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Best of Alberta: Day Trips from Calgary
Calgary lies at the heart of southern Alberta's most spectacular landscape, a landscape that includes the fantastically shaped hoodoos of Drumheller and the mountains of Kananaskis country. Now in full colour, this completely updated and expanded edition of the regional bestseller Day Trips from Calgary is an insider's handbook to discovering the best routes and destinations within a two-hour drive of the city. Locals and tourists alike need only a tank of gas, a road map, and perhaps a picnic lunch and a pair of hiking shoes to make the most of Bill Corbett's insightful guide. Written to entice Calgary residents and visitors into considering all directions of the compass when embarking on a day trip from the city, Day Trips from Calgary covers all the territory travellers will find useful.
- GenresReferenceNonfiction
Paperback
First published May 1, 1994
29 people want to read
About the author
Bill Corbett
75 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 1, 2024
Interesting book, worth a read through for some interesting trips near Calgary.
“The big ranches were established in the early 1880s, principally by British or eastern Canadian
aristocrats, who could obtain leases of up to 100,000 acres for an annual fee of one cent per acre.”
“Every year except for two since 1905, the locals have gathered at the Millerville Race Track for the July 1 horse races. The big even is the stock horse challenge, in which area residents race their saddle horses in hopes of winning a silver cup and belt buckle.”
“This is the famed Big Rock. It story begins some 18,000 years ago, when a landslide near the town of jasper deposited millions of tons of rock onto the surface of a glacier advancing east down the Athabasca Valley. As the ice melted, tens of thousands of pinkish and purplish quartzite rocks were deposited in a narrow zone from Jasper National Park to south of the US boarder. Collectively, these tocks are known as the Foothills Erratic Train.”
“The climb levels off at the summit of Highwood Pass, which at 2,206 meters is the highest paved road in Canada.”
“The Bar U was one the four big southern Alberta ranches that emerged from the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, which allowed wealthy eastern investors to lease up to 100,000 acres of rangeland for one cent per acre.”
“Those properly worried about car pollution today should consider that in the late 19th century New York Coty, there were more than 175,000 horses, each producing some 9 liters of urine and 22 kilograms of excrement per day. Imagine wading across those infested streets in a petticoat.”
“Named after a Scottish village, Airdrie is thought to mean the Kings Heights – an apt name as its mean elevation is 1,089 meters. While Calgary contains some higher hills, its mean elevation is 1,046 meters, leaving Airdrie as officially Canada’s second highest city, behind only the 1,110 meters of Kimberley, BC., though the latter’s population of just 6,500 makes it more of a town.”
“The name Red Deer us actually a misnomer. Early settlers mistook the area’s elf for a type of European red deer. Thus, they called the river and the first village Red Deer, and the name stuck.”
“Between Calgary and Red Deer, these towns are Airdrie, Crossfield, Cairstairs, Didsbury, Olds, Bowden, Innisfail, and Penhold. Many were named for towns in England and Scotland or after employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway.”
“Sylvan Lake has been attracting recreational visitors to