text:
Alberta

Alberta spans great, contrasting sceneries of mountains, forests and prairies. It offers the visitor six UNESCO World Heritage sites, preserving mountain vistas (Banff and Jasper National Parks), the world's largest inland delta and largest protected boreal forest (Wood Buffalo National Park), one of the world's great dinosaur fossil beds (Dinosaur Provincial Park), historic Indigenous rock art (Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park), and ancient buffalo hunting sites (Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump). And for sports fans, this is the home one of the world's greatest rodeos every July in Calgary, two famous professional ice hockey teams, and one of the longest ski seasons in the northern hemisphere. Like colder versions of other oil towns (Houston comes to mind), the burgeoning cities of Edmonton and Calgary are adding new skyscrapers, museums, art galleries, concert venues, and libraries as these cities are still very much in their youth.

Alberta, Canada's fourth largest province by size and population, stretches from British Columbia at the Rocky Mountains in the west, to Saskatchewan in the east and from the Northwest Territories in the north, to Montana, U.S.A. in the south.

Alberta is a huge province, about three times the size of the United Kingdom (from where many of its people can trace a heritage) or nearly as large as Texas (with which is shares a historic connection though the cattle and petroleum industries). In this huge expanse of territory, only four and half million Albertans reside, and about half of those live in just the two main cities of Calgary and Edmonton, with most of the rest of population clustered near the main highways. The rest of the province has a tiny population, but is far from empty: on this land you will find Indigenous cultures that have survived here for thousands of years, rural settlements with a proud pioneering history, and new immigrants arriving daily from all corners of the world in one of the developed world's wealthiest and fastest-growing regions.

Alberta is not well known by non-Canadians, but if you do know much about it you might associate the province with the Rocky Mountains (which in truth are only found along Alberta's western boundary), perhaps the 1988 Winter Olympics which were held in Calgary, the cowboy country of Southern Alberta, or the controversial "oil sands"/"tar sands" of Fort McMurray.

In a province as large and dynamic as Alberta, there shouldn't be any problem finding enough to see and do, no matter what your travel style is.

Cities

Below are 8 cities frequently considered to have the most interest for the visitor.

 * - the capital city of Alberta and the second largest urban population (1,010,899 city; 1,418,118 metro region). Known for the largest urban parks system in North America, North America's largest indoor shopping mall, and is self-proclaimed as "Canada's Festival City".  Also home to Western Canada's largest indoor museum (since 2018), a huge outdoor museum, the provincial art gallery, a science centre, and an iconic pyramid-shaped plant conservatory.
 * - Alberta's largest city (1,306,784 city; 1,481,806 metro region). It is home to a beautiful river, nice museum, high-rise architecture, a world class zoo, and shopping. Famous for the 1988 Winter Olympics and the annual Calgary Stampede.
 * - vacation destination in the Rockies offering a variety of outdoor activities. By far the busiest resort town in Alberta and one of the most popular in all of North America.
 * - the dinosaur-lover's mecca, site of the Royal Tyrell Museum, the largest paleontology museum in Canada, set in the desert-like "badlands" landscape.
 * - Banff's northerly neighbour - less visited than Banff but no less stunning.
 * - a city in southern Alberta with a population of about 93,000 and most famous for "coulees" (canyons) and proximity to four world heritage sites.
 * - is in southern Alberta with a population nearing 60,000. The main stop on the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Regina, Saskatchewan and jumping-off point for the Cypress Hills.
 * - midway between Edmonton and Calgary and, with about 100,000 people, the third largest city in the province behind those two. The main centre for tourist services in Central Alberta.

Other destinations

 * DSC2528 Morraine Lake Banff National Park, Alberta.jpg - the oldest and most famous of all of Canada's national parks, and home to the town of Banff which holds unique shopping and entertainment. Outside that, there's Lake Louise and world class skiing, hiking, and camping
 * - free ranging bison ("buffalo") and wapiti near Edmonton
 * - a series of parks, campgrounds, and rustic lodges, along Highway 11 between Red Deer and the Rocky Mountains.
 * - beautiful mountain and shopping attractions without the hustle of Banff
 * - Alberta's Ukrainian ethnic enclave in Edmonton's eastern hinterland
 * - major natural recreation area in southern Alberta at the foot of the Rockies south of Calgary
 * - a true natural gem in the Rockies in Alberta's extreme southwest
 * - the largest national park in Canada home to the world's largest freshwater delta and free-ranging wood bison ("buffalo")

Understand
The province of Alberta inherited its name from one of the old districts of the North West Territories, which was named after an English princess, Louis Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyll (1848 – 1939), the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Since Alberta gained self-government as a province in 1905, its capital has been Edmonton, which is roughly in the middle of the province, while the main centre in terms of corporate headquarters is Calgary to the south. Most of the population of Alberta lives along the "Highway 2 Corridor" between Edmonton and Calgary, although Lethbridge to the south, Grande Prairie to the northwest, and Fort McMurray to the northeast are also notable settlements of 50,000 or more.

Alberta is by far the richest province in Canada in terms of average salary. Its wealth is derived mainly from oil and gas production, though historically farming and cattle raising were important. Ranching maintains an important place in the economy and culture, particularly in Southern Alberta and seventy percent of the Canadian cattle herd is in Alberta. Alberta is subject to repeated booms and busts tied to the price of oil (and gas): when the United States began producing more oil and gas through fracking in the 2010s Alberta's economy suffered for most of the next decade, with the next Albertan boom not starting until the onset of the Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine (2022-present) and the consequent spike in energy prices.

Alberta is widely considered to be the most conservative area of Canada, however this is relative: Alberta has universal medical insurance, a social safety net and well-funded public education in a way that would seem "left wing" to many Americans. Nevertheless, Alberta is definitely distinct from the other provinces and has historically had a tense relationship with the federal government in Ottawa, mostly over control of natural resources. These days Albertan conservatism tends to express itself as a pro-business, pro-corporate and pro-development attitude, and a suspicion of environmentalism, especially if its thought be to unfairly targeted against Alberta's petroleum industry by climate scientists and biased "outsiders" (usually other Canadians, but occasionally foreigners as well). This won't affect the average traveller, and many benefit as Alberta's taxes are lower than that of the rest of Canada (there is no provincial sales tax).

History
Deep in the interior of North America and cut off from the coasts by the Rockies to the west and the rugged Canadian Shield to the north and east, Alberta was one of the last parts of North America explored by Europeans, last to be effectively controlled by a colonial force, and the last agricultural region to be settled by non-Indigenous people. Yet this area experienced several dramatic turns in a few short decades, and went from being mostly wilderness in 1870 when it joined Canada (as a sort of colony) to a mostly agricultural but economically struggling full province by 1930, to the urbanized economic powerhouse of Canada by the 1970s, to major global investment hub and migration destination by the early 2000s, to global environmental pariah in the 2010s.

The original inhabitants were (and are) the various Indigenous people s, who belong to a number of different ethno-linguistic groups (usually called "First Nations" in Canada, not "tribes" as in the US), namely the Cree, Blackfoot, Sarcee, Stoney, Chipewyan, Beaver, and Slavey. These peoples were all nomadic hunters at the time of European contact, so travellers will not find any giant temples or monuments to see. There are however, "stone circles" (like smaller versions of Stonehenge) and rock art (painting and carvings) as well as archaeological remains of camps and hunting sites, including World Heritage sites at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park and Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.

