The Atlas Obscura Guide To Alberta

79 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Alberta

Updated August 21, 2024

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Unusual Attractions in Alberta

Bankhead

Bankhead, Alberta

Bankhead Ghost Town

The ruins of the "20-year town" lay out among the mountains of Alberta.

Banff, Alberta

Banff Springs Hotel

Few other hotels can rival the grandeur of the Castle in the Rockies.

The world’s largest dark sky preserve.

Improvement District No. 24, Alberta

Wood Buffalo National Park

The world's largest dark sky preserve is a Canadian park established to preserve the country's last wood bison.

Lake Abraham.

Alberta

Lake Abraham

The frozen bubbles that form on the icy surface of this Canadian lake contain enough methane to create a small explosion.

Tunnel Entrance

Kananaskis, Alberta

The Vault

What was to be the world's most secure Cold War document vault ended up as just a few shallow caves.

Drumheller, Alberta

The Hoodoos of Drumheller Valley

Hoodoos, naturally eroded land formations, stand 20 feet tall in the Canadian badlands.

Red Rock Coulee

Orion, Alberta

Red Rock Coulee

Huge spherical rocks in the middle of the prairie.

Banff, Alberta

Banff Merman

A mysterious taxidermy man-beast of the seven seas.

See All 79 Things To Do in Alberta

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Alberta

Exterior

Wayne, Alberta

Last Chance Saloon

This ghost-town bar has bullet holes and plenty of stories lurking within its walls.

Lake Louise, Alberta

Lake Agnes Teahouse

Take a hike to this remote, scenic tea stop in the Canadian Rockies.

Calgary, Alberta

Little Chief

What happens when a chef with indigenous roots takes over a hotel-restaurant?

Glendon, Alberta

Giant Perogy

Roadside tribute to a staple of eastern European cuisine.

See all 6 Places to Eat in Alberta

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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Alberta

National Parks 9

Nature 7

Animals 7

Water 6

Museums 6

Geology 6

Architecture 6

Mountains 6

Geological Oddities 6

Parks 5

Monuments 5

Statues 5

Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

Places To Stay 2

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Stories About Alberta

While details of its appearance vary over time and across geography, the Wendigo is always a symbol of hunger and desperation during the coldest season. And Winter is coming.

Beware the Wendigo, the Frostbitten Flesheater of North America’s Chilly Heartland

This terrifying creature has evolved over millennia—but never lost the need to feed.

October 12, 2022

Cut off by a road, this bog has flooded unnaturally.

Bogs Lose Their Carbon-Chomping Powers When Roads Cut Through Them

In Canada, roads disrupt wetland water flow and multiply methane emissions, a new study finds.

by Sabrina Imbler

December 20, 2019

Sarah Adams and a rescued plant.

Canada’s Ultimate Plant Mom Will Take Your Unwanted Shrubs

And your irises, rosebushes, and spruce trees, too.

A “sea devil” from Icones animalium (1553).

Where to Find the World's Best Hometown Monsters

Here are 25 places to see yetis, sea monsters, Sasquatch, and other cryptids.

by Molly McBride Jacobson

February 24, 2017

A burger from 1969, encased in plastic.

So There's a 53-Year-Old Burger Sitting in the Alberta Legislature Building

The limp sandwich has since become a fixture.

by Michael Hingston

October 4, 2022

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