Winter Wonderland

 

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You don't have to downhill ski to love Alberta in the winter. There are about 101 other reasons to visit when the snow does.

Northern Lights | Snowmobiling | Icy Gems

Sleigh Ride, Edmonton River Valley

Here in the land of a million Christmas trees, all activities and all people are welcome.

From Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, head east to Cooking Lake Blackfoot Recreation Area or Strathcona Wilderness Centre, two premier cross-country ski destinations, laced with track-set trails and frozen lakes, ideal for skaters.

If you’re spending time in the capital — dip into the heart of winter along the North Saskatchewan River Valley. The longest stretch of urban parkland in North America is blessed with winter options from cross-country skiing on 29 mi (48 km) of groomed trails to skating, dog sledding, horse-drawn sleigh rides, tobogganing, ski-joring and nature walks.

 

Be Wooed by the Dance of the Northern Lights

Ice Fishing, Wabamum Lake, west of Edmonton

Then head north to Fort McMurray, now the heart of the Athabasca Oil Sands, but originally a fur-trading post in 1790. Its historic roots are kept alive by old-fashioned winter fun like cross-country skiing, dog sledding and ice fishing. But being the boom town that it is you’ll also discover more modern passions like snowmobiling.

One of the most spectacular sights that link together many northern towns such as Fort McMurray, Fort Chipewyan, Slave Lake, Peace River, Grande Prairie and Athabasca are the northern lights, a.k.a. aurora borealis. Midnight tours to ideal viewing areas are available in all these locations. Also popular in this neck of the woods are winter fishing derbies, especially those on Slave Lake and Lac La Biche, where contestants build little fires on frozen lakes to warm themselves while they haul in eye-popping walleye and perch.

Rip up snowmobile trails

Another premier snowmobile mecca is Grande Prairie, northwest of Edmonton. With its wide-open spaces and the Kakwa Wildlands wilderness area, serious snowmobile clubs groom the areas for jump opportunities. Also nearby is the Wapiti Nordic Ski Centre (developed for the Canada Winter Games) where you'll find 18 miles (30 km) of track-set trails through a boreal forest. Hike or snowshoe through fir forests or hire a guide to take you to areas where lynx, wolves, woodland caribou, elk, and deer have been spotted.

Head south to Hinton and Grande Cache and you’ll find little snow-mantled towns dominated by a vast wilderness, where snowmobiling, snowshoeing, ice fishing and cross-country skiing reign. Carry on to the more developed alpine hubs like Jasper, Banff and Canmore and you'll see why they’ve been backdrops to Hollywood movies.

Ice Climbing, Lake Louise, Banff National Park

Whether you choose to get pampered at one of their many spas, poke around an unusual museum, an eclectic art gallery or simply want to curl up with a good book around a ripping fire in a handsome backcountry lodge — the options are endless. As for outdoor enthusiasts these are launching pads for ice climbing, superb cross-country skiing (the Canmore Nordic Centre was home to the Nordic events of the XV Winter Olympics), annual loppets (Lake Louise is the province’s oldest and second largest next to Edmonton’s Birkebeiner), wildlife viewing — even something new called heli-snowshoeing.

And now for something completely different

Canyon Crawling, Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park

for something completely unusual — a Maligne Canyon Ice Walk through the belly of the deepest canyon in Jasper is always a thrill as is strapping on your snowshoes for a midnight run across a frozen lake in Banff.

Venturing south, stop on the fringes of Calgary for a guided tour or a ski at Canada Olympic Park. Besides being an active ski hill and biathlon loop, sports fans from around the world get the inside track on Olympic winter sports with tours of this facility which include a look down the jaw-dropping 295-foot (90-metre) ski jump, a visit to Canada’s only bobsleigh/luge track and the popular Olympic Hall of Fame.

Framed by the Rockies to the west, the southern-most reaches of Alberta also celebrate winter with extensive award-winning snowmobile territory in areas around Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek and Lethbridge. In the sleepy town of Waterton you’ll find a handful of lodges and hotels open in the winter with opportunities to snowshoe, cross-country ski, laze around a spa, or snuggle up under the moonlight for a horsedrawn sleigh ride.

From rugged to refined — somewhere in Alberta a perfect winter holiday awaits, ready to sweep you off your feet.

Alberta has more than 25 sample itineraries that span the province. Discover the other scenic drives with detailed trip planning advice.