European goods arrived, second-hand, in what would be Alberta long before the European themselves did and the local Indigenous people were able to take advantage of the horse, firearms, metal tools, and so on, to make their lives much easier. However, with this trade new diseases were introduced that repeatedly devastated local communities over several centuries, opening the way for European expansion. Alberta was never seriously contested by any other European power besides Britain, or more precisely the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), a privately-owned British corporation that made money by selling animal furs in England. The HBC did have to fend off incursions from other trading companies, however, by building posts further inland, reaching Edmonton by 1795. At the same time Christian missionaries from various denominations were competing to convert the natives, often setting up missions within the walls of the trading posts. Trading posts are preserved or rebuilt at several places around the province, notably Dunvegan, Fort Edmonton Park, Fort George and Buckingham House, Fort Victoria, and Rocky Mountain House, with major missionary sites at the Mission Hill historic district of St. Albert, Fort Victoria, and Pigeon Lake.

The HBC recruited its traders mostly from French Canada and Scotland's Orkney Islands. These traders often had temporary "country marriages" with local Indigenous women while posted in Canada, and from these mixed marriages by the 1810s, a new population had emerged and moved into the void left by the decimation of the original groups: the "half-breeds", known in French (and nowadays, also in English) as the Métis. Métis history is notably present at St. Albert and the Métis Crossing historic site.

When the new country of Canada bought the HBC's claim to what later became Alberta in 1869, the tiny population (perhaps ten thousand) was mostly First Nations or Métis. In order to solidify Canada's claim on the region, the famous "mounties" (North-West Mounted Police) were sent to Alberta in 1874, establishing outposts at Fort Walsh, Cardston, Lethbridge, and Fort Macleod near the American border, and Fort Calgary and Fort Saskatchewan further north There are reconstructions of those forts preserved as open-air museums in Fort Macleod and Fort Saskatchewan and a museum on the former site of Fort Calgary. Although called "police", these were paramilitary forts responsible for negotiating treaties with Indigenous peoples, expelling American traders and hunters who had moved across the so-called "medicine line" (49th parallel), and generally asserting Canada's claim to the area. The site of the signing of Treaty #7 between Canada and the Blackfoot Confederacy in 1877 is commemorated at Blackfoot Crossing.

At this time, Indigenous people in central and southern Alberta were suffering from the near-extinction of the bison, once their primary food source, so they signed treaties in the hope of getting desperately needed emergency assistance from the Canadians. When this aid didn't always arrive when and where it was needed or without strings attached, some Cree people in Alberta decided to join a campaign of violent resistance against Canada started by a Métis community in nearby Saskatchewan. The result was the massacre of white settlers at Frog Lake in 1885, the only instance of such an attack in Alberta's history. Canada responded by sending in the military via the newly-completed Canadian Pacific Railway, crushing Indigenous resistance, hanging several warriors, confining whole communities to their small reserve lands, taking away the children to be educated in missionary schools and generally beginning a long and dark chapter of Indigenous disenfranchisement in Alberta.

At the same time the federal government offered incentives for settlers to come to Alberta, and hundreds of thousands of people arrived in Alberta between 1885 and the First World War, many from elsewhere in Canada, but also with significant ethnic pockets in various regions, such as Austro-Hungarian subjects (Ukrainians, Poles, Romanians, etc.) in Eastern Alberta, Scandinavians in Central Alberta, and American Mormons in Southern Alberta. With this new labour, the economy shifted to the mass export of unprocessed natural resources, notably beef, lumber, and, especially, wheat. Several living history and outdoor museums interpret this era of mass settlement in Alberta, the largest of which are Fort Edmonton Park, Heritage Park in Calgary, and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. For sites related to expansion of particular industries, try Leitch Collieries or Atlas Coal Mine for coal mining, the Reynolds Alberta Museum or Remington Carriage Museum for transportation and agriculture, or Bar U Ranch for cattle ranching.

Alberta received self-government as a province in 1905, with Edmonton as the capital and the Alberta Legislature Building was built soon thereafter in 1913 in the midst of a major land boom in that city. Most of the heritage buildings in the Old Strathcona neighbourhood in Edmonton date from this time.

The Great War was a tense time, with most of the British-descended majority enthusiastically backing the war effort and enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in huge numbers, while looking with suspicion upon those who did not join up, with many recently-arrived German and Austro-Hungarian subjects (most of whom were ethnic Ukrainians) placed on watch lists or even interned in camps. For the province's military story, see the Military Museums in Calgary and the Prince of Wales Armoury in Edmonton, and for the history of internment consult the two church-run Ukrainian museums in Edmonton or see the internment sites in person near Banff and Jasper.

As well there were tensions with the more urbanized parts of Central Canada, as Albertan farmers were profiting from high wartime prices. This prosperity ground to a halt when wheat prices collapsed in 1921, just as the rest of North America was enjoying the "roaring twenties". This reignited simmering political tensions and led to the election of a United Farmers party government committed to bold social and political experimentation: women's suffrage and farmer-owned cooperatives taking over grain exporting from private companies were the two boldest examples. Their efforts were all but destroyed by the Great Depression, however, and Alberta defaulted on its debts in 1935, just as the United Farmers were replaced by Social Credit party, radical in a very different way. Social Credit tried to abolish banking and replace it with government-provided loans and a universal basic income scheme, but the plans were blocked by the courts and the federal government. This might have led to further tensions, but the Second World War intervened, and all sides rallied to the colours. For more on the turbulent politics of the early 20th century visit the Alberta Legislature or Government House (the former lieutenant governor's mansion) in Edmonton.

The Second World War again resulted in a "suspect" ethnic group being put into camps, this time the Japanese, who were forced to work on sugar beet farms near Taber and built difficult mountain roads, such through the Yellowhead Pass near Jasper. Besides the thousands who enlisted to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, Alberta's other major contribution to the Allied war effort was the pilot training schools and network of airfields in Alberta that helped relay aircraft across to Alaska and on to the Soviet Union. This story is told at the Alberta Aviation Museum. Edmonton also served as the staging area for construction of the famous Alaska Highway, swelling its population with American engineers and soldiers.

Although natural gas had already been found decades earlier in the province, the decisive date in Alberta's economic history is February 13, 1947 when a major crude oil deposit was found at the Leduc No. 1 oil well near Edmonton. Within a generation, small towns mushroomed into major cities with new institutions. Notable landmarks from the 1950s and 1960s era include the main university campuses in Calgary and Lethbridge, the twin Jubilee Auditoria (concert halls) in Edmonton and Calgary, and the Calgary Tower and Edmonton's CN Tower. As well, many of the low-density residential suburbs ringing all of Alberta's town and cities date from this time.

During oil price spikes of the 1970s and 2000s, Alberta became one of the world's richest regions, attracting investment and immigrants from all over the globe, and this is reflected in the many skyscrapers in Edmonton and Calgary dating from those decades (or, more often, slightly after the boom had ended). But during price falls (the 1980s and 2010s) everything went into reverse, with companies and people leaving; while many projects were finished during these times that had been started earlier, almost no new major buildings were conceived or begun during these economic busts. For example Edmonton's famous giant shopping mall was planned in the 1970s but built in the 80s, Calgary's main arena and Olympic park were planned during good times but opened just ahead of the 1988 Winter Olympics in the midst of a otherwise depressed economy, and Edmonton's new provincial art gallery, provincial museum, main arena, and main library, were all built in the 2010s but with money made during the 2000s. Likewise, the two tallest buildings in the province the Stantec Tower (66 stories, 250 m, 2019) in Edmonton and Brookfield Place East (56 stories, 247 m, 2017) in Calgary were both planned during a boom and finished during a bust. The booms and bust don't just produce new buildings, the also destroy old ones: there are very few pre-1947 buildings left in most of central Calgary or Edmonton because they were bulldozed in boom times to make room for something new, allowed to deteriorate during busts until they were un-salvageable, or just demolished to save money: famously Calgary's main central hospital was blown up in 1998 as a cost-cutting measure by a austerity-minded provincial government.

