Planning a Trip

"Western" is the applicable label for the province of Alberta, both geographically and in mindset. Sitting north of Montana, the province's western border is defined by the Rocky Mountain range that spills over into neighboring British Columbia, the country's westernmost province.

Albertans have always maintained something of a maverick mindset, opposed to the staid establishment found in central Canada. Alberta was founded as a frontier, and the mindset remains; they're proud of their independent-mindedness, and will remind you of it at every opportunity.

However, none of this means any hassles for friendly tourists looking to bolster Alberta's exceptionally robust economy with their own dollars. Alberta is well-tuned to the tourist industry, with a surfeit of tour operators, information bureaus, and a top-notch provincial travel authority in Travel Alberta.

Your trip can be equal parts wilderness adventure and urban sophistication; Calgary and Edmonton both offer superlative shopping, dining, and cultural activities, and Calgary in particular, being only an hour from Banff National Park, is an ideal jumping-off point for outdoor adventures.

Driving in Alberta is a pleasure; the well-moneyed province maintains its roads meticulously, routes are well-marked and cover the vast majority of the province south of Edmonton with ease. Reaching the far northern expanses roads tend to peter out, so if you're planning a road-trip vacation, keep that in mind.