8 ReviewsIf you enjoy fishing at all then theres lots of options open for you. My favorite place to go is East Pit Lake. Its about 70km west of the downtown core. It a reclaimed mining pit thats been...
5 ReviewsIn the countryside where our daughter's boyfriend was brought up on his parent's 140-acre horse ranch, we decided on a Sheep River rafting trip where it flows past their back pastures! With two rubber...
11 ReviewsThe hiking trail that leads to the paint pots is located just off the #93 highway between Castle Mountain junction and Radium, BC, in Kootenay National Park. There is a rest area at the trail head,...
5 ReviewsMARTIN STABLES HAS THE BEST HORSEBACK RIDE. IT IS A 3 HR. BREAKFAST RIDE. YOU RIDE FOR AND HOUR THEN EAT FOR AN HOUR THEN RIDE A DIFFERENT TRAIL BACK FOR AN HOUR. WHAT A BLAST. A MUST TRY FOR HORSE...
1 ReviewThe hike up to Lake Agnes from lake louise is quite a pleasant one in the summer ,at the top of the trail is a tea house where you can reward your efforts striding up the hill with tea and cakes...
5 ReviewsThe North Saskatchewan River diagonally bisects the city, and Edmontonians are very (oddly) proud of their valley.
Networks of 'multi-use' trails (for bicycles, rollerblades, joggers, etc) abound up...
2 ReviewsThe Bow Valley Campground is about 1 hours drive outside of the city driving towards the beautiful Rocky Mountains. They have lots of sites, trees and are right on a nice blue river. Its only $17 CAD...
27 ReviewsTake a walk along the boardwalk at Johnston Lake & stroll through the medow - bursting with scent & beautiful coloured wildlowers - I could have stayed all day with the gentle hum of insects, bird...
3 ReviewsIf you get a chance, you may want to visit Elk Island National Park. Just a 45 mins drive East of Edmonton (take Yellowhead Trail Eastbound; Highway 16, and follow the signs), it is home to herds of...
15 ReviewsChipmunks, much like squirrels are the entertainers of the forest but what to us is entertainment, for the chipmunk is the work of storing food for the winter. They just move so fast it appears...
1 ReviewAs you drive around Golden, you will see these BIGHORN SHEEP abundant throughout the Rockies. The large rams are best viewed in the winter months when they are at lower elevations; in summer, most of...
4 ReviewsPeyto Lake is one of the most photographed lakes in Banff National Park. As you go from lake to lake with the mountain parks, you will notice that all are incredibly coloured, but each one is a...
4 ReviewsWe found there to be a nice mix of reasonably priced shops along with the insanely expensive ones. We actually bought stuff at just a couple of them.
Unique Canadian Alps had a lot of Tshirts and...
3 ReviewsThe tunnels are located along the TransCanada Highway (Hwy #1), a short drive west of Lake Louise, and east of Field, British Columbia (a short distance east of the turn off to Yoho Valley Road that...
Tower of Babel by Moraine LakeHead to Moraine Lake and go up to the Rock Pile. Now look left, the tower you see is what you will conquer! This hike isn’t for everyone, it’s an hour of two of going straight up loose scree but it ends with an amazing payoff for the amount of time you spend hiking. You end up on top of the towering spire with amazing views of Moraine Lake, Consolation Lakes and Mount Temple. The best part is being able to enjoy these views in the living room; over the years people have built a couch, chairs, TV and table with rocks. Give me a call at work (Cathedral Mountain Lodge) and I'd love to share tips on the best route to take to get up here!
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The Centre of Alberta
by canuckmike
The very middle or the centre of Alberta is marked with a statue of a bear and there is a trail going to it. The access point for the trail is located a little of halfway between Swan Hills and Fort Assiniboine along Highway 33 (Grizzly Trail). It's about a 3 kilometre hike to the centre from the road. I've read there are two trails but I only saw one. I guess it was an ATV trail which was about 1/4 muddy and had to walk through the trees to avoid the muddy wet spots. The trail is fairly well marked with signs and there is a picnic area at the centre.