As cyclical as the main cities are, in resource-dependent towns like Fort McMurray or Grande Prairie, the changes from boom to bust are even more dramatic. These are problems that Albertans have been grappling with for decades now, but they have grown more complicated since the 2010s as Indigenous people have reasserted their political influence over land-use decisions (particularly the route of pipelines) and international environmental opinion has turned against the fossil fuel industry. In the 2020s Alberta will certainly be one of the hot spots in a global debate over the future of the energy industry.

Climate
"Just like springtime in Alberta / warm sunny days under skies of blue. / And then without a warming, / Another winter storm comes ragin' through."

- Ian Tyson

All of Alberta has a continental climate and is in the rain shadow of the Rockies, meaning it's mostly dry and there are profound differences between the seasons. Within Alberta there is considerable variation from north to south.

Northern Alberta has a subarctic climate; outside of Siberia, northern Alberta has some of the most dramatic seasonal variations in the world, with winter averages nearly 40 degrees Celsius lower than summer averages. Snow that falls in November often doesn't melt until April. Summers are brief but warm and dry.

The central and southern parts of the province are slightly warmer and drier than the north. The far south is effected in winter by the "Chinook winds" from the Pacific that can raise the temperature 20 °C in a matter of hours, so snow often melts there even in otherwise cold months. Summers are warm and very dry, with almost no rain showers and most summer precipitation being brought only by thunderstorms.

Read
As Alberta is a land of Indigenous peoples and immigrants, it should not be surprising some of Alberta's greatest literature is not in the English language. One of the greatest poets of the Icelandic language, Stephan G. Stephansson (1853 – 1927), lived on a pioneer farm in Central Alberta. Some of his poetry references his time in Alberta and is available in translation.

Perhaps the two most famous modern novels set in Alberta are about the struggles of ethnic minorities in this often majoritarian province. Obisan (1981) is the definitive novel of the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War and is considered a classic of Canadian literature. Green Grass, Running Water (1993) is a novel of magical realism that intertwines a modern-day reworking of an Indigenous Blackfoot creation story with ordinary events on the Blackfoot Indian Reserve in Southern Alberta. Obasan Green_Grass,_Running_Water

Watch
There are many movies and television shows that have been filmed in Alberta, but not set here (usually Alberta is masquerading as the Western United States). To see some of Alberta's best scenery, you can watch major Hollywood releases like Unforgiven (1992), The Revenant (2015), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Inception (2010), and Legends of the Fall (1994), and the HBO Series The Last of Us (2023-). But if you want to see something actually set in Alberta, try the television series Heartland (2007-2020).

Tourist information

 * Travel Alberta website

Talk
English is the main language spoken by most people in Alberta, and 98% of the population understands it to some degree. The main minority languages are French (6.7%), Tagalog (3.5%), and Spanish (2.6%), and although there are many other languages spoken by small communities within Alberta, you should only expect services at most businesses in English. The notable exceptions to this rule is that French is available at all federal government institutions (national parks, post offices, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachments), and services at provincial and municipal government offices are available in French in a few areas with significant Francophone communities. You might also find French services in the Campus Saint-Jean in Bonnie Doon neighbourhood, Edmonton.

First Nations languages such as Cree, Dené and Blackfoot are spoken to varying degrees among those communities as both mother tongue and as a second language, but travellers at First Nations art galleries or powwows (gatherings) will have no trouble being understood in English.

By plane
Calgary and Edmonton have international airports. Calgary's is the third largest in Canada (by passenger volume). It serves as the base of low-priced airline WestJet, which provides service to North American (mainly Canadian), Mexican and Caribbean destinations. Edmonton's was the fastest growing in Canada (before COVID) with multiple recent expansions, and had recovered to pre-pandemic levels as of early 2023. International service is provided by several carriers at both locations, including multiple direct flights to London and Frankfurt each day. Other destinations are usually connected to through Vancouver or Toronto. Both airports act as collection points, Calgary for the prairie provinces, and Edmonton for destinations in the Canadian North like Grande Prairie and Yellowknife.

By train

 * Operates the following routes in Alberta:
 * The Canadian (between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia) two to three times per week. Stops in Alberta include Edmonton and Jasper. Other major stops include from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba
 * "The Skeena" (between Jasper and Prince Rupert, British Columbia) Trip involves an overnight stay in Prince George, British Columbia. Operates twice per week.

There is no passenger rail service into Calgary, except for the exorbitantly-priced, slow and irregular Royal Canadian Pacific. The Rocky Mountaineer operates luxury sightseeing trains out of Vancouver to Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff, with an overnight stop in Kamloops, in the summer months. While much cheaper than the Royal Canadian Pacific, the Rocky Mountaineer still sports a hefty price tag. The route Jasper uses part of the same track as The Canadian, but only travels during daylight hours, thus maximizing the time you will get to enjoy the scenery. These run as nostalgia, not as practical transportation.

By bus

 * The following routes travel between Alberta and out of province destinations:
 * Between Vancouver and Calgary via cities including Kamloops and Banff.
 * Between Regina and Edmonton via cities including Saskatoon and Lloydminster.
 * Between Regina and Calgary via cities including Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
 * Between Regina and Calgary via cities including Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.

By car
There are land border crossing with the United States at (form west to east) Chief Mountain, Carway, Del Bonita, Coutts, Aden, and Wild Horse. The most important of which certainly Coutts, which connects Interstate 15 to Alberta Highway 4 onward to Lethbridge. Some of these may not operate 24 hours per day at all times of the year, so plan to cross the border during daylight hours or check the Canada Border Services Agency website for exact times.

To enter from British Columbia, there are a limited number highways (generally through mountain passes) that can be used, from north to south the most notable are where Highway 2 (in British Columbia) / Highway 43 (Alberta) crosses near Dawson Creek, Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) at Yellowhead Pass in Jasper National Park, Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) at Kicking Horse Pass, Highway 93 crosses at Vermilion Pass, and Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) Crowsnest Pass.

From Saskatchewan, since there are no mountains in the way there are literally thousands of local roads connecting the two provinces but the main ones of interest to tourists would be (from north to south) the Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) connecting Saskatoon to Edmonton; Saskatchewan 14 where it meets Alberta 13 to connect either Saskatoon or Regina to Red Deer; Saskatchewan 7 where it meets Alberta 9 connecting Saskatoon to Calgary, Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) to connect Regina to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Calgary.

From the Northwest Territories there is only one highway (NWT 1, Alberta 35), plus the option of using the infamous "ice roads" in the winter.

By thumb
Hitchhiking is illegal and rare in Alberta, so this is not recommended, but it is possible if you're willing to take your chances.

By bicycle
The vast distances make cycling across Western Canada all but impossible, the lack of dedicated infrastructure also makes it relatively dangerous, and the sparsity of things to see in the spaces between towns (outside of the Rockies) makes it quite boring. This should not stop you from cycling within certain parts of Alberta, which is a much more manageable project. But if you're extremely fit, have  lots of time to spare  and like a challenge, you can legally cycle on all of Alberta's highways or try the part of the Trans Canada Trail that crosses the province.

Get around
Alberta is quite large and sparsely populated, as are most Canadian provinces. For some comparisons with other parts of the Commonwealth, Alberta is twice as big as Rajasthan (the largest state in India) but with 1/16th of its population, or three-quarters the size of Nigeria, but with 1/50th of the population.

Albertan cities are infamous for their low-density "suburban sprawl" and are thus really big, area wise and difficult to walk without at least a little assistance from other modes of travel. Luckily both Edmonton and Calgary have bicycle paths, light rail transit (LRT) trains, extensive bus networks, taxi fleets, ride-hailing apps, and since 2019 rentable electric scooters. Outside of those two cities, however, options are more limited.

