262 Best Sights in Alberta, Canada

The brand-new visitor center is in downtown Waterton. The original Waterton Information Centre was destroyed by the Kenow Mountain wildfire in 2017. Stop in to pick up brochures, maps, and books. You can also pick up the booklet for the free Xplorer Program for kids between ages 6 and 11. Park interpreters are on hand to answer questions and give directions. There are many wonderful interpretive displays and experiences both inside and outside the building that help visitors learn about the flora and fauna inside the park.

In roughly the park's geographic center, this low-key townsite swells with tourists in summer, and restaurants and shops open to serve them. In winter only a few motels are open, and services are limited.

This 3.7-km (2.3-mile) trail is used for hiking and mountain biking in summer and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. The trail follows an old exploration road to a junction. Visitors who wish to see the lake, which is popular with trout anglers, must then follow a short, steep 200-meter (656-foot) trail to the muddy lakeshore. If you continue 900 meters (0.6 mile), you'll come to a lovely spring that gushes out of a wall of rock on Mount Shark. Moderate.

Located northwest of Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway, the Weeping Wall is a series of cascading waterfalls partway up the western base of Circus Mountain. This is truly a mountain that cries; its main waterfall is even called Teardrop. The best view of the wall is from the roadside pullout. Watch for ice climbers in winter.

Formerly Arts Commons, this complex was pieced together in the 1980s by incorporating the historic Calgary Public Building (1930) and the Burns Building (1913). Today it's one of Canada's largest arts complexes with five theater spaces and a state-of-the-art concert hall. There are also six resident companies—Alberta Theatre Projects, Arts Commons Presents, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Downstage, Theatre Calgary, and One Yellow Rabbit—and six gallery spaces. The $600 million modernization and expansion plan also includes connecting to Olympic Plaza.

At more than 3½ million square feet, West Edmonton Mall is a neighborhood unto itself. As North America’s most comprehensive retail and entertainment complex, you could spend an entire week here and never get bored. Fantasyland Hotel is located on-site, so there's a place to stay while you spend two or more days exploring all this mall has to offer. There's North America's second biggest indoor water park (World Water Park), an enormous amusement park (Galaxyland), the Marine Life aquarium, a race kart track, more than 100 restaurants and pubs, and 800 retail shops. There’s also an IMAX theater, a bingo parlor, a bowling alley, a casino, two mini-golf courses, and Jubliations live dinner theater for those who are spending the night and want some classic evening entertainment.

The two-level, 48-block-long mall is oriented east-west with a main boulevard down the center, which takes about 20 minutes to walk. There’s a food court at each end, one near Galaxyland to the east and one near the Fantasyland Hotel, World Waterpark, and Marine Life to the west. BRBN St., which runs north from near the center of the first floor, is where you’ll find a collection of the finer dining establishments.

If it’s your first time, it’s worth visiting guest services to get a map and a quick orientation. The staff can also point you in the right direction if you’re looking for something in particular. There are two guest services locations, one near Galaxyland and the other near the Deep Sea Adventure Lake.

Founded by the late Peter and Catharine Whyte, two Banff artists, this museum exhibits artworks, artifacts, and other items relating to the cultural heritage of the Canadian Rockies. Many of the earliest photos of Banff National Park can be found here, either on the walls or in the archives.

Excellent views of the Athabasca Glacier are the highlight of this strenuous, 8-km (5-mile) hike near the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre. This pass was originally used by explorers and First Nations people and is fairly steep. Keep an eye out for wildflowers and bighorn sheep. Be sure to dress in warm layers, because this pass can be snowy until late July. Difficult.

The zoo, on St. George's Island in the middle of the Bow River, is one of Canada's largest, with more than 1,000 creatures from 119 species in natural settings. It is also one of Calgarians' most cherished institutions. The Canadian Wilds section replicates endangered Canadian ecosystems, and the Exploration Asia exhibit allows you to (safely) get up close to Amur tigers. Prehistoric Park, a Mesozoic landscape, displays 22 life-size dinosaur replicas. Destination Africa showcases two African ecosystems, the TransAlta Rainforest and the African Savannah, and has mixed-species exhibits of more than 100 animals, the largest indoor hippo immersion habitat in North America, and 84 plant species indigenous to the African continent.

This 3.1-km (2-mile) trail leads to Wonder Pass and the spectacular views that inspired the name. The trail begins at Assiniboine Lodge and goes past the Naiset Huts to Gog Lake. From there it climbs past a lovely waterfall to reach Wonder Pass, which lies between Wonder Peak and the Towers. Moderate.

