Recreation and sports

Parks

Albertans have a big, beautiful backyard to play in. There's a provincial park or recreation area within an hour’s drive of every Alberta community. Alberta's provincial parks and protected areas provide access to some of the most spectacular natural landscapes in the world, including one of the richest dinosaur finds in the world, the largest collection of aboriginal rock art on the North American Plains, Canada's most northerly bird observatory, glaciers and majestic mountains and so much more. Alberta’s history comes alive in the Canadian Badlands. The vast, carved prairie landscape harbours dinosaur fossils, intimate parks, pioneer history and a warm, western way of life.

There are six distinct natural regions in our province: Rocky Mountains, Foothills, Grassland, Parkland, Boreal Forest and Canadian Shield. Terrain ranges from native prairie, to hot dry badlands, vast boreal forests, alpine tundra and massive icefields.

Dinosaur Provincial Park, like no place else on earth, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A trip to Dinosaur Provincial Park is a 75 million-year foray back in time. Here, on the shores of the Bearpaw Sea, dinosaurs once hunted and mated and ultimately met their demise, leaving an amazingly rich fossil and bone record for us to discover today.

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a forested oasis in a sea of grass, is one of Canada's interprovincial parks. Bypassed by retreating glaciers during the last Ice Age, the Cypress Hills are the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, a national historic site, is rich in natural and cultural history. This park is a sacred landscape that has special spiritual significance for the Blackfoot people who hunted and travelled the Great Plains for generations. The park's archaeological preserve was established in 1977 to ensure protection of the largest concentration of rock art on the North American Plains.

Alberta’s majestic Rocky Mountain is home to four internationally acclaimed parks that allow visitors to experience spectacular beauty and adventure.

Kananaskis Country, protected by the province, is a unique multi-use recreation area covering over 4000 square kilometres of foothills, mountains and streams. Visitors explore Kananaskis Country through a multitude of activities, including picnicking, wildlife watching, camping, hiking, boating, fishing, biking, horseback riding, golfing, skiing or snowmobiling.

Jasper National Park is the largest and most northerly of the four Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks. Its scenery is rugged and includes the deeply gouged Maligne Canyon that leads to picturesque Maligne Lake, the second-largest glacial lake in the world. A visit to the Columbia Icefields, located between Jasper and Banff, allows visitors to walk out onto a living glacier.

Banff National Park is a world-famous tourist destination. The townsite, surrounded by wilderness, offers a wide range of amenities. It is not unusual to see elk, or even the occasional bear, on the streets. Numerous hiking trails are easily accessible and the highway that travels north to Lake Louise and Jasper is dotted with scenic stops that are perfect for both picnics and photos.

Waterton Lakes National Park is the world’s first international peace park. Located on Alberta’s border with the United States, it serves as a symbol of Canada’s rich relationship with the United States. Waterton Lakes offers outstanding scenery and features exceptionally diverse flora and fauna in its prairie, forest, alpine and glacial settings.

Alberta is home to five of Canada’s fifteen United Nations World Heritage Sites. They are: Dinosaur Provincial Park (fossil beds), Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (aboriginal culture), Wood Buffalo National Park (wildlife), the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (natural splendor), and the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (natural and cultural significance). As well, Alberta is home to the:

• world's largest shopping and entertainment complex - West Edmonton Mall,
• world's second largest and Canada's largest national park - Wood Buffalo National Park,
• largest ski area in Canada - Lake Louise,
• world's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanka) – Vegreville,
• second largest glacier fed lake in the world - Maligne Lake (Jasper National Park),
• one of the world's most photographed lakes - Moraine Lake (Banff National Park),
• North America's largest outdoor music festival - Big Valley Jamboree (Camrose),
• world's largest Tyrannosaurus Rex – Drumheller,
• two of the most scenic highways in the world – the Highwood Pass in Kananaskis Country and the Icefields Parkway connecting Jasper and Banff National Parks,
• Canada's largest public display of live reptiles - Reptile World (Drumheller),
• world's largest herd of free roaming bison - Wood Buffalo National Park,
• North America's largest, oldest and best preserved buffalo jump site - Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump,
• world's largest oil sands development - Suncor/Syncrude Oil Sand Plant (Fort McMurray),
• only city in Canada found within two provinces – Lloydminster
• Canada's only interprovincial parks; Cypress Hills and Willmore-Kakwa Interprovincial Parks,
• bird capital of Canada – McLennan,
• North America's largest theatre festival - Fringe Festival (Edmonton),
• second largest zoo in Canada - Calgary Zoo (Calgary),
• one of the richest dinosaur finds in the world - Dinosaur Provincial Park,
• world's largest Olympic museum - Olympic Hall of Fame (Calgary),
• world's largest cable suspended roof "reverse hyperbolic paraboloid" - Olympic Saddledome (Calgary),
• the richest show jumping contest in the world - The Masters (Calgary),
• one of North America's largest collections of antique and classic cars, trucks and planes – Reynolds-Alberta Museum (Wetaskiwin),
• largest collection of First Nations rock art on the North America Plains – Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park,
• greatest outdoor show on earth - Calgary Stampede (Calgary),
• world's first and only U.F.O. landing pad - St. Paul,
• world's first indoor bungee jump - West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton),
• world's tallest teepee - Medicine Hat,
• and North America's largest collection of horse drawn vehicles - Remington Alberta Carriage Centre.

Residents of both Edmonton and Calgary enjoy the beauty of parks and river valleys. Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River valley is the longest expanse of continuous urban parkland in North America. This river valley park system features 27,394 acres of parkland, includes 60 kilometres of bicycle paths and 400 kilometres of trails.

Calgary is home to two major natural parks. Fish Creek Provincial Park is one of the largest urban parks in North America and it protects 2800 acres of natural woodland, including a lake with a beach and many hiking and biking trails. Nose Hill Park covers over 2700 acres and it offers natural grassland, a spectacular city view and excellent hiking.

Recreational activities

With 600 lakes, 245 rivers and over 78,000 square kilometres of parks, Alberta has an abundance of recreational opportunities and over 2300 hours of sunshine each year to enjoy them. Whether it is outdoor recreation or learning about the natural environment, Alberta’s network of recreation and protected areas has something for everyone, no matter the season.

The geographic diversity of the province offers a wide range of outdoor recreational activities. On any given day, in any given season, thousands of Albertans and visitors enjoy their spectacular surroundings by:

• skiing (Alberta boasts 6 mountain ski resorts and 66 regional ski hills),
• golfing (280 golf courses)
• hiking
• fishing
• photography
• canoeing
• skating
• swimming
• camping
• boating
• rock climbing
• and archaeological expeditions in the badlands, home of the dinosaurs.

Both Edmonton and Calgary offer numerous sport and recreational opportunities. Each city has professional teams in football, hockey and baseball. In addition, Alberta has world-class sporting facilities, a legacy of Calgary hosting the XVth Winter Olympiad, and Edmonton hosting the 1978 Commonwealth Games and 2001 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

Sports

Students are encouraged to participate in sports at school, and everyone is encouraged to join teams and use community recreation centres such as swimming pools and ice arenas.

There are over one hundred provincial sport and recreation associations in Alberta.

Community centres

People go to centres operated by community, ethnocultural or religious organizations in their neighbourhoods to participate in social, sport and recreation activities, or “learn to” classes (for example, crafts, dance or speak English).

These centres and organizations often provide evening classes for people interested in learning about a wide variety of subjects, including:

• Baking.
• Chess.
• Dancing.
• Painting.
• Pottery.
• Gymnastics and many other sports.

For more information, contact the Community Adult Learning Council, public school board, separate school board, community league or ethnocultural organization in your area.

Community Adult Learning Councils are listed in the Community Learning section of the Alberta Advanced Education and Technology website.

Cultural activities

Alberta has many opportunities for people to enjoy cultural activities such as:

• Museums.
• Ballets.
• Zoos.
• Symphonies.
• Theatres.
• Art galleries.
• Historical sites.
• Libraries.
• Operas.

Throughout the summer months, there are:

• Rodeos.
• Fairs.
• Farmers' markets.
• Outdoor and indoor concerts.
• Numerous celebrations and festivals such as the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton's Heritage Days.

These events are advertised in newspapers and on radio and television. For more information, visit the "Things to Do" section of the Travel Alberta website.

Date Updated: Mar 23, 2009
RDP-608