Car travel is almost essential unless you plan on staying within Edmonton or Calgary. It is certainly possible, though expensive, to fly to many of the smaller cities from Edmonton or Calgary, although those places are even more car-dependent so you would need to rent a car while there or be essentially stranded. An inter-city "bus" (coach) is much cheaper than a flight but will take up a lot of time given the distances involved and still leaves you without a car when you arrive in an isolated small town.

By car

Driving regulations are the same as in most of Canada. Turning right (far right lane into far right lane) on a red light is allowed. Drunk driving is taken very seriously, but is disproportionately seen in rural areas; take care when driving there at night. Wildlife is another major concern. When driving on the highways, maintain a reasonable speed and look for sudden movements on the side. The most common animal hit is the deer (white-tailed or mule), which is usually not fatal for the car. But running into an elk or moose could be so. Moose are very dark coloured so keep a close eye out for them. If you see animals on the side of the road it is common to want to slow down. Do so in a safe manner and don't needlessly impede traffic. Don't get out of your car to see the animals.

The Government of Alberta operates 511 Alberta,a free traveller information service that may be accessed via phone, mobile device, or computer. The information covers highway conditions, roadwork, major incidents, weather alerts, availability of ferry services, and waiting times at border crossings. Users within Alberta may access the information via phone toll-free by simply calling 5-1-1, similar to the way they would call 9-1-1 for emergencies or 4-1-1 for directory assistance. Computer and mobile device users may also visit the 511 Alberta web site at www.511.alberta.ca. Likewise the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) is another good source of specific information. Calgary and Edmonton offer traffic radio stations - government-funded radio that only reports accidents, construction and weather. Watch for signs featuring the frequency in these cities.

Do not heed any warning about Albertan drivers being the most aggressive drivers in Canada - a common myth. They are not more so than Toronto and certainly are nothing compared with Southern Europe. High speeds and lane changes without signalling are generally the worst it gets.

By bus

See
Driving west out of Calgary towards British Columbia, the Rockies rise dramatically and quickly. The drive through Banff, Jasper or Glacier National Park can be quite spectacular. The Icefields Parkway between the towns of Banff and Jasper is definitely not to be missed.

In Edmonton, West Edmonton Mall is one of the province's larger attractions. With over 800 retail shops and the world's largest indoor entertainment centre, it's entertaining even for the non-shoppers. Edmonton calls itself "Canada's Festival City" so there are many things to do throughout the summer, most notably the world's second oldest and largest Fringe Theatre Festival (just behind Edinburgh) in mid-August, the Edmonton Heritage Festival, the world's largest festival devoted to multiculturalism (first weekend of August), and a large midway and free-admission concert series in July called K-Days. The city also boasts North America's largest urban parkland system, which is very beautiful and completes the skyline over the North Saskatchewan River Valley. Calgary offers the Calgary Stampede, the wild west-themed festival held every July complete with rodeos and fairs. One should also check out the Calgary Zoo and get a view from the top of the Calgary Tower.

Itineraries
It is easy for people from more densely populated and well-travelled Old World countries visiting Alberta (or Canada) to underestimate the vast distances involved, and the sparse availability of tourist-focused accommodations (as opposed to industry-focused), and other tourist services in the rural areas. Nevertheless, with proper research and planning, a pleasant trip is easily achievable.

On the way to Alaska
Many Americans pass through Alberta on their way to the famous Alaska Highway. There are numerous routes to take to get to the start of the highway at Dawson Creek near the B.C.-Alberta border. The exact route you choose will largely depend on where in the United States you are coming from. Most people with budget and time constraints pick their route first and decide what to see along the way later. If, however, you are interested in seeing the best of Alberta, even if it takes you off the most direct path, then consult the "circle tour" below, which can easily be modified into a through route by doing either the western (Rocky Mountain) or eastern (prairie) sections. If, however, you are mostly concerned about "making time", the most direct route from Montana would be Alberta Highway 2 (also called the Queen Elizabeth II Highway or "QE2") from Interstate 15 to Edmonton, a short bit of Alberta Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway), then Alberta Highway 43 to Grande Prairie, and a short bit of Highway 2 again to Dawson.

If time and money are no object, there is also the famous "scenic route to Alaska" (if you think the thousands of miles of wilderness you're about to pass through aren't long and scenic enough) which follows Alberta Highway 40 and which provides a beautiful but isolated route from the Rockies to Grand Prairie.

Circle tour
Assuming you were starting in Calgary, had a week or more to spend, and didn't mind a few longer drives, this would cover virtually every major attraction in the province. It could be done in either direction, or using Edmonton or Lethbridge as the starting or end points instead. From Calgary International Airport, drive 80 km (1 hr) to find Diamond Valley (former twin towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley) which hosts Alberta's early energy industry history at the Turner Valley Gas Plant historic site (seasonal May to September). From there learn about two different historic industries at Bar U Ranch National Historic Site (35 km, 30 min) to learn about cowboy culture, then 129 km (1½ hr) to Crowsnest Pass to see the coal mining history of the region at Frank Slide and Leitch Collieries historic sites and a restored police barracks at the Crowsnest Museum. Camp or rent a cabin in Crowsnest.

The next day, drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump (140 km, 1½ hr) to learn about ancient Indigenous hunting practices and then continue to Waterton Lakes National Park (100 km, 1 hr) to see the Rockies up close and stay there a day or two to hike, or take the lake ferry into Montana (USA) and back. On the next travel day, drive to Cardston (55 km, ¾ hr) to see the grain elevators, Mormon temple, and Remington-Alberta Carriage Museum, then on to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (155 km, 1½ hr) to see the petroglyphs (rock carvings). This is the southernmost point, where you could continue into Montana if you like. You can also camp here or drive to Lethbridge (130 km, 1½ hr) for your choice of hotels and see the Japanese gardens while you are there. An extension is possible here to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park as well.

From Lethbridge, it's 200 km (2¼ hr) to Dinosaur Provincial Park where you can have a guided bus tour and walk in the "badlands" and see the dig site where many of Alberta's dinosaur fossils have been found, and another 170 km (1¾ hr) to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller where those same fossils are displayed in one of the world's greatest dinosaur exhibits. Camping and hotels are both available in "Drum" but plan ahead as it is very busy during high season. The next day drive 30 km (½ hr) north to the ghost town of Rowley (Alberta) to sight-see (or nearby Big Valley to see the "creation museum") before continuing to Wetaskiwin (190 km, 2 hr), to see the Reynolds-Alberta Museum with its huge collection of automobiles, aircraft, and machinery. The following day, drive 110 km (1¼ hr) to Elk Island National Park to explore the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village outdoor museum explaining Alberta's Eastern European heritage (seasonal May to September) and see the famous bison (buffalo) herds, then camp here or drive to Edmonton for a hotel (35 km to the easternmost suburbs, 50 km to the City Centre). While there, get lost in Canada's largest shopping mall and entertainment complex and see the art gallery, museum, and arena. This is the northernmost point on this itinerary, but only the centre of Alberta. Continue north from here if you are going to the Alaska Highway, for example.

Edmonton to Jasper is the longest stretch on this itinerary at nearly 4 hours, so consider stopping at Wabamun Lake or Pembina River Provincial Park for a picnic, or go in to Edson or Hinton for a restaurant meal, or shorten the trip and stay in a cabin or tipi (indigenous-style tent) in Brule. At Jasper, you are back in the Rockies with lots of hikes to do or a gondola to ride if you prefer.