With 20 slides, including one called the Sky Screamer, where sliders approach 37 mph, this is the world’s largest indoor water park and about as fun a way to spend an afternoon there is. There’s also a wave pool and a zipline, and plenty of milder slides and pools and fountains for the tykes, too. Admission includes free use of life jackets and swim diapers.

Among rock cliffs and hoodoos alongside the Milk River, this park contains the largest concentration of native petroglyphs on the North American plains. Today a campground and restored Mountie outpost are here. You can explore the coulées (gullies) that provided cover for outlaws and illegal whiskey traders. Guided walks explore some of this history. The park is about 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Lethbridge.

This long narrow lake was named for the nearby pass. It's 5.6 km (3.5 miles) long and sits at the foot of Yellowhead Mountain, a stunning 2,458-meter (8,060-foot) peak. The mountain has four officially named summits: Bingley Peak, Leather Peak, Lucerne Peak, and Tête Roche.

This trail leads to the base of Yellowhead Mountain and up to flower-filled meadows and views of the continental divide. You'll reach the first viewpoint at about the 1-km (0.6-mile) mark on the trail. You can return at that point or continue another 3 km (2 miles) up a steep trail on the side of the mountain to reach a meadow and more panoramic views. The elevation gain to the second viewpoint is 720 meters (2,060 feet). Moderate.

Yellowhead Pass is the lowest pass over the Continental Divide at 1,066 meters (3,500 feet). The low elevation made the pass the preferred route of travel for Indigenous people, fur traders, explorers, and railways. As you drive west from Jasper on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), you'll see a roadside pullout 9 km (5½ miles) west of Jasper with a small plaque commemorating this historic travel corridor. The name "Yellowhead" was the nickname of a fair-haired Métis-Iroquois-freeman named Pierre Bostonais or "Tête Jaune" who was active in this area in the early 1800s.

Ancient Indigenous pictographs are a highlight of this 9.4-km (5.8-mile) round-trip hike. The trail follows Painted Creek to the narrows where you can see pictographs left by the Kootenai People some 400 years ago. It's a fairly easy hike with a 195-meter (640-foot) elevation gain, but you do have to wade across the Highwood River. After you cross the river, turn right on an old logging road. The trail will cross Zephyr Creek twice before you reach the pictographs. NOTE: This trail starts with a river crossing; waterproof shoes and poles are suggested. Moderate.

You may wish to stop at Bow Lake for the regional Canadian cuisine at Simpson's Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at Bow Lake, but you don't have to dine or stay here to enjoy the trails and views of the lake and Crowfoot Glacier. A trail leads from the bottom of the parking lot to the base of Bow Glacier Falls, where you can feel the spray, hear the roar of the falls, and witness the birth of a river. The Bow River is part of western Canada's largest watershed. The hike is about 4 km (2½ miles) one-way and takes from 1½ to 3 hours to complete depending on how many photos you take.

About 25 km (15 miles) southeast of Banff, Canmore became a modest boomtown with the 1988 Olympic Games. Many of its residents feel that the commute to Calgary for work is a fair trade-off for living in the mountains. For tourists, Canmore makes a good base for exploring Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park.

Just 45 km (28 miles) east of Waterton, Cardston is home to the Alberta Temple, built by the Mormon pioneers who established the town. The Remington Carriage Museum contains North America's largest collection of horse-drawn vehicles. The Carriage House Theatre (www.carriagehousetheatre.com) presents entertaining live theatrical performances on most summer evenings.

Guided tours, birding trips, ice walks, and snowshoeing tours are all available here. Most tours last three hours. The center also books canoeing, rafting, and other types of excursions.

Three provincial parks make up the 4,200-square-km (1,600-square-mile) recreational region known as Kananaskis Country, whose northern entrance is 26 km (16 miles) southeast of Canmore. The area includes grand mountain scenery, and though it's not quite a match for that in the adjacent national parks, Kananaskis allows some activities the parks prohibit, including snowmobiling, motorized boating, and off-road driving. There are also spectacular cross-country and mountain-biking trails.

The main route through Kananaskis Country is Highway 40, also known as the Kananaskis Trail. It runs north–south through the front ranges of the Rockies. Only the northern 40 km (25 miles) of the road remain open from December to mid-June, in part because of the extreme conditions of Highwood Pass (at 7,280 feet, the highest drivable pass in Canada), and in part to protect winter wildlife habitats in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Highway 40 continues south to join Highway 541 west of Longview. Access to East Kananaskis Country, a popular area for horseback trips, is on Highway 66, which heads west from the town of Priddis.