Must-see attractions in Southern Alberta

  • Red Rock creek in motion and canyon in Waterton Lakes National park, alberta, canada; Shutterstock ID 366870593; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
366870593

    Waterton Lakes National Park

    Southern Alberta

    Here flat prairies collide dramatically with the Rockies, with a sparkling lake and a hilltop castle that may make you wonder if you've fallen into a…

  • Canadian Prairie at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump world heritage site in Southern Alberta, Canada; Shutterstock ID 97797887; full: 65050; gl: 65050; netsuite: poi; your: Barbara Di Castro
97797887

    Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

    Southern Alberta

    The story behind this Unesco World Heritage site with the strangest name of any attraction in Alberta is one of ingenuity and resourcefulness – and is key…

  • CANADA - 2003/01/01: Canada, Alberta, Drumheller, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Interior, Dinosaur Skeleton, Stegosaurus. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

    Drumheller

    This fantastic museum is one of the pre-eminent dinosaur museums on the planet, made even better by a $5.9 million expansion project completed in 2019…

  • Bar U Ranch

    Southern Alberta

    Founded in 1882, Bar U was once one of the largest commercial ranches in the world, covering 160,000 acres. You can wander back in time through its two…

  • Frank Slide Interpretive Centre

    Southern Alberta

    This excellent museum overlooks the Crowsnest Valley and helps put a human face on the tragedy of the Frank landslide. Displays bring mining, the railroad…

  • Dinosaur Provincial Park

    Southern Alberta

    In no other place on earth has such a large number of dinosaur bones been found in such a small area – over 40 species and 400 skeletons. Set where The…

  • Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

    Southern Alberta

    Perhaps the best thing about this park is that it really isn't on the way to anywhere. For those willing to get off the main thoroughfare, all efforts…

  • Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park

    Southern Alberta

    Standing stoically in the center of a First Nations reserve, Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park celebrates and embraces authentic Siksika (Blackfoot)…

  • Indian Battle Park

    Southern Alberta

    In the coulee between the east and west sides of the city, Indian Battle Park, named after a famous 1870 battle between the Blackfoot and the Cree, is no…

  • Cameron Lake

    Southern Alberta

    Backed by the sheer-sided slopes of Mt Custer, placid Cameron Lake is tucked tantalizingly beneath the Continental Divide at the three-way meeting point…

  • Fort Whoop-Up

    Southern Alberta

    Inside expansive Indian Battle Park, bizarrely named Fort Whoop-Up, now managed by the Galt Museum, is a replica of Alberta's largest and most notorious…

  • Horseshoe Canyon

    Drumheller

    The baddest of the badlands can be seen at Horseshoe Canyon, a spectacular chasm cut into the otherwise flat prairie located 17km west of Drumheller on…

  • East Coulee School Museum

    Drumheller

    This original village school in art deco style doubled in size to eight rooms during the coal mining boom of the 1930s. Exhibits inside detail the history…

  • Rosedale Suspension Bridge

    Drumheller

    This suspension bridge isn't very long or particularly high, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Made of see-through wire mesh, it sways like…

  • World's Largest Dinosaur

    Drumheller

    In a town filled with dinosaurs, this T rex is the king of them all. Standing 26m high above a parking lot, it dominates the Drumheller skyline (and is…

  • Upper Waterton Lake

    Southern Alberta

    Visible from all over town, this is the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies, sinking to a murky 120m. One of the best vantage points is from the Prince…

  • Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation

    Southern Alberta

    This is a working rescue sanctuary that takes in raptors, owls and other birds of prey and – ideally – releases them promptly back into the wild. However,…

  • Cameron Falls

    Southern Alberta

    At the west end of Cameron Falls Dr (a short hop from the center of town) is this dramatically poised torrent of foaming water, notable among geologists…

  • Atlas Coal Mine

    Drumheller

    Home to the last wooden tipple (a coal-loading structure) in Canada, Atlas Coal Mine closed its production in 1959. Today it's an engaging historic sight…

  • Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

    Southern Alberta

    The Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is the perfect antidote to the stresses of the road. These immaculate grounds, interspersed with ponds, flowing water,…

  • Galt Museum & Archives

    Southern Alberta

    The story of Lethbridge is told at the Sir Alexander Galt Museum, encased in an old hospital building (1910) on the bluff high above the river…

  • Southern Alberta Art Gallery

    Southern Alberta

    With new temporary exhibits every three months, this small gallery focuses on contemporary art. Past exhibitions have included local artists as well as…