From Jasper the world-famous Icefields Parkway (230 km, 3 hr) takes you to Lake Louise, reputed to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you can afford it, the Chateau Lake Louis hotel is one of Canada's most famous, otherwise proceed to Banff (55 km, 45 min) or Canmore (an additional 25 km, 20 min) for more reasonable accommodations but still in the beautiful setting of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. There are more hikes and drives from here and the town of Banff is also home to several historic sites and museums and lots of touristy shops. From here, you can make side trips to Kananaskis Country for more mountains or Cochrane to get back to cowboy country.

Finally from Canmore to Calgary's airport is 120 km, or 1 hr 15 min in good traffic.

Icefields Parkway
Considered one of the world's most scenic single-day drives, from Lake Louise to Jasper, you drive right past the edge of the Columbia Glacier, the largest glacier in northern hemisphere outside of the Arctic.

This can easily to turned into a circle tour (see above) by adding stops in Edmonton and Calgary. It can also be part of a route to Alaska by linking with Alberta Highway 40 (see above).

Big stuff tour
During the mid twentieth century there was a mania for building roadside attractions in Alberta, especially if it could be called the "world's largest". For example:
 * World's biggest Baseball Bat – Edmonton (North Edmonton)
 * World's largest Baseball glove – Heisler
 * World's biggest Beaver – Beaverlodge
 * World's biggest Bee – Falher
 * World's biggest Chuckwagon – Dewberry
 * World's biggest Dinosaur – Drumheller
 * World's biggest Dragonfly – Wabamun
 * World's biggest Golf Putter – Bow Island
 * World's largest Golf Tee – Trochu
 * World's biggest Mallard Duck – Whitford Lake Bird Sanctuary (Andrew)
 * World's biggest Mushrooms – Vilna
 * World's largest Oil Lamp – Donalda
 * World's biggest Perogy – Glendon
 * World's biggest Piggy Bank – Crowsnest Pass (Coleman)
 * World's biggest Pysanka Easter Egg – Vegreville
 * World's largest Railroad Spike – Hines Creek
 * World's biggest Sausage – Mundare
 * Susie the World's largest Softball – Chauvin
 * World's biggest Star Trek Enterprise Replica – Vulcan
 * World's biggest Sun dial – Lloydminster
 * World's biggest Tipi – Medicine Hat
 * World's first UFO landing pad – St. Paul
 * World's largest Weather Vane – Westlock
 * World's largest Western Boot – Edmonton (West End)

For more, visit: Large Canadian Roadside Attractions

Indigenous tourism
The major year-round places to learn about Indigenous culture would be the Royal Alberta Museum in Central Edmonton, Fort Edmonton Park in West Edmonton, the Glenbown Museum in downtown Calgary, the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum in Banff, Blackfoot Crossing on the Siksika reserve near Strathmore, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump near Fort Macleod, Heritage Park in Calgary, Tsuut'ina Nation Culture/Museum just outside Calgary. Seasonal sites include Metis Crossing in Kalyna Country, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park near Milk River, and the Majorville Cairn and Medicine Wheel near Bassano. One of the best ways to see Indigenous culture up close is to take in a "powwow" (a festival centred around dancing, drumming, and singing competitions). Most "reserves" (as First Nations communities are often called) have at least one each summer; for a listing see Windspeaker. There are also two famous ones attached to the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton's "K-Days" fair in July. Several stand-alone powwows are also found in cities now as well, often around National Indigenous Day on June 20th. Events are also common around National Truth and Reconciliation Day in late September or during National Métis Week during the first week of November. Increasingly, Indigenous themes are integrated into other types of festivals, such as the arts, notably the Dreamspeakers International Film Festival in Edmonton the last week of April and the Rubaboo Arts Festival the following week.

Indigenous-inspired cuisine is surprisingly difficult to find in Alberta, partly due to (overly?) strict regulations on using wild-harvested meats and plants. Compared to the Nordic countries, there is comparatively little emphasis on using wild foods among Albertan chefs. It is possible to find farmed bison and elk meat but it is much more expensive than beef for a similar taste, which perhaps explains the lack of uptake. The one Indigenous food than every Albertan knows, "bannock" (fry bread or flat bread), is very recent in origin. To be sure, for thousands of years Indigenous people here made various kinds of flat bread from flours made of maize, nuts, roots, and so on. But the modern recipe of wheat flour, lard, and baking soda, is entirely based on goods introduced by Canadian fur traders in the last 250 years. Nevertheless, bannock is considered thoroughly nativized, and you will find it at every museum and powwow.

Shopping for Indigenous souvenirs typically means leather clothing, especially moccasins (slippers) and mittens, decorated with glass beads. Other handicrafts could include tobacco pipes, saddles, parkas (fur coats) and ribbon skirts. Nowadays, however, many Indigenous artists prefer to work in media like sculpture and painting and their work can be found more often at art galleries than at souvenir shops on the sides of highways.

Do
The main attraction in Alberta (outside of the two big cities) are the open spaces and the proximity to nature. This is a good place to visit if you like the idea of outdoor life.

Outdoor life
Horse riding is a major attraction here, especially in the south and west: cowboy country. Guest ranches and trail rides are plentiful.

The ski resorts of Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park, and Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Norquay in Banff National Park dish up almost every kind of terrain for the hardcore skier, yet allow novice skiers to have fun through green runs and long cruising runs. If the crowds bother you, there are other, smaller, ski areas in the province.

Great hiking can be had in the Rockies or on Alberta's sections of the Trans Canada Trail.

There are a few lakes that allow one to do boating, "sea-dooing" (jetskiing) or most other watersports despite Alberta's landlocked nature.

There are many excellent golf courses available to the public across the provinces. Areas of particular interest include the mountain parks where Banff Springs, Jasper Park Lodge, Kananaskis Country, Stewart Creek, and Silver Tip are recognized as some of Canada's best courses. Central Alberta also offers several excellent courses, including Wolf Creek and Alberta Springs. In the Edmonton area, popular courses include the Northern Bear, Cougar Creek, The Ranch, and Goose Hummock. In Drumheller, the back nine of the Dinosaur Point Golf Course features several very dramatic and spectacular holes.

Offroad driving using "quad" bikes, trucks, dirtbikes, and even snowmobiles is practically the official sport in Alberta. If it is loud, fast, and spews noxious emissions, it can be bought or rented in Alberta.

Events
The biggest festivals in the province are the Calgary Stampede in July combining rodeo and carnival and Edmonton's Fringe Festival in August showcasing avant-garde theatre and street performers. However, hosting festivals has become the unofficial provincial obsession, especially in the short summer months, so expect local media and social media to have lots of suggestions every day from May to September and at least weekly the rest of the year. Notable genres of festival include modern folk music (Calgary, Edmonton, Canmore), film (Edmonton, Calgary, Banff), food trucks (Edmonton, Calgary), multi-ethnic food and dance (Edmonton, Calgary), rodeo (Calgary, Red Deer, Ponoka), as well as street festivals for each of the province's main ethnic communities, notably the Ukrainians (Edmonton, Calgary, Ukrainian Village museum, Vegreville, Lamont), Indigenous peoples (province-wide around summer solstice, as well as sporadically the rest of the year), and in Edmonton and Calgary: Caribbean carnivals, Latin American fiestas, Filipino street parties, and more.

Sports
Alberta is one of the world's heartlands of ice hockey. Two of world's top professional teams located here in Edmonton and Calgary playing from September to April, and if they qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, possibly as late as June. But if you'd just like an inexpensive taste of the game without overpriced beer, laser light shows, and deafening music that have infected the professional game, there are dozens of elite amateur and university teams found across the province. Hockey is so popular here that people had to enter a lottery just for the chance to buy tickets to the (later postponed) under-21 Men's World Championships in Edmonton and Red Deer in January 2022.

