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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Alberta

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

Updated October 12, 2022

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Unusual Attractions in Alberta

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.

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.

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.

Alberta

Lake Abraham

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

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 69 Things To Do in Alberta

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Alberta

Wayne, Alberta

Last Chance Saloon

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

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.

Lake Louise, Alberta

Lake Agnes Teahouse

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

See all 6 Places to Eat in Alberta

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National Parks 7

Museums And Collections 6

Geological Oddities 6

World's Largest 4

Unique Restaurants & Bars 4

Places To Stay 2

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Stories About Alberta

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

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

Canada’s Ultimate Plant Mom Will Take Your Unwanted Shrubs

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

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

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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