Page 46 - 2024-25 Travel Guide to Canada

AB
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valley on dogsled. Drive the winter ice road
to Fort Chipewyan, Alberta’s oldest First
Nations community north of Fort
McMurray, or photograph wildflowers
among the alpine lakes at Sunshine Village
resort west of Banff or the Plain of Six
Glaciers trail near Lake Louise.
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
The province’s history is just over a century
old, but the First Nations heritage dates to
prehistoric times. Métis Crossing, northeast
of Edmonton, offers a taste of the musical
culture created by the melding of First
Nations Peoples with European settlers in the
19th century. Fort Edmonton tells of the city’s
Gold Rush era, when these same voyageurs
paved the way for the fur trade. Calgary’s
Heritage Park Historical Village overlooks the
calm waters of the Glenmore Reservoir—
where dragon boat racing and other water
sports are held. History is also chronicled at
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, one of the
UNESCO sites in Alberta, or Blackfoot
Crossing—a modern interpretive centre built
into the Bow River bluffs east of Calgary.
Explore transportation history at the
Remington Carriage Museum at Cardston or
head north to the town of Wembley—24 km
(15 mi.) west of Grande Prairie—to tour the
Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, which
chronicles the work done to preserve the
world’s largest hornbill dinosaur bonebed.
MUST SEE, MUST DO
Pilot to Bombardier! Hop aboard an open-air
biplane at Reynolds-Alberta Museum for a
bird’s-eye view of the prairies around
Camrose and Wetaskiwin. You can also tour
the museum’s many heritage transportation
vehicles such as cars, industrial machines
and airplanes (www.reynoldsmuseum.ca).
Nestled into the lush coulees of the Rosebud
River Valley, the abandoned railway town of
Rosebud was overtaken by a group of faith-
based artists three decades ago. They created
a thriving professional theatre school and
Special Events
ESTABLISHED AS A PROVINCE IN 1905,
ALBERTA WAS NAMED AFTER A DAUGHTER
OF THEN-QUEEN VICTORIA—PRINCESS
LOUISE CAROLINE ALBERTA.
Quick Fact
www.travelalberta.com/ca/
things-to-do/events-festivals
JANUARY
• CHISELED, EDMONTON
• ICE MAGIC FESTIVAL, LAKE LOUISE
• SNOWDAYS FESTIVAL, BANFF
JUNE
• SLED ISLAND MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL,
CALGARY
• WATERTON WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL
JULY
• CALGARY STAMPEDE
• CANADIAN BADLANDS PASSION PLAY,
DRUMHELLER
• EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL STREET
PERFORMERS FESTIVAL
• K-DAYS, EDMONTON
• VUL-CON, VULCAN
AUGUST
• BIG VALLEY JAMBOREE, CAMROSE
• CANMORE FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
• EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL FRINGE
THEATRE FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER
• AGRI-TRADE EQUIPMENT EXPO, RED DEER
Residents are devout nature lovers,
flocking to the city’s network of river
pathways as well as the inner city Prince’s
Island Park, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, and
Bowness Park and its pretty lagoon, where
families can skate in winter and canoe and
paddleboat in summer.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Head for the hills from summer to fall for a
guided multi-day backcountry pack trip on
horseback. Sleep under the stars and listen to
coyotes howl in a riverside tent camp in
Dinosaur Provincial Park, home to some of
the planet’s largest fossil beds and fantastic
interpretive programs. Or scramble up the
Via Ferrata (Italian for iron path), a rope and
cable-assisted mountain journey at
Mt. Norquay near Banff. Should winter be
your season, abundant ice-climbing, skiing,
fishing, snowshoeing and ATV journeys can
be found across the province.
Explore the snow-caked Spray Lakes
DOWNTOWN EDMONTON WITH THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER • DAN SCHYKULSKI @DANSCHYK