Winter sports more generally are easy to try here, with Calgary's Canada Olympic Park being a good place to try bobsleigh, for example. And every small town and city neighbourhood will have a skating rink with public skating times and a curling rink, where locals can show you how to throw a stone if you're willing to ask.

Rodeo is a major sport here as well, often tied in to the main fair of many towns, including even big-city Calgary. Check the "see" section above to watch rodeo, but you can't really "do" rodeo without being trained first. A better idea is to try a dude ranch first.

Learn
Alberta is a popular destination for international students, primarily at the university level, but also at colleges and high schools. There are dozens of institutions that are designated as international student ready, so the best idea is to consult the provincial government's website on the topic.

The most popular choice would undoubtedly be the University of Alberta in Edmonton which has one of Canada's largest medical schools and teaching hospitals as well as schools of dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, business, and others that are popular with foreign learners. Classes in all these disciplines are available in English and sometimes also in French. The University of Calgary also has a similar offering of faculties.

Eat
Since Alberta was settled after the industrial revolution was already well established, it completely lacks a regional food culture based on millennia of peasant traditions as one would expect in the Old World or even many local specialties based on a few generations of adaptation and hybridization as you might expect in longer-settled parts of North America. What it does have is an abundance of quality beef (and bison!), raised on its rich grasses and finished on local barley (not corn [maize], as in the US) and a high tolerance for international influences, going back right to the beginning when men from China's Fujian province often worked as cooks in railway-building camps. To this was added the British influence, American cowboy traditions, and continental European dishes. As a result the smallest towns will have a "Chinese café" usually serving an odd assortment of hamburgers, spring rolls, won ton soup, "perogies" (Ukrainian dumplings), and poutine. In the bigger towns and suburban neighbourhoods this quirky eclecticism has sadly been largely replaced by an assortment of chain restaurants. However, in the main resort towns of the Rockies one can find fine dining, and in the two major cities it is possible to find a number of more experimental restaurants as well as variety of ethnic dishes from every corner of the globe, due to recent immigration (Calgary has the province's only Uzbek restaurant, for example). The only thing truly hard to find is good seafood; but when in Rome do as the Romans do, and when in Alberta, go for beef. If you're vegetarian, you will still be distinctly in the minority and might suffer from a lack variety outside the major cities, though even the big chains are much better than in years past.

Drink (and smoke)
"Toronto may be rhythm and blues / but if you migrate here / you'll be howlin' at / that old Alberta moon."

- Ian Tyson

The drinking age is 18 - younger than most other provinces in Canada. Alcohol is available from the many private liquor stores and beer/wine stores throughout the province. Unlike other provinces, liquor retail is privatized, there's no government-owned alcohol monopoly; unlike most American states, you cannot buy alcohol directly in grocery stores, although many grocery stores have liquor stores in unattached buildings nearby.

Since 2018, possession of 30 grams of recreational cannabis has been legal everywhere in Canada. You can find cannabis retail stores in most towns and cities in Alberta, which has the most of any province. As with alcohol and unlike the other provinces Alberta has chosen to let private business do the selling.

Production of craft beer and spirits were significantly deregulated in 2015, leading to an explosion of new microbreweries and distilleries. The province is now home to a burgeoning craft scene. Even small towns like Lacombe are now home to breweries making once-obscure brews like fruited kettle sours.

Buy
The main attraction is West Edmonton Mall, which was the world's largest shopping centre from 1983 to 2004 and includes over 800 shops, an ice rink, an indoor waterslide park and wave pool, a bowling alley, a gun range, a minigolf course, an amusement park, a multiscreen cinema, a casino, two hotels, over 100 restaurants or food kiosks, several bars and nightclubs and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. This is really more of an enclosed neighbourhood than a "mall" as typically conceived. It is Alberta's most visited attraction with over 32 million visitors each year.

Besides that, there are other smaller malls, typical "high streets" in Edmonton and Calgary and two notably large "power centres" (outdoor malls), South Edmonton Common in Edmonton and CrossIron Mills in Balzac near Calgary.

Uniquely among the provinces, Alberta does not have a provincial sales tax, although the federal 5% sales tax still applies and is added to the price at the till and is not shown on price tags.

Stay safe
The following areas of Alberta are considered higher risk areas with respect to crime.
 * Calgary - walking during night hours should be avoided in the East Village, Victoria Park, and the Bow River Pathway between Eau Claire Market and the Calgary Zoo. These areas are prone to drugs and prostitution. There are panhandlers on various downtown streets.
 * Edmonton - an area northeast of downtown is a prostitution stroll. There is also a stretch of Whyte Avenue that can be a problem after 7PM, given its high bar concentration.

Otherwise, Alberta as a whole is a relatively safe area. However common sense should be applied. Do not leave valuables visible in vehicles and lock all vehicle doors.

Growth in urban centres in Alberta has led to increased traffic. Allow plenty of time to reach a destination, especially during rush hour or during adverse weather.

Alberta's weather is very changeable and volatile, especially in the mountains and the foothills and also during the spring season. Driving conditions can deteriorate quickly. Before going out, always check the local forecast. Road conditions are available through the Alberta Motor Association.

During winter strong Chinook winds in the foothills, especially south of Calgary, can blow a vehicle off the road. Highways 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22 and 23 south of Calgary are the most vulnerable to these conditions, with Highway 22 usually being the worst. Extra caution is advised, particularly for higher-height vehicles such as trucks and SUVs.

Alberta has had cases of the West Nile Virus. In the spring and summer, it is wise to be protected using Deet-based repellents.

The area within and around the mountain parks is bear country. Hikers, hunters and campers in these areas should follow all bear safety tips. Campsites should be kept clean, all dishes properly washed, and all tables wiped clean after a meal. Never leave any food or garbage loose or unattended. Hikers should travel as a group, make noise regularly and stay on established trails. Pets should be kept out of bear country.

Taxis can be in short supply in Calgary and Edmonton at times, especially during holidays, poor weather, and on weekends. It is advisable to phone ahead in the daytime for a reservation if you realize you may need a taxi. In most cases, taxis are easily available at the airports.

During summers tornadoes are not uncommon and happen most in central Alberta. Edmonton has been hit by many tornadoes, the biggest of which was an F4 in 1987. Hail is very common during these storms — usually very small but sometimes as big as softballs. Check Environment Canada about risks.

Go next
Since Alberta shares the Rocky Mountains with British Columbia (to the west) and several American states (to the south and southwest), travellers interested in skiing, camping, hiking and other outdoor pursuits not need not limit themselves to just the Albertan section of the mountain chain. The other major cities with notable attractions and international air connections near to Alberta—relatively, but still many hours drive away— would be Vancouver, Seattle, or Denver, though there are intra-U.S. connections via smaller airports like Billings or Spokane as well.

A less common path is to the east or southeast, into the wide open spaces of the Great Plains. Here there are no rail connections and few major airports, so driving is virtually a must. When travelling across Saskatchewan or the northern tier of the neighbouring states, you are far from the usual tourist trail, but you can find little-known natural gems here like Grasslands National Park or the Great Sandhills. For urban destinations, the only other main city on the Canadian Prairies to rival Calgary or Edmonton is Winnipeg, with its historic centre, Canadian Museum of Human Rights and an international airport. A little further to the south, major attractions like the Badlands and Black Hills region of South Dakota are accessible with enough time, and from there on to more commonly-travelled parts of the U.S.A.

The most adventurous next step from Alberta is certainly to the north, where literally millions of square miles of boreal forests are to be found. The Alaska Highway through the Yukon is the obvious choice in terms of routes to the great north country, but consider also the Northwest Territories for those who truly want to be off the beaten path.

