Six Attractions You Must Visit in Southern Alberta
Six Attractions You Must Visit in Southern Alberta July 25, 2018 · 11 min. readWhile the thoughts and opinions are my own, this article was brought to you by a third party. Also, this article may contain affiliate links.
If you're visiting Alberta this summer, you probably have your heart set on visiting the mountains. After all, places like Lake Louise, Banff, Waterton and now Castle Provincial Park are some of the most beautiful sites in Canada, and they're always a hit on Instagram (if you're into that kind of thing). But, between Regina and the mountains is a whole province with plenty of sights to explore.
Last year I took more trips than I could count to southern Alberta, but most of them ended near Medicine Hat. Had I gone a bit further, I would have found myself in a myriad of attractions to see, from historical museums to sites of natural disasters and just about everything in-between.
For those looking to make a few stops on their way to the Rocky Mountains, or for those who are just looking for an Alberta road trip, here are six attractions you must visit while in southern Alberta.
On my last count I had about seven articles about Medicine Hat, and collectively they only skin the surface of what to see in this city. This city is full of culture, heritage and rivals any major city for year-round festivals.
While you're in "The Hat", make sure to visit some of the cute and quirky cafes throughout the city, like MadHatter Roastery or Heartwood Café. I visited MadHatter Roastery last summer and watched firsthand as they ground, steamed and cooked fresh coffee beans.
Beyond the cafes, pubs, breweries and distilleries in Medicine Hat, one of the city's biggest attractions is Medalta. This former brick processing plant was closed several years ago and was converted into a gallery, museum and local market. This national historic site not only showcases the industry that gave birth to Medicine Hat, but also the resilience of the community after it closed.
There's plenty more to see in Medicine Hat, like Hell's Basement Brewery, The Esplanade or even the nearby Cypress Hills if you're planning on spending a few days in the area.
2. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
One of the most iconic sights in southern Alberta is the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. This dramatic geological cliff formation, and the interpretive museum built into the side of it, discussed the history of the Blackfoot people and their way of life. The museum explains how the Blackfoot people would lure the buffalo near the cliff, and then have members of their tribe dress up as wolves to chase them over the edge. Running the buffalo over the cliff would provide the tribe with more than enough meat, fur, fat and sinew to last through to the winter.
Fort Macleod was incorporated in 1892, but twenty years later the Canadian Pacific Railway moved locations to Lethbridge, devastating the local economy. From 1912 until the 1970s the city remained untouched, almost as if it was in a time capsule. In the 1980s, the downtown area was declared a "Provincial Historical Area" and is preserved for future generations.
This same concept of preserving history can be seen throughout the town, especially at The Fort. Rebuilt in the 1950s, The Fort is a recreation of the N.W.M.P fort that stood in the same spot in the late 1800s. The purpose of the fort is to preserve the history of the police, the First Nations people and the history of the town.
Cardston, Alberta might be a small community, but it's home to the largest carriage museum in Canada. The Remington Carriage Museum showcases over 250 different carriages from around North America and England, dating back to the late 1800s. Some of these carriages were used by settlers as they moved west, while others were used by politicians like Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II.
One of the newest exhibits in the museum opened in May of 2017 and focuses on Robert McLaughlin. McLaughlin is the owner and operator of McLaughlin Carriages Co., the largest carriage manufacturing company in the British Empire. Based out of Oshawa, the carriage manufacturing plant is responsible for bringing General Motors into Canada in the early years of the 20th Century but is also responsible for the creation and distribution of Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
An hour south of Calgary is Turner Valley, and within this valley sits one of Alberta's most iconic symbols: a natural gas manufacturing plant. However, this plant isn't any ordinary plant. It is the very first plant to ever exist in the province and is the one responsible for making Alberta into the economic powerhouse it is today.
The plant closed in 1985 after being in operation for nearly seventy years, but it was quickly converted into a museum, full of the original mechanics, machinery and tools. There is also an exhibit in the museum that marks the exact spot Dingman No. 1 went into operation back on May 14, 1914 where natural gas began seeping from the earth. This sight, as commonplace as it is today, changed the future of Alberta forever.
