Guest ranches
Have a hankering to enhance your Western experience? Alberta guest ranches offer enthusiasts anything from a brief trail ride to a weeklong stay.
An hour and a half outside Calgary is the Bar U Ranch, now a National Historic Site of Canada. The ranch consists of 35 buildings and structures and has been the temporary "home" of the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII), artists and even the Sundance Kid.
Banff National Park
A little more than an hour west of Calgary is Banff National Park, one of the world's largest protected wilderness areas, where visitors can take in the breathtaking beauty of nature's canvas. Tucked into the rugged Rocky Mountain landscape, Banff offers a bouquet of experiences, from a gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain to fishing in Lake Minnewanka to a soak in the Upper Hot Springs (a naturally heated mineral spring pool) to a sumptuous look at the incomparably beautiful Banff Springs Hotel (styled after a Scottish baronial castle).
A must-see: The Columbia Icefield
Located on the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks, the Columbia Icefield covers nearly 325 square kilometres and is one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle.
For more information, take a virtual trip to:
Drumheller
Drumheller Valley
Royal Tyrrell Museum
Alberta guest ranches
Homeplace Ranch
Alberta Country Vacations Association
Bar C Ranch
Lazy M Ranch
Rafter Six Ranch
Where are you going this summer? Discuss your travel plans with other readers in our forums!
Image courtesy of the Calgary Stampede
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