Of course, once you've mastered the rugged-mountains-and-vast-arid-plains combination of Alberta perhaps you'd like to compare to similar experiences on the other side of the globe. Consider Australia's Great Dividing Range and Outback, Russia's Urals and Steppes, South Africa's Drakensberg and Veld, or Argentina's Andes and Pampas.

title: Alberta


text:
Alberta Rockies

The Alberta Rockies are the portion of the Rocky Mountains in western Alberta, Canada. This region attracts many visitors with its beauty, outdoor activities and two of Canada's oldest and best known national parks, Banff National Park and Jasper National Park.

Cities

 * , the oldest and most famous mountain resort town in the Canadian West. A good place to do shopping and fine dining, but expensive and often crowded at peak season.
 * , being outside the boundaries of Banff National Park, and therefore not subject to the same environmentally-minded restrictions, this town has been able to expand rapidly in recent decades and now rivals Banff as a tourism hub.
 * , an isolated mining and trapping town, seemingly a different planet from glitzy Banff, but a good base for more adventurous hikes, trail rides and so on.
 * , mostly an industry town, but with all the services RVers and car campers need before entering the mountains proper.
 * , the less-crowded alternative to Banff. Just as many lakes and peaks to see, but a fraction of the coach tours.

Other destinations

 * was Canada's first national park in 1885, and it is also one of the largest. The park sees visits well into the millions annually.
 * is one of the largest glaciers you'll ever be able to just drive up to the edge of. Namesake of the Icefields Parkway, located halfway between Jasper and Lake Louise.
 * The largest of Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks, it features broad valleys, rugged mountains, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows and wild rivers along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in western Alberta.
 * Maintained by the Province of Alberta, the Kananaskis park area consists of a number of provincial parks and reserves.
 * , the photo that everyone wants is of this post-card perfect lake. Also home to a major resort hotel and a World Cup ski hill.
 * , wilderness area centred around the hamlet of Nordegg along the David Thompson Highway (Highway 11)

Understand
This is spectacular mountain scenery. It is popular with tourists, so to see the best sights you need to get there early in the morning; however do not be put off by this, hike a few hundred metres away for the car-park and you are on your own in the wilderness.

Banff and Banff Park are the most popular destinations followed by Jasper. However do not underestimate Kananaskis Country, it is easy to drive past it but it can actually be one of the better areas for wildlife spotting, particularly grizzly bears.

By plane
International flights are available to Calgary and Edmonton airports.

By car

 * For the north the Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) can be used from Edmonton and Prince George.
 * For the south the Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) can be used from Calgary, Kamloops and Vancouver.
 * An alternative route from Calgary to the main highway is the 1A though Cochrane and the Stoney reservation, which although slower provides excellent views of the rock mountain range.

By bus

 * Operates a route daily between Edmonton International Airport and Jasper including stops in downtown Edmonton, Hinton, and Edson.
 * Operates a route daily between Edmonton International Airport and Jasper including stops in downtown Edmonton, Hinton, and Edson.
 * Operates a route daily between Edmonton International Airport and Jasper including stops in downtown Edmonton, Hinton, and Edson.
 * Operates a route daily between Edmonton International Airport and Jasper including stops in downtown Edmonton, Hinton, and Edson.

By train

 * Operates the following routes in the Alberta Rockies:
 * The Canadian (between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia) two to three times per week. Stops in Alberta include Edmonton and Jasper. Other major stops include from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba
 * "The Skeena" (between Jasper and Prince Rupert, British Columbia) Trip involves an overnight stay in Prince George, British Columbia. Operates twice per week.
 * Offers an elite-class, expensive tourist train runs on routes entering the Rocky Mountains between Vancouver-Banff-Calgary and Vancouver-Jasper. It does not pick up passengers along the route. See Rocky Mountaineer.

Get around
The Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) runs north/south through the region.

If you are not in a hurry to reach your destination an alternative to Highway 1 between Banff and Lake Louise is the Bow Valley Parkway (Alberta Highway 1A). The road winds through the woods giving the chance of seeing more wildlife (mainly deer) than the Trans-Canadian. Good quality road surface but a speed limit of 60 km/h. Similarly the 93A between Jasper and the Athabasca Falls provides a slow option with a greater chance of seeing bears.

See

 * Lake Louise, Peyto Lake and Moraine Lake in Banff National Park.
 * Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park
 * Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park
 * Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls and Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park
 * Angel Glacier and Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park

Itineraries

 * Icefields Parkway
 * Yellowhead Highway

Do
In the winter skiing, in the summer hiking.

Travel topics

 * Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

Stay safe
This is bear country so be careful. Also be aware that there is a good chance of coming across longhorn sheep, deer and moose on the road.

Go next
The Canadian Rockies spill over into Northern British Columbia and the Kootenays region, with numerous national parks there. The Rockies also exist in Southern Alberta, though in a much narrower band, but with notable sights at Crowsnest Pass and Waterton Lakes National Park. And of course, the Rockies also extend all the way down into the American states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Alberta Rockies


text:
Albert Lea

Albert Lea is a city of about 18,000 people (2010) in Southern Minnesota.

Understand
The city is named after Albert Miller Lea, a topographer with the United States Dragoons, who surveyed southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in 1835, including the current site of Albert Lea.

Albert Lea has a warm-summer subtype of the humid continental climate with cold winters to hot summers, with significant contrasts between seasons. Its climate type is typical for inland northern United States locations, but due to its southern position in the state, its summers and winters have higher temperatures than other, more northerly regions of the state. An exception to this rule is the urban core of Minneapolis - St. Paul, which sees higher temperatures typical of an urban heat island, but Albert Lea is significantly warmer than locations such as Duluth.

Get in
Albert Lea is located at the junction of Interstate 35 and Interstate 90.

title: Albert Lea


text:
Albia

Albia is a city in South Central Iowa.

Get in

 * Albia is approximately 65 mile southeast of Des Moines at the intersection of highway 5 & 34.

See

 * Take a stroll around the historic town square with the county courthouse in the center.

Do

 * Dress up and enjoy the Victorian Stroll, the first weekend each December. Period costumes and displays.
 * Rodders Car Show, takes place on the square late June admire some of the finest automobiles from the area.
 * Restoration Days, takes place on the fourth Saturday of August. Activities include a parade, art show, vintage car displays, class reunions, book sale and more.

Buy

 * There are interesting stores around the square.

Drink

 * Murph's Sports Bar, 17 S Clinton St, on the west side of the square.
 * Brick Street one block northwest of the northwest corner of the square.

title: Albia


text:
Albion (California)

Albion is in Mendocino County.

title: Albion (California)


text:
Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden

Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden is a water-rich polder area in South Holland, Netherlands, with Alblasserwaard alone housing around fifty polders. Most of these polders, unlike polders such as the Beemster and Flevoland, are not reclaimed lakes or seas, but instead are reclaimed from the many riverbanks of the many rivers that meander through the region.

Understand
Alblasserwaard and the Drechtsteden are two regions (Dutch: Landstreken) of the Netherlands. The Alblasserwaard is located between the rivers Lek in the north, the Merwede (Boven-Merwede and Beneden Merwede) in the south, the Oude Zederik, Merwedekanaal and Linge to the east and the Noord in the west. The region has been named after the Alblas river, which was once a heavily used river in the region. The Drechtsteden consist of most of the Dutch cities which have their names end with 'Drecht'. These include Dordrecht, Papendrecht, Sliedrecht and Zwijndrecht. These cities count some 270.000 citizens in total, spread over 169 km2 of land. The Drechtsteden, which literally means 'Drecht-cities', only consists of the cities of such a name found along the Beneden-Merwede, Noord and Oude Maas rivers. The Netherlands, however, counts many more 'Drechtsteden' throughout the country. Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden is best known for the iconic and well-known Kinderdijk.

