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Alberta From the Bottom Up: A South to North Adventure
To steal a line from popular culture, when it comes to travel in Alberta, it's not just about the destination. It's about the journey, too. Alberta offers numerous side-trips and attractions to create a fun-filled driving adventure as you explore the province, from the bottom, up. As travelers make their way to Alaska (this trip can be a great, one to two-week odyssey, especially in an RV), Alberta offers access to the fastest route. After you cross into Canada, you start on the Trail of the Great Bear. With a name like that, how could the journey be anything but spectacular? Explore South Central Alberta For travelers coming through Coutts, Montana, you'll be heading north into Alberta on Highway 6. This offers an ideal opportunity for a quick side trip to Waterton, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. One of the best things about Waterton Lakes National Park, besides the breathtaking scenery, is the opportunity for hiking in the area. On a recent trip, we took advantage of a chance to visit the waterfalls at Wall Lake. An abbreviated tour of the Lower Bertha Falls was equally enjoyed, though we turned back early when we learned a mother bear was on the trail with her cub. The round-trip to the Wall Lake Falls took about two hours, at a leisurely pace, and was a great excuse to drive through the gorgeous Akamina Parkway. If you've got plenty of time to play, canoeing or kayaking around Cameron Lake is a relaxing way to get up-close-and-personal with the scenery. In the town proper, Waterton has many restaurants and shops to choose from. If your sweet tooth beckons, be sure to try the deep-fried Mars Bar at Jugo Juice v it's a memorable and tasty treat! And High Tea at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel is not to be missed. From Waterton Parks, it's just a short hop-skip-and-jump over to Secondary Highway 501 to peruse the world-famous Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. Home to the largest concentration of petrogyphs and pictographs in North America, this park includes an archeological preserve and one of the largest chunks of protected prairie you'll see in this province's parks system. There's camping in the summer, and even a reconstructed Northwest Mounted Police Outpost to give you a taste of the Old West. From Writing-On-Stone, you can head back to Highway 6, where the Trail of the Great Bear heads north to Pincher Creek, then takes Highway 3 East to Fort Macleod. If you haven't had enough of NWMP history yet, be sure to visit the renowned Fort Museum of the Mounted Police, right in Fort Macleod. Once you reach Highway 2, you can head north to Calgary v visiting towns like Claresholm and High River on the way. When you get to Nanton, you might want to visit The Candy Store at 2131 Main Street v it'll keep you on a sugar high for the rest of the day! Canadian road trip planner. Discover Calgary and the Rockies Once you hit Calgary, there are plenty excuses for diversions. This city of one million plus has a thriving arts and entertainment scene, in addition to boasting some world-class restaurants. Near city centre, Chinatown offers a range of authentic Asian cuisine, all just a few blocks from the Calgary Tower, with its unique revolving restaurant and glass floor. Canada Olympic Park played host to the 1988 Winter Olympics, and today offers a variety of sporting attractions, from downhill skiing and luging to mountain biking and mini golf, all within the city's limits. Attractions like Heritage Park and Fort Calgary celebrate the city's Old West history, and of course the Calgary Stampede is a huge draw for 10 days each July (in 2007, Stampede runs from July 6 v 15). If the kids need a break, The Calgary Zoo and Calaway Park (western Canada's largest outdoor amusement park) offer excellent chances for them to explore, enjoy, and just generally blow off steam. The city's Glenbow Museum offers an educational and invigorating visit, combining art, history and much more. A visit to the next-door Stephen Avenue Mall in the city's core offers great sightseeing and shopping, plus a chance to check out a number of tempting restaurants. This province is cattle country, and is famous for its beef v why not visit the renowned Hy's Steakhouse for a taste of Alberta's history? And there's always Catch, voted the best new restaurant in Calgary by enRoute magazine. From Calgary, it's time to head north on Highway 2, the most direct route north. For a longer but incredibly scenic option, you should travel toward Banff and Lake Louise on the Trans Canada Highway and get up close and personal with the Canadian Rockies. Just plan to add a day or two, at least, to your trip so you can take it all in. Road trips to Canada. Northern Alberta Beckons If you're travelling north on Highway 2, you'll soon arrive at Edmonton, Canada's Festival City, and Alberta's international gateway city to the north. In addition to boasting a dizzying array of annual festivals