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Read featured articles from destinations along the Yellowhead

Visit these Destinations along the Yellowhead:

Edmonton
Edson
Fort Saskatchewan
Grande Cache
Hinton
Innisfree
Jasper
Kitscoty
Lamont
Mannville
Parkland
Sherwood Park
St. Albert
Vegreville
Vermilion
Wabamun

Welcome to Alberta

Land of the Wild Rose

by Terri Mason

Photo: Travel Alberta

Alberta is rich – in culture, art, resources and great people who choose to call this dynamic place home. It is here you experience the dramatic shift from the prairie awash in the song of the meadowlark to the breathtaking, towering peaks of what the Cree called as-sin-wati – the Rocky Mountains. Alberta is renowned for its diverse culture, wide-open range and unparalleled Rocky Mountain playground.

At the eastern edge of Alberta, travellers cross the provincial border without ever leaving Lloydminster, “Canada’s Border City.”

Next along the Yellowhead is Vermilion with its meticulously restored heritage main street that is a huge draw to visitors and movie scouts. Vermilion is also a dynamic centre of learning, drawing students to its two renowned training centers, Lakeland College and Alberta’s fire-fighting training school, fire etc. Visitors are welcome to camp overnight and hike the nearby trail-laced Vermilion Provincial Park.

Thrill to the action-packed, hard-charging sport of professional chuckwagon racing! Photo: Travel Alberta

The world’s largest eco-museum is in Kalyna Country and its natural areas and trails are prime sources for spotting wildlife. Immerse yourself in the culture at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, where costumed players recreate the lives of Ukrainian settlers in this living museum. Historical buildings, farms, a town and a rural community have been recreated – right down to the fresh bread baked in one of the pich (pronounced ‘peach’) or clay ovens.

Kalyna Country also offers the architectural treasures of more than 100 churches, most of them built in the “onion-domed” Byzantine style by devout Ukrainian pioneers. The area hosts an abundance of historic sites, including two museums, award-winning festivals and of course, the world’s largest pysanka (Easter egg) at Vegreville. Attend one of the many ethnic festivals like the Vegreville Country Fair and the Vegreville Ukrainian Pysanka Festival.

Highly acclaimed for its challenging layout and spectacular beauty, the Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club is the ‘must-play’ course in Canada. Stanley Thompson, Canada’s master golf course architect, displayed some of his finest work with this design. The 18-hole layout offers elevated tee boxes, dramatic bunkering and holes aligned with distant mountain vistas. As a result, few golf courses in the world can match the rugged majesty of this national treasure. Photo: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Located less than an hour east of Edmonton, Elk Island National Park of Canada is home to North America’s largest and smallest land mammals – the wood bison and pygmy shrew. This beautiful oasis celebrated its centennial in 2006 as the first national game preserve in Canada. Also boasting over 250 species of birds, the park is a bird watcher’s paradise. Additional natural attractions in Strathcona County include the Strathcona Wilderness Centre, the Cooking Lake and Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Areas and the tranquil Ministik Bird Sanctuary.

Edmonton is Alberta’s capital and renowned as Canada’s ‘Festival City,’ an exciting, multi-ethnic metropolis with over 35 annual festivals that run the gamut from the International Street Performers Festival to Jazz City. Explore Alberta’s exciting history at the Royal Alberta Museum, a captivating experience and enjoy a trip back in time at Fort Edmonton Park, the largest living history park in Canada. Overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, the Fort recreates the heyday of Edmonton’s roots as a fur trading post to a booming metropolitan centre after the First World War.

With seven mentions in the Guinness World Book of Records, the gargantuan West Edmonton Mall lives up to its reputation as “The Greatest Indoor Show On Earth.” WEM hosts excellent shopping with over eight hundred stores and fun attractions that include Galaxyland, Deep Sea Adventure, Ice Palace and World Waterpark, plus a theme room hotel. For more shopping, discover the many eclectic shops in Edmonton’s historic districts such as the Old Strathcona area of Whyte Avenue and the 124 Street area. Funky and charming, these districts offer boutiques, restaurants, art galleries and lively nightclubs.

The flowing ribbons and brilliant rays of the aurora borealis are a regular presence in northern Alberta skies Photo: Travel Alberta

Alberta’s beautifully designed golf courses attract golfers from around the world, and here guests can tee off at some of Alberta’s award-winning and challenging golf clubs. An elite list has golfed among the peaks in a spectacular setting at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Course, one of only nine courses in the world to receive the gold medal by Golf Magazine. With its stunning setting and unparalleled bunkering, Jasper is a “must-play” course.

Other courses of note include the Rod Whitman-designed Blackhawk Golf Club, routed along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River just south of Edmonton. It’s worth the drive to go south to Ponoka to play another Whitman course, the Wolf Creek Golf Resort, as famous for its timeless design as it is for its 27 championship holes. Homegrown master designers Sid Puddicombe Associates carved out a challenging course, RedTail Landing, located near the Edmonton International Airport. In Edmonton, rise to the challenge of Jack Nicklaus’ signature course, the Northern Bear Golf Club near Sherwood Park in Strathcona County.

If hiking is your passion, the vast network of hiking trails that criss-cross our province is accessible to all experience levels, ranging from a leisurely stroll along the edge of prairie marshes and clear mountain lakes to a challenging multi-day backpacking route.

Cross-country skiing is a sport designed for absolute beginners to die-hard athletes. As a sport, cross-country skiing is one of the most difficult endurance sports, as its motions use every major muscle group and it (along with rowing and swimming) is one of the sports that burn the most calories per hour in execution. Photo: Travel Alberta

The Hinton area is known for its excellent hiking trails, and is sought out by sportspeople who enjoy fishing and wildlife photography. Nearby, Switzer Provincial Park is a four-season destination with all levels of trails for outdoor enthusiasts.

Get a birds’-eye view of the high country in Jasper National Park, where you can ride the Jasper Tramway – the longest and highest guided aerial tramway in Canada. Cruise the emerald waters of Maligne Lake in a glass-enclosed boat to world-famous Spirit Island. Luxuriate in the spa-like setting of the natural sulphur spring waters of the Miette Hot Springs.

For winter fun, ski or board the deep powder slopes of Marmot Ski Basin, or for something completely different - experience the exhilarating speed and excitement of driving (mushing) a team of highly-trained huskies for a spectacular adventure across the foothills outside the Jasper park boundary.

Enjoy a scenic side trip to the town of Grande Cache, some 214 km (130 mi.) northwest of Jasper National Park. Nestled on a mountain plateau, Grande Cache offers great shopping and outdoor adventures and is the home of Canada’s toughest race, the annual Canadian Death Race and Festival.

With more livestock than people, no visit to the Alberta would be complete without saddling up! Guests are encouraged to experience cowboy life at some of the ultimate guest ranches in Canada. Ride the trails with an experienced guide, participate in a roundup or head for the high country with highly-trained outfitters. Rip snortin’ rodeo is the sport of the prairies, and almost every community along the Yellowhead Highway Corridor hosts a summer weekend rodeo. Bring your cowboy boots!

The new experiences, sights, music and new friends that await you along the Yellowhead are endless. Come join us!