Alberta

The perfect place to test out those hiking boots and thermal underwear, the Canadian Province of Alberta with its rocky mountains and prairies of Saskatchewan is the best destination for exciting and sometimes dangerous outdoor activities – the best kind of fun.

Banff and Jasper, well-known resorts in the Canadian Rockies, are brimming with adventures. Here you can go horse-riding, golfing and hiking in summer or come in  the winter for some real hardcore fun: dog sledding, ice climbing or Heli-skiing (off-trail downhill skiing from mountain tops accessed by helicopter – now does it get cooler than that?).

Talking about cool things – dinosaurs, anyone? In Alberta, you can study dinosaur remains on the banks of the Red Deer River, on the 48km Dinosaur Trail near Drumheller. Also, near downtown Drumheller is the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, with hands-on exhibitions and one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur remains.

The cherry on the cake is the annual Calgary Stampede, a huge rodeo event, held in Calgary, Alberta, every June. The ten-day event, promoted as  “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, attracts over one million visitors every year and features one of the world’s largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, and Chuckwagon racing.