Adventures in Alberta

Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada. It includes five UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Icefields Parkway stretches from Lake Louise to Jasper and is one of the most lovely drives in Canada. This highway runs past lakes, mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls. Along the way are stopping points to enjoy the scenery. You can also find many hiking trails leading to scenic lookouts.

Icefields Center is a large visitor's center featuring displays about the Columbia Icefields and looks out over the Athabasca Glacier.

Across from the center, you can walk up to the glacier. Tours in specially outfitted busses are available and drive visitors out onto the glacier.

Glacier Skywalk is the latest attraction. It is a huge observation platform rising 280 meters above the valley. The skywalk has a glass floor and glass railings.

Moraine Lake is located in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Its turquoise waters and surrounded by snow-capped peaks. The ten peaks include the Wenkchemma Glacier. A short path known as the Rockpile Trail takes you to an overlook with great views of the lake.

Banff National Park is a great place for hiking. Among the best hikes is Sentinel Pass.

Canmore is a lovely small town just outside the entrance to Banff.

Among the attractions here is the Canmore Cave Tours taking visitors to Rats Nest Cave which is known as one of the longest in Canada.

If you enjoy hiking take the hiking trails to Grassi Lakes.

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is nestled in the Rocky Mountains straddling the border between Alberta and the US state of Montana. On the Canadian side is Waterton Lakes National Park and on the American side Glacier National Park.

Waterton Lakes National Park is the smallest of the two national parks. It offers awesome scenery with mountains and Waterton Lake.

A good place to stay is the Prince of Wales Hotel, a National Historic Site of Canada.

Jasper is associated with both the national park and the town of Jasper. Jasper National Park is the largest national park in Canada. It offers great scenery with lakes, waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, and forests.

The town of Jasper sees few tourists outside of the peak summer season.

The highlights in Jasper National Park are:

Maligne Lake

Mount Edith Cavell with the fantastic Angel Glacier

Maligne Canyon

Lake Louise Ski Resort is one of the best ski resorts in Canada. It is known around the world for being a stop on the World Cup of skiing. It is a popular destination with a well-regarded ski school, varied terrain, and good facilities.

In the summer the resort operated its gondola to get visitors to the top of the mountain for spectacular views across the valley to Lake Louise.

Kananaskis Country is located about 80 kilometers west of Calgary. There are many beautiful campsites set among pine trees and near lakes or rivers.

Visitors enjoy hiking here in the summer. Resort facilities and a golf course are available in Kananaskis Village.

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is among the highlights of Kananaskis. Here elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, grizzly bears, and black bears roam about. It is the largest provincial park in Alberta. In the summer people come here to enjoy the mountain scenery, walk the trails, and enjoy the alpine lakes.

Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest park in Canada. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is located on the border of Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is a dark-sky preserve and a good place to see the northern lights in the winter.

It extends across the Athbasca-Peace River Delta which is one of the largest inland deltas in the world. There is a lot of wildlife here like wood buffalo, moose, black bears, caribou, and beavers. Whooping cranes breed here.