Take advantage of Edmonton’s central location and find out what makes Alberta’s capital an exciting and enjoyable hub for your provincial travels. Be sure to check out the impressive sights and attractions that have transformed the Greater Edmonton area into one of Canada’s most visited tourist destinations.
Whether you’re planning several days to explore the province or simply searching for a few hours of local sightseeing, Edmonton tour and transportation companies have the expertise and enthusiasm to ensure that all your requirements are met. The city’s many transportation and tour operators offer personalized group tours, soft adventures, tour planning and local sightseeing as well as customized charters, spousal tours and convention servicing.
Explore the Capital City
Take a drive through Edmonton’s scenic downtown and Chinatown, check out prominent residential areas and the awe-inspiring beauty of the North Saskatchewan River valley park system.
Edmonton’s cosmopolitan downtown is the location of the Citadel Theatre, Edmonton Art Gallery, Chinatown Gate, Shaw Conference Centre, City Hall and extensive shopping and business areas. A 1,928-seat concert hall, the Francis Winspear Centre, opened in September 1997.
Discover Edmonton’s convenient indoor pedway system, which allows you to move throughout downtown in total comfort. With ManuLife Place (specialty stores and services) and Commerce Place, Edmonton City Centre is a 220-store shopper’s haven. The Edmonton Art Gallery exhibits some of the best contemporary and historical art from Canada and around the world. The Citadel Theatre includes a tropical indoor garden/ amphitheatre.
The Alberta Legislature Building overlooks Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River valley. The river valley is the longest stretch of urban parkland in North America. You’ll also find several of the more than 70 golf courses within an hour’s drive of Edmonton in the valley.
Encompassing an area of 10 blocks, the 124 Street District includes seven art galleries, quaint shops and several outstanding dining establishments.
If you’re a nature lover, be sure to visit the John Janzen Nature Centre, which serves as a focus for natural history events and programs in the river valley. Also set in the river valley is the Muttart Conservatory; four spectacular glass pyramids filled with more than 700 species of plants.
Steeped in history, the Old Strathcona area features hundreds of quaint shops, a farmers’ market and the Telephone Historical Centre.
Kalyna Country
Traverse the rolling plains of east-central Alberta to see a UFO landing pad, an oversized Easter egg, the world’s biggest sausage and a living museum of Ukrainian history. This distinctly Albertan excursion meanders past quaint towns and rolling farmland just east of Edmonton.
Highway 16 East provides a direct route to the sprawling wildlife sanctuary of Elk Island National Park. Established in 1906 to preserve endangered animal populations, the park is home to flourishing populations of plains and wood bison, elk, moose, deer, coyote and beaver. Its many lakes, forests, meadows and wetlands - part of the Beaver Hills aspen parkland ecosystem - have become a popular place to view over 250 species of birds, including loons and trumpeter swans.
If you’re in search of something you’ll only find in Alberta, head east on Highway 36 to the historic town of St. Paul, where you’ll discover the world’s only UFO landing pad, constructed in 1967 as a Canadian Centennial project. The landing pad site also houses a time capsule that will be opened in 2067.
For something a little more down to earth, take Highway 41 to Vermilion. Just before you reach the town you’ll cross a region chock full of sport fishing spots and recreational lakes. From Vermilion, head west on Highway 16 to Vegreville, home to a 7.8 metre (25 foot) pysanka, or Ukrainian Easter egg. The 2,270-kilogram egg represents prosperity, life, food, fortune and eternity. The structure was constructed from more than 3,500 pieces of aluminum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and attracts thousands of visitors annually.
On the way back to Edmonton (Highway 16 West) visit the Basilian Fathers Museum in Mundare (21 kilometers west of Vegreville), which tells the story of Ukrainian settlement in the area. In Mundare you can also sample the world-famous smoked sausage available at several retail outlets in the town, and view the world’s biggest sausage in the town park. At the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village (30 kilometers west of Mundare), more than 30 restored buildings and costumed role players bring history to life. Ride in a horse-drawn wagon, nibble on Ukrainian delicacies or explore the historic buildings at this unique open-air museum as the lifestyles of the early 1900s come alive before your eyes.
Mountain Majesty
Discover farming communities, cottage country, and the splendor of Jasper National Park.
The Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway (Hwy. 16) is the route from Edmonton to Jasper. Travel west to Stony Plain, the Town with the Painted Past. Here, history and heritage is depicted on 20 colourful outdoor murals.
Visit the Wabamun Lake area, Alberta’s cottage country, where sailing, canoeing and fishing are favoured activities. Continue to Edson, home to the Galloway Station Museum and the Edson Native Interpretive Trail. Pass through the forested foothills of the Miette Range to Hinton where the Alberta Forest Museum, sawmill and coal mine tours (summers only) and Alberta’s largest night-lit cross-country ski facility await.
Further west enter Jasper National Park, part of the Rocky Mountain World Heritage Site. This 10,878-sq. km. (4,200 sq. mi) preserved wilderness offers a fabulous array of outdoor activities - hiking, mountain biking and skating. The mountain scenery and opportunities for wildlife watching are world renowned.