and special events v the Fringe Festival and CapitalEX (Klondike Days) each July among them v Edmonton is home to the world-famous West Edmonton Mall. The shopping is plentiful at WEM (with more than 800 different stores), and the food's bountiful (with more than 100 places to eat). With a wave pool, western-style shooting gallery, indoor skating rink, rollercoaster, submarine rides and a miniature golf course all up for grabs, plan on taking your time and settling in for some serious fun. There's even the Fantasy Land Hotel onsite, where themed rooms offer a visit you won't soon forget. If after all that you still have the shopping bug, you can take a short drive to Whyte Avenue. There's great shopping and dining. Why not check out Murrieta's for dinner, and then spend the night at the stylish and comfortable Metterra? With more than 2,000 restaurants in the province's capital city, there's no doubt you'll have plenty of dining experiences to choose from. Choose Your Options Now, it's decision-making time. With Option A, you can take Highway 43 heading northwest. Along the way you'll visit Mayerthorpe, Whitecourt, Fox Creek and Grande Prairie (and you'll eventually join the Alaska Highway, in Dawson Creek). Along this route, Grande Prairie is the largest city you'll encounter between Edmonton and, if you're headed there, Fairbanks, Alaska. As Alberta's seventh largest city, Grande Prairie boasts plenty of outdoor adventures, including golfing and fishing, plus a museum with a historical village that allows you to step back in time. There's also a wide range of restaurants available representing a wide array of ethnic cuisines. Option B would see you take a slightly longer route. From Highway 2 you would take Highway 44 (and then Highway 2) and go north to Slave Lake. The biggest draw is spectacular scenery and untouched wilderness. The Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre offers an opportunity to explore native heritage, with displays of aboriginal crafts and artifacts. Just five minutes from Slave Lake, Devonshire Beach has white-sand beaches and great swimming v not to mention incredible scenery. Bird watching is a popular choice of activity, and nowhere is the watching better than at a nearby attraction. The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory stretches 107 km along the eastern shoreline of Lesser Slave Lake. Heading west on Highway 2, you could take a side trip to Peace River. A must-see attraction is the Peace River Centennial Museum and Archives, which offers a fascinating and unique glimpse into the area's history. No visit to Peace River would be complete without stopping by to see 12 Foot Davis, a tribute to famous and colorful prospector who made his fortune from a 12-foot piece of land. Still on Highway 2, the Dungevan Provincial Park is a beautiful attraction, featuring Alberta's only suspension bridge for vehicles. And over in Historic Dungevan, you can tour one of the province's earliest settlements, a fur trading post and missionary centre. Nearby campsites make it a great place for an overnight stay. It's then a quick jaunt over Highway 49 to Dawson Creek. Canada road trips. Headed to Alaska? Once you reach Dawson Creek, an interesting time can be had at the Northern Alberta Railway Station. This historic train station underwent an award-winning restoration, and the focal point for a variety of tourist attractions on its site. The town is most famous as being Mile 0 on the Alaska Highway. From there, it's on to the 1,140 km (700 mile) Alaska Highway, which will be just the next step in your exciting adventure. With Alberta and its attractions as your launching pad, you can't go wrong. Total Distance: 1209 km/756 mi Day 1 - Milk River to Lethbridge - 84 km/53 mi Opt. 1: Day 2 - Lethbridge to Calgary - 216 km/135 mi Day 3 - Calgary to Banff - 128 km/80 mi Days 4/5 - Banff to Jasper - 295 km/184 mi Day 6 - Jasper to Grande Cache - 212 km/133 mi Day 6 - Grande Cache to Grande Prairie - 183 km/114 mi Day 7 - Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek, B.C. - 91 km/57 mi Opt. 2: Route Distance: 1181 km/738 mi Day 2 - Lethbridge to Calgary - 216 km/135 mi Day 3 - Calgary to Edmonton - 294 km/184 mi Day 4 - Edmonton Day 5 - Edmonton to Slave Lake (hwy 44) - 272 km/170 mi Day 6 - Slave Lake to Fahler (via McLennan) - 181 km/113 mi Day 7 - Fahler to Dawson Creek, B.C. - 134 km/84 mi Day 1 - Waterton to Calgary - 266 km/159 mi Opt. 1: Day 2 - Calgary to Banff - 128 km/76 mi Day 3 - Banff to Jasper - 287 km/172 mi Day 4 - Jasper to Grande Cache - 214 km/128 mi Day 5 - Grande Cache to Grande Prairie - 183 km/109 mi Day 6 - Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek, B.C. - 91 km/54 mi Opt. 2: Day 2 - Calgary to Edmonton - 294 km/176 mi Day 3 - Edmonton Day 4 - Edmonton to Hinton - 287 km/172 mi Day 5 - Hinton to Grande Prairie - 332 km/199 mi Day 6 - Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek, B.C. - 91 km/54 mi -------------------- E-mail this article to your friend! 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