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Gopher Hole Museum
by canuckmike
God Bless Alberta. Where else can you take a bunch of dead animals, stuff them, dress them up like the local town folk and call it a museum. In Torrington they did just that. Torrington seems to have a love-hate relationship with gophers. These little critters destroy the local crops but because of the museum they bring in the tourist dollar from all around to a town that would literally see almost no tourists. The museum itself is about the size of a large trailer and has around 40 different exhibits of stuffed gophers. The taxidermy is done quite nicely as well as the paint job for the sets. There is a fat book of newspaper clippings of the museum and a guest book with people from literally all over the world. The gift shop is quite lackluster but the idea of the museum makes some of the souvenirs interesting. Entrance to the museum is $2 for adults. The town fire hydrants are painted...
the Olympic toilets
by richiecdisc
I did spend a little time in Calgary in 1994 on my first trip to the area but on my recent pass in 2008, we just drove through. It was a Sunday, quite dead, and we still had a lot of driving to do so a stop was out of the question. We did, however need to use a restroom so could not resist to stop in the Olympic Park. Home to the 1988 Winter Olympics, it is still used for things like kids hockey leagues and general recreation. It was a cold blustery afternoon so we took a very brief look around, used the restrooms and got back on the road. D posed for posterity on the medal stand next to the Olympic flame. Notice she is in the gold position, one she very much deserves after her 2008 hiking/backpacking/camping outing!
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World's Largest Wagon Wheel and Pick
by canuckmike
The World's Largest Wagon Wheel and Pick is located in Fort Assiniboine. Fort Assiniboine is located about 80 minutes northwest of Edmonton near the Athabasca River along Highway 33 and has a population of around 200. The pick is 20 feet while the wagon wheel is 24 feet and was opened on the 20th of July, 2005. Right next to it is a museum in the fashion of a Hudson Bay fort. It was closed when I was there.
Whitla
by iwys
Whitla is a truly off the beaten path place. It is a place that before I started my journey across the Prairies I had never heard of, but it is a place with a unique, wistful atmosphere that I will never forget. There was a heavy summer silence, broken only by the cry of a kestrel soaring above the grain elevators.I couldn't better this evocative description of the place: "Whitla is a whole street of abandoned buildings. Located 20 miles southwest of Medicine Hat, it is a real ghost town. The town began with the opening of the area to homesteading in 1908. It was named for R. J. Whitla, a Winnipeg merchant who visited the district in 1885 when it was a mere siding on the newly built Turkey Track Railway. In 1910 there was a general store followed by a lumberyard, a hardware store, a farm machinery firm, a Union Bank, several cafes, and three auto repair shops. During 1917 drought, dust...
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World's Largest Tractor Weather Vane
by canuckmike
The worlds' largest tractor weather vane is located in the town of Westlock which is about an hour northish of Edmonton. Westlock is on the intersection of highways 18 and 44. The weather vane itself is located on the westren edge of the town in the area of the tractor museum (I didn't visit the tractor museum). Go west along highway 18 and you should see it quite quickly, I don't remember the exact road it's on. It's a functioning weather vane as I saw it move around in the wind.
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Consider walking sticks
by CraigT
After observing several hikers using walking sticks we visited an outdoor supply store and got the salesman's take on their advantages. We finally chose Leki walking sticks, the Cadillac of sticks. The telescoping rods were sturdy, comfortable to hold, and the shock absorbers were a real plus. After getting used to the initial rhythm of walking with the new sticks we soon found their great advantage. We covered more ground with more stability and we arrived much more refreshed. We increased our hiking distances by 2 and 3 fold. Our initial paths were at Lake Maligne and nearby Moose Lake. We would highly recommend walking sticks for those wanting to enjoy their hikes at a different level. Don't discount the value of the shock absorbers in a high end stick.
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The Legacy
by canuckmike
The Legacy is the world's largest bucking saddle bronc horse & rider. It was created for the 100th anniversary of the Town of Ponoka (the town got it's name from the Blackfoot word for elk). Ponoka is located around 1 hour south of Edmonton and 5 km east of Queen Elizabeth 2 Highway. The statue itself is located along the west side of highway 2A in Centennial Park. Centennial Park also has a mini golf and a museum near by.
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Rowley - a ghost town
by vtveen
Rowley is one of Alberta’s ghost towns, although not completely deserted. There are still 10 or 15 people living. Some of the old buildings are restored and the village has even a coupel of museums. The Railway Museum is situated in an old railway carriage, close to the weathered grain elevators. During our visit on a grey and rainy Sunday old shops, buildings and the 'famous' Sam's in the ‘main street’ Saloon were closed for visitors. But normally this saloon is the heart of the copmmunity.DirectionsWe reached Rowley through typical rural Alberta landscape with grain and cole seed along the dirt roads. The ghost town is located north of Drumheller: first take Highway 9, follow Highway 56 and after 10 km turn left on a gravel road (3 km) to Rowley.
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