Before there was Turner Valley, there was Turtle Mountain and the town of Frank. The town of Frank sits at the bottom of Turtle Mountain, and in early 1900s the residents of the town started mining the mountain. The First Nations people warned them not to set up a village there, as the mountain tended to move, but their worries fell on deaf ears.
On April 29, 1903 the mountain moved, and 90 million tones of limestone moved with it. A complete side of the mountain collapsed and started a landslide that – although lasted less than 2 minutes – took the lives of 90 people and buried the community.
Today an interpretative center sits near the edge of the stony field, and a seismic measuring system is placed at the peak of the mountain. The mountain shifts once and awhile, but it has never collapsed again.
And, as always, a big thank you to my sweetheart Jessica Nuttall for proof reading a countless number of my articles. I couldn't do any of this without you. I love you.
Books I Recommend
Sign up for a list of 100+ Things to do in Regina!
When I started my blog, I wanted a place to tell stories. I wanted a place where I could keep memories and show them off for people later. My earliest entries on my blog are from 2011 (published in 2014), right after my trip to Europe. They're messy, they lack detail, and they are full of inaccuracies. Not the mention the wretched photography.
So, there's only been a slight improvement since then. Hahahahaha.
Four years later, my blog has become my hobby, my joy, my escape and my work. I spend hours writing content for my blog. I spend hours editing pictures, researching details, and adjusting content for SEO (search engine optimization). It's a full-time gig, and just the other day I published my 200th article. After 200 times of doing something, you'd think the articles would get easier, but they really don't. Each one is unique unto itself, and each one is a special time in my life that I shared with my readers.
Throughout the past few months I've been sharing a lot about downtown Regina, and there's a reason for that. Downtown Regina's urban centre has undergone a massive revitalization the past few years, and since I love Regina, I felt it was important for me to talk about this. For those who don't travel downtown regularly, you'd be surprised to find out it is no longer the downtown of the 1990s. A lot has changed, is changing, or has been completely transformed.
Scores of people had to come together to make this happen, but one of the driving forces behind this transformation is the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID). This organisation was established in 1981 under the belief that entrepreneurs, diversity and creativity should thrive in the hub of the city. It may have taken time, but after decades of work their efforts are finally being rewarded. Today, downtown Regina is the epicentre of festivals, vendors, concerts, movies, art displays, and outdoor activities. This winter the RDBID lit the Christmas tree downtown, has been operating the skating rink twice a day everyday, and helped to arrange the crokicurl rink – the new sport that is sweeping the nation.
In the summer the list gets even longer – thanks to many partners and sponsors – with the Regina Farmers Market, Market Under the Stars, Cinema Under the Stars, AfroFest, Doors Open, Yoga in the Park, art {outside}, Parkin(ing) Day, Pop Up Downtown and dozens of other events and festivals.
A few months ago I entered a contest for a trip for two to visit Philadelphia on Two Bad Tourists. Normally contests like this are limited to United States residents so when I saw this one was open to Canadians I jumped at the chance. I've never won something like this before, so I actually forgot about it until I got the emailing saying I had won. Two Bad Tourists then worked alongside Visit Philly to organise the trip for me and my mother to explore Philadelphia for three days. Visit Philly paid for our flights, hotels and gave us a VIP Pass to experience the city to our heart's content. It is thanks to them that this trip is possible.
Several movies and television shows have tried to capture the essence of Philadelphia over the years – from the boxing Blockbuster Rocky, to the paranormal thriller The Sixth Sense, to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and even Boy Meets World – but each described the city differently. There is no easy way to approach a city as dynamic as The City of Brotherly Love. With countless layers of art, history, religion and the paranormal, Philadelphia is a city unlike any other throughout the United States.
One thing that surprised me the most about Philadelphia was the history. The city was founded and designed by William Penn, who is also the state of Pennsylvania's namesake. Born in London, England in 1644 he lived through The Great Fire of 1666 and The Great Plague of London from 1665-1666. Both events shaped Penn's life so he designed the city to be strictly stone buildings (to stop fires from spreading) and to have plenty of space between the buildings (as to prevent illness from spreading). This led to the older areas of the city to have winding corridors between old stone walls.
