Canada High: The Ultimate Alberta Road Trip

21.02.2024 - 01:33 / forbes.com / Rocky Mountains / Rainbow Bridge

Looking for a cool way to vacation in Canada this summer? How about a road trip hitting all the highlights of Alberta, the big Western province where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountains.

Calgary, the province’s largest city, is well connected with the rest of Canada and many U.S. destinations by air. Alternatively, you can take the train from Vancouver or all the way from eastern Canada. Either way, Calgary offers plenty of rental car options for launching your road trip.

If self-drive is more your thing, the Trans-Canada Highway is the best route from elsewhere in Canada and there are several routes from south of the border including US 89/Canada 2 from Montana or US 95/Canada 3 from Spokane and northern Idaho.

Founded as a remote frontier fort in 1875 by the North-West Mounted Police (Mounties), Calgary first boomed as a railroad town and ranching hub before the discovery of oil in 1914 made it one of the richest cities in Canada (and by extension, the British Empire).

What’s the origin of its unusual name? The city is named after a tiny hamlet on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.

While the annual Calgary Stampede rodeo and horse show in August harkens back to the city’s frontier days, the forest of steel-and-glass skyscrapers reflected in the Bow River are very much a product of the 20^th-century energy boom.

Downtown offers numerous overnight options including a new-style Marriott Residence Inn in the Beltline neighborhood, a place that feels and acts much more like an upscale urban boutique hotel than its older incarnation.

The Calgary Tower, National Music Centre at Studio Bell, the indoor botanical garden at +15 Skywalk, and the Glenbow Museum of art and history (largest of its kind in western Canada) are the prime downtown attractions. You can also hire a two-wheeler at Joe’s Garage or Bow Cycle E-Bikes and cruise the riverside bike paths on either side of Rainbow Bridge.

Yet the city’s biggest treat is the eclectic culinary scene, restaurants like the Monki Breakfast Club to get the day started; Asian-Mediterranean fusion dishes at Orchid or Una Pizza + Wine for lunch; and the sublime farm and forage to table cuisine of Rouge or Latin-flavored Fortuna’s Row for dinner.

It’s a straight shot on the Trans-Canada Highway from Calgary to Banff. But don’t rush. There are several worthwhile detours including the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary and photogenic Canmore, a holy grail of global rock climbing.

Banff and its namesake national park are the crown jewel of the Canadian Rockies, a vast expanse of wilderness to hike, bike, paddle or climb in summer or ski, skate, snowshoe or fat bike when it starts to snow.

Ride the Banff Gondola to the summit of Sulphur Mountain for a bird’s-eye-view of the valley, a