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With gasoline prices spiralling upward, a lot of people are vacationing close to home. And why not? People from all over the world come to southern Alberta to explore a variety of options in our own backyard from music and art, haunted mansions in Stirling and ghost towns.
In Lethbridge alone, there are music and arts festivals, 140 kilometres of walking paths, five public swimming pools, not including private pools such as the YMCA pool. There are also trails, mountains, national historical sites like Fort Whoop-Up down in the coulee, all within easy access — some within walking and cycling distances.
“Lethbridge has a lot in the community, so make sure you take a walk,” said Brenda Neufeld, marketing co-ordinator of Age Care, addressing a fascinated group of seniors at the Crossings branch of the Lethbridge Public Library during its Café Chat on June 16. She began by asking the group a series of questions about what they thought Lethbridge’s attractions were, which echoed the presentation of Chinook Country Tourism’s Phil Edmundson.
Edmundson said Chinook Tourism operates two tourism centres which attract about 45,000 people a year, 10 per cent from Lethbridge and the rest from outside of the city.
“We just want you to get out there and enjoy all of the things we have here,” summarized Edmundson, concluding a lengthy presentation outlining many of southern Alberta’s tourist attractions.
He said southern Alberta gets a lot of visitors from all over Canada, the U.S and the furthest reaches of the United States including Alaska and Hawaii.
He isn’t surprised by the number of attractions.
“Not really. We have so many entrepreneurs here and they are all excited to share their attractions,” he said.
New campgrounds and RV parks are opening all the time from new RV parks to newly restored ghost towns including a new one in Del Bonita.
The Galt Museum is a big attraction which some visitors come just to see.
“Tourism is a very important industry in Alberta. It’s the fourth largest industry after agriculture and energy. Forestry is after that so tourism may be tied. It brings in $6 billion per year of economic activity into Alberta, so it is quite important,” Edmundson said. He added tourism brings in $70 billion a year into Canada and directly employs 750,000 Canadians, most of it small businesses with 20 or less employees.
He noted southwest Alberta has the second largest number of things to do and see, second only to the Niagara Falls region.
“In the city we have unique site like the Galt which is a tremendous wealth of information,” he said, adding their latest exhibit, “The Greatest Years,” explores Lethbridge’s formative years 1906-1913. One of the many significant events happening during that era was the construction of the High Level Bridge, built between 1906 and 1909.
“It’s 1.2 miles long and 314 feet above the river and it’s still being used today. We have trains on it that are longer than the bridge. People come from all over North America to see it,” he said.
Another interesting attraction is the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, which he said is the only one of its kind in Canada.
“It was started in 1960 and finished in 1967 as a Centennial project. It is 40 some years old and has maintained its integrity because of how they prune the shrubbery,” he continued, noting the garden’s architect comes once a year in July to talk about how to maintain it.
“They have yoga there and when there is a full moon, night-time viewings on Saturdays. It is so peaceful. It is a great place to go to just relax or if you are feeling stressed out.”
For history buffs, he said southern Alberta is blessed to be home to three national historical sites — the closest being Fort Whoop-Up in Indian Battle Park in the river bottom.
“It is the most important of 26 whiskey trading forts that were along the Oldman River (originally known as the Belly River),” he said.
“They have an extensive collection of traditional Blackfoot bundles. And it’s a place to go and see how early settlers and traders operated their businesses,” he said.
“And Indian Battle Park was the site of the last big Indian battle in October 1870, which isn’t that long ago.”
Also in the coulee, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre is always a popular attraction for people interested in Lethbridge’s flora and fauna, or for people who just want to go for a pleasant hike in the midst of nature.
He noted there are lots of music and arts festivals as well as the ever-popular ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place this weekend, June 24-26, in Henderson Lake Park. There are a plethora of performers playing throughout the day for all three days in all genres from country to classic rock.
The other big summer event is Canada Day weekend which features live music at both Henderson Lake and at Galt Gardens downtown.
Classic car buffs look forward to Street Wheelers’ Street Machine Weekend, which is July 8-9. People come out in droves to see classic cars cruising down Mayor Magrath Drive as well as races at Exhibition Park, and the Show and Shine in Galt Gardens.
The other big summer festival in Lethbridge is Whoop-up Days, which is Aug. 23-27. Whoop-Up Days is also a good place to get your classic rock fix. This year, Lighthouse opens the celebration on Aug. 23, Trooper plays Aug. 24, Kenny Shields and Streetheart are Aug. 25. Local bands Unzipped and Trevor Panczak and Rough Stock perform on Aug. 26. Who’s Yer Daddy and Prism close things off, Aug. 27.
Another popular event is New West Theatre’s summer variety shows. They have a rock and roll theme this summer with Twist and Shout June 29-July 23. It will focus on the ’50s. New West tests their rock and roll legs with Born to Rock, Aug. 3-27.
“It’s very enjoyable. There is so much energy, I get tired just watching it,” Edmundson said.
There is lots going on just outside of town. Raymond holds its annual Stampede on June 30. It is even older than the Calgary Stampede.
Southern Alberta is also home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites all within easy driving distances. There is Waterton National Park, where Blackfoot Indians used to go on vision quests and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump outside of Fort Macleod, which is run by local First Nations and offers a thorough history of the buffalo hunt.
“It’s a seven-storey building cut into the side of the land,” Edmundson continued. He said it has been there for 25 years and may be shut down for renovations and to update the displays.
“It used to do 90,000 visitors a year, now they’re down to 60,000, so they want to understand why that is,” he said.
On the way to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, he said visitors should stop by Fort Macleod to see the North West Mounted Police Museum.
“In 1874, they offered $10,000 to buy Fort Whoop-Up for the NWMP base, which was a lot of money at the time, but the American owners rejected it, so they spent $15,000 to build one in Fort Macleod,” he said. While in Fort Macleod, he encouraged visitors to see the Empress Theatre, the longest continuously operating theatre in Alberta, which opened in 1913.
Another attraction, which he said is on the shortlist to become a UNESCO World Historical site, is Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park located 32 kilometres east of Milk River on Secondary Hwy. 501 (10 kms south on the access road), where natives recorded their early history.
“It gets up to 50 degrees Celsius there. They won’t let you in without a guide, a good pair of walking shoes and a good supply of water,” he said.
There are also a lot of options to explore Mormon history as well as mining and ranching. Plus, the Crowsnest Pass has a lot of attractions as well including the Frank Slide, and nearby, the Bellvue Mine site. |