By car
The region is crossed by three highways, the A15, A16 and A27/E311. The A15 is the highway that visits most of the destinations in the region. From cities such as Hilversum, Utrecht and Almere, use the A27 heading south, turning onto the A15 going west at Gorinchem. This is also where you will find exit 27, which services Gorinchem. The highway then goes on to connect to Hardinxveld, Sliedrecht, Papendrecht and Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in that order. Dordrecht can be reached by following the N3 from exit 23, servicing Papendrecht. Zwijndrecht can be reached by following directions through Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, or by following the A15, turning onto the A16 when it terminates, not heading for Rotterdam, and then using exit 22 to enter Zwijndrecht. From Amsterdam, either travel to Hilversum using the A1 or Utrecht using the A2 following the directions above, or head to Leiden and Den Haag using the A4 up to Rotterdam. Here, cross the Nieuwe Maas. Shortly after, the A4 will terminate, at which point you turn towards the east, onto the A15. This highway runs alongside the A16 for a few kilometres, after which the two go their separate ways. Following the A15 will get you past Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Papendrecht and the others as described above. Again stay on the A16 to get to Zwijdrecht and Dordrecht. From most of the North and East Netherlands, first travel to Arnhem, from which you follow the A50 heading for Utrecht. Follow directions to Wijchen, which will get you onto the A50. At Knooppunt Valburg, turn onto the A15 heading for Tiel. Following the highway after passing Tiel will get you to Gorinchem, from which the directions from Hilversum can be followed.

By public transit
Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden can be reached by public transit rather easily. From Rotterdam, The Hague, Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch, Lelystad or Roosendaal, take a train to Dordrecht. You'll be able to choose between NS' Sprinter and Intercity services, of the latter is the faster option. The Sprinters from 's-Hertogenbosch, Roosendaal and Den Haag, however, stop at before terminating at. From here, most busses service the surrounding cities. Most of Alblasserwaard is serviced by Arriva, connecting to the aforementioned station in Dordrecht, running along the river Merwede up to, after which the service runs through some of Vijfheerenlanden before eventually terminating in Geldermalsen, which can be reached using Sprinter services from Utrecht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Tiel and Den Haag Centraal.

As of Apr 2023, Qbuzz operates buses in the Drechtsteden - Molenlanden - Gorinchem area.

title: Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden


text:
Albufeira

Albufeira is a city (cidade) and municipality (concelho) in the district of Faro (Algarve). Albufeira is one of the most popular and internationally famous holiday destinations in the Algarve, the most southern and sunniest region of continental Portugal. The resorts and hotels extend from Olhos d'Agua to Galé along the beautiful rocky coastline of the area. Many holiday makers return year after year because of the lovely beaches, very good climate, proximity of many restaurants, bars and pubs.

Understand

Once a small fishing village, Albufeira (ahl-boo-FAY-ruh, /aɫ.bu.ˈfɐj.ɾɐ/) has developed to be a very touristy area. It's not a place to experience any level of authentic Portugal, as any local culture is overwhelmed by foreign-themed businesses.

The origins of Albufeira date back to the prehistoric period. Later it was settled by the Romans, who called it "Baltum". The name of Albufeira goes back to the time of the Moors "Al-Buhera", as the town in the 8th century was an important trading centre. There are hardly any remains from this period, only a plaque to commemorate the former Moorish castle on the upper town. Mid-13th century, Albufeira was recaptured by the Order of Knights of Santiago under Afonso III of the Moors. After that, it was for many centuries an insignificant fishing village. The huge Lisbon earthquake in 1755, devastated large parts of the country, and Albufeira was particularly affected. The subsequent tsunami flooded the lower part of the village. This destroyed any significant monuments.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, Albufeira's fortunes were revived. Its discovery as the main tourist destination of the Algarve marked a huge expansion from fishing village, to town, to city. Today, the hotels and resorts extend almost seamlessly along the beautiful Albufeira coastline. In the summer months up to 300,000 holidaymakers join the usual 22,000 residents.

By train

Trains from Lagos and Faro take about 1 hr each (for €2-3). The train from Lisbon takes 3–4 hr. There is now a rapid train that takes 2½ hr, but with more limited runs.

By bus

For buses from and to local nearby towns and cities, checkout the timetables of the local transport company Eva Bus.

By plane
Faro Airport is also the main entrance to get in the Algarve through many low cost airline companies, and there is a large choice of airport transfers carrier companies that can provide private, shared or public ground transportation to Albufeira or any major place in the Algarve.

Get around
There are local buses that run throughout town—ask your ho(s)tel for a timetable.

Taxis are available and can usually be found in the city centre.

By car
Car rental facilities are found in the city centre and include major international chains (Hertz, Europcar) and local ones. Even for the expert driver, getting around can be quite challenging in Albufeira as there are no street signs to navigate you through the maze-like structure of the endless roundabouts, making maps similarly difficult to interpret. Coupled with the high cost of car rentals, taxis or buses may be simpler modes of transportation.

Do
More than 25 superb beaches, many of them recognised for their quality with the distinguished Blue Flag by FEE, entice holidaymakers to swim and walk. The long sandy beaches Praia dos Pescadores, Praia do Tunel and Praia do Inatel stretching for miles in front of the old town offer a variety of water sports including parasailing, jet-skiing, and kayaking.Smaller sandy beaches sheltered by rocky bays with bizarre sandstone cliffs extend to both sides.

The marina was opened in 2003 in an artificial basin on the western edge of the city, with a capacity to moor nearly 500 boats.

Alufeira can offer many varieties of culture, entertainment and family fun.

Buy

 * The narrow streets of the lower old town are filled with shops and street vendors that offer souvenirs and beach accessories. In the summer months, it is worth taking a stroll through the pedestrian zone with its pubs, bars and restaurants to drink into the special atmosphere of this bustling city.

Eat
There are many restaurants to choose from, with many of them offering traditional Portuguese fare as well as a wide variety of fresh seafood. Dishes involving different preparations of codfish are plentiful, and the Cataplana styled dishes are well known in this region. Shellfish such as prawns, lobster, and crab tend to be very expensive, while fish is much more affordable. For a break from seafood, try the chicken piri-piri (roasted chicken with a sort of spicey sauce).

Drink
Nightclubs, cafes and snack bars are abundant in the Old Town and on the Avenida Sa Caneiro, called The Strip, the best known nightlife destination in the entire Algarve, especially popular with tourists from UK and Ireland. If you are looking for drunk people, loud music and cheap drinks, this is where you have to head. Everything is a bit more expensive in the discos at night, so many holiday makers will drink in the bars and go to the disco after 01:00—they are open until 06:00 in the summer!

Sleep
Holidaymakers have the choice of more than 500 different accommodations in Albufeira and the surrounding area. Many of these hotels and resorts stretch along the coast between Vilamoura and Albufeira on the beaches of Inatel, Praia da Oura, Santa Eulalia, Olhos de Água and Falésia. West of Albufeira, between the marina of Albufeira and the tourist centre of Armação de Pêra many more hotels and resorts sit on top of the cliffs, overlooking small rocky bays and the beautiful sandy beaches of São Rafael, Castelo and Galé. If you prefer to stay closer to the picturesque old town of Albufeira to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere in the narrow lanes or to experience the night life on the famous “Strip”, you will find many hotels and apartments along the ring road Av. dos Descobrimentos, encircling the city centre, offering beautiful panoramic views towards the marvellous bay of Albufeira.

Go next
Lagos, Silves, Lagoa, Tavira, Evora, Milfontes, Troia, Lisbon.

title: Albufeira