manages nightly rentals in them. Jack Pine Lodge, Grey Wolf Lodge and most other buildings are residential and cannot be rented nightly. Always confirm the specific unit on the Town of Canmore’s map, since March 2025 no new tourist homes can be created.

How much do Spring Creek condos cost?

From the high $500Ks for the smallest one-bedroom suites in older buildings to $2M and beyond for penthouses and townhomes. As a reference point, the developer listed a one-bedroom, 890 sq ft Grey Wolf Lodge suite at $759,000 in August 2026. Tourist-home units trade at a premium to residential ones.

What is Origin at Spring Creek?

A seniors residence inside the community at 808 Spring Creek Drive, marketed by the developer as “+65 Origin at Spring Creek” and run by Origin Active Lifestyle Communities, with roughly 110 suites and a mix of ownership and rental across independent living, assisted living, memory care and respite. Neither the developer nor the operator publishes an enforced minimum age, so ask the operator. It is the reason Spring Creek has a stronger retiree and downsizer presence than other Canmore condo neighbourhoods.

Are Spring Creek condo fees high?

They are typically higher than a walk-up condo elsewhere in town, because the buildings run geothermal heating and cooling, elevators, heated underground parking, fitness rooms and outdoor hot tubs. The fee buys a lot, but you should still read the reserve fund study and the bylaws before you buy, the condo buying guide explains what to look for.

Sources

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