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 peoples, 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 an 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 an 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.

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.

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.

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).

• Travel Alberta website

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.

See also: Rail travel in Canada

• VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates trains routes across Canada. (updated Apr 2022) 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.

• Cold Shot, ☏ +1 587-557-7719, support@coldshot.ca. Bus service from Monday to Friday between Fort St. John and Grande Prairie with stops in Dawson Creek, Hythe, and Beaverlodge. Also offers bus service between Grande Prairie and Edmonton. (updated Feb 2021)
• Rider Express, toll-free: +1-833-583-3636. Operates intercity bus routes in western Canada. (updated Feb 2021) 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.
• Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service, ☏ +1-778-382-7729, info@mountainmanmikes.ca. Once per week bus service between Nakusp, Nelson, and Cranbrook in British Columbia, and Lethbridge and Calgary. (updated Mar 2022)
• Thompson Valley Charters, ☏ +1 877-769-3287. In partnership with Ebus, operates twice per week service between Kamloops, British Columbia and Edmonton. (updated Mar 2022)

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.

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

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.

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.

• Banff AIrporter, ☏ +1-403-762-3330, toll-free: +1-888-449-2901. Operates a route between Calgary and Banff. (updated May 2022)
• Brewster Express, toll-free: +1-866-606-6700. Bus service throughout the year between Calgary and Lake Louise including stop in Banff. Limited summer service to Jasper. (updated May 2022)
• Cold Shot, ☏ +1 587-557-7719, support@coldshot.ca. Operates bus services primarily in Alberta with some service reaching British Columbia. Most routes terminate in Edmonton. (updated Feb 2021)
• Ebus, toll-free: +1 877-769-3287. Bus services connecting destinations in Alberta such as Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and Red Deer. (updated Mar 2022)
• Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service, ☏ +1-778-382-7729, info@mountainmanmikes.ca. Weekly service between Calgary and Kaslo, British Columbia with stops in several Alberta cities including Lethbridge. (updated Mar 2022)
• Red Arrow, toll-free: +1-800-232-1958, customerservice@redarrow.ca. Bus services connecting destinations in Alberta such as Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, and Red Deer. (updated Feb 2021)
• SunDog Tours, ☏ +1-780-852-4056, toll-free: +1-888-786-3641, info@sundogtours.com. Operates daily service between Edmonton and Jasper. (updated Sep 2021)
• The Canada Bus, ☏ +1-403-668-9600, info@thecanadabus.com. Operates bus routes in Alberta, including to Calgary, and Edmonton. (updated May 2022)

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

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See also: Driving between the contiguous United States and the Alaska Highway

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

[edit]

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.

Big stuff tour

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Map of "World's largest" roadside attractions.

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:

• 53.570591-113.492661 World's biggest Baseball Bat – Edmonton (North Edmonton)
• 52.672817-112.2255332 World's largest Baseball glove – Heisler
• 55.204088-119.4231683 World's biggest Beaver – Beaverlodge
• 55.734158-117.2012094 World's biggest Bee – Falher
• 53.588852-110.522255 World's biggest Chuckwagon – Dewberry
• 51.467294-112.7088046 World's biggest Dinosaur – Drumheller
• 53.562733-114.4680177 World's biggest Dragonfly – Wabamun
• 49.869307-111.3703388 World's biggest Golf Putter – Bow Island
• 51.82035-113.2394339 World's largest Golf Tee – Trochu
• 53.878305-112.33230410 World's biggest Mallard Duck – Whitford Lake Bird Sanctuary (Andrew)
• 54.117029-111.91817911 World's biggest Mushrooms – Vilna
• 52.585364-112.57318912 World's largest Oil Lamp – Donalda
• 54.252687-111.15410913 World's biggest Perogy – Glendon
• 49.637143-114.50437314 World's biggest Piggy Bank – Crowsnest Pass (Coleman)
• 53.491803-112.03666215 World's biggest Pysanka Easter Egg – Vegreville
• 56.247222-118.60086816 World's largest Railroad Spike – Hines Creek
• 53.595336-112.33695617 World's biggest Sausage – Mundare
• 52.697566-110.14912318 Susie the World's largest Softball – Chauvin
• 50.406068-113.25741519 World's biggest Star Trek Enterprise Replica – Vulcan
• 53.263824-110.03546620 World's biggest Sun dial – Lloydminster
• 50.015257-110.69180821 World's biggest Tipi – Medicine Hat
• 53.991033-111.30544422 World's first UFO landing pad – St. Paul
• 54.150283-113.87641723 World's largest Weather Vane – Westlock
• 53.539464-113.60887824 World's largest Western Boot – Edmonton (West End)

For more, visit: Large Canadian Roadside Attractions

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.

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.

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.

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.