Before arriving in Jasper townsite, drive the Pocahontas Interpretive Trail to the scenic Punchbowl Falls and the Miette Hot Springs where you can soak from late May to mid October. Drive along Maligne Lake Road and walk the rim of Alberta’s deepest canyon, Maligne Canyon. Winter icewalks are conducted on the canyon floor. Pass Œdisappearing’ Medicine Lake en route to Maligne Lake and take a 90-minute interpretive cruise to Spirit Island, one of the most photographed sights in the Canadian Rockies.
The Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course is rated one of Canada’s best, and the thrilling guided tour of Jasper Tramway, open April - October rises to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft.), providing views of six mountain ranges. During winter, ski or snowboard the high alpine bowls, glades and groomed runs at Marmot Basin.
If you have time, continue south of Jasper on the Icefields Parkway (Hwy. 93) past campgrounds, lakes, glaciers and towering peaks. Visit Athabasca, Sunwapta falls, and the magnificent Columbia Icefield. ŒSnocoach’ tours atop 350 m (1,000 ft.) thick glacial ice are offered from late May to early October. Return to Edmonton via the scenic David Thompson Highway (Highway 11).
Grande Alberta Trail
Adventure and pure unspoiled open space are yours to discover.
What could be called the ‘Grande’ daddy of Alberta road tours will transport you from a modern urban environment to the pristine wilderness of the province’s northwest.
As you leave Edmonton heading west via the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway (Hwy. 16), you’ll soon reach Edson, where the Native Interpretive Trail provides additional insight into the lives of Canada’s First Nations people. Continuing west on Highway 16, you approach Hinton, where the Yellowhead’s scenic vistas transform into forested views. Hinton is home to the Alberta Forest Service Museum, a key to understanding Alberta’s forestry industry.
From Hinton you’ll head northwest on the Big Horn Highway (Highway 40) into a land of rolling hills and boreal forest as you wind your way up to Grande Cache, an area used by fur trappers in historic times to make a large ‘cache’ of furs for spring trading. Grande Cache offers splendid opportunities for lovers of the outdoors. Whitewater rafting, horseback riding and fishing abound in this rugged scenic refuge, which skirts the huge Willmore Wilderness Park.
From Grande Cache the adventure continues as you head north into Grande Prairie, a modern city that provides an excellent opportunity for wildlife watching, fishing and hiking. Muskoseepi Park offers biking trails, camping, canoeing, hiking, kayaking, golf, concerts and festivals, in an area that encompasses 1,000 acres along Red Creek Valley. Learn about the region’s forest industry during a tour of Weyerhaeuser Canada’s pulp mill, sawmill and forest lands.
As you start your return loop to Edmonton, you’ll head southeast to Valleyview on Highway 43, continuing to the town of Whitecourt. In Whitecourt, the ES Huestis Demonstration Forest explains forest ecosystems and reforestation in a 10 sq. kilometre (6.25 sq. miles) span that includes 16 interpretive sites. Located just outside of Whitecourt lies Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park, an excellent spot for camping, fishing or windsurfing.
For an interesting side trip, try Lac. Ste. Anne (on secondary highway 765), famous for its annual native pilgrimage (July 20 -25, 2002) where the waters are believed to be sacred and have healing qualities.
From Lac St. Anne it’s back to Edmonton as you complete the Grande Alberta Trail, 1,100 paved kilometers of pure adventure.
Alberta’s North
Discover Alberta’s magnificent northeast, home to the world’s largest free-roaming herd of bison. Or witness the rugged beauty of the Oil Sands Capital of the world, Fort McMurray
Heading north from Edmonton on Highway 2, you’ll travel through St. Albert, one of Alberta’s oldest communities. The Musee Heritage Museum is well known for its rich exhibits on the city’s history. From St. Albert, head toward the town of Athabasca. Situated among the hills of the Athabasca River is Athabasca University, Canada’s leading long-distance educational institution.
 |
As you continue east and north via Highways 55 and 63, you’ll arrive in Fort McMurray. In the heart of the boreal forest, Fort McMurray is located on the Athabasca Oil Sands Deposit, the world’s largest oil reserve. The majority of Fort McMurray’s economic development centres around the awe-inspiring oil sands. For a closer look at the development and technology behind the extraction process, visit the Oil Sands Discovery Centre, which features multi-media presentations and equipment displays including a dragline bucket and an 850-tonne bucket-wheel excavator. Inquire at the Fort McMurray Visitor’s Bureau (1-800-565-3947) for information on Experience the Energy guided summer tours of the Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Suncor Energy mines. Other Fort McMurray attractions include exhibits of the oldest settlement in
Alberta at the Fort Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum, or visit Heritage Park to see a record of the city’s early history.
This area is famed for fly-in fishing and hunting. The lakes are teeming with walleye, northern pike, grayling and perch. On your return, head south via Highways 63 and 28, passing the Edmonton
Garrison, Canada’s primary military support base for the Army Field Force in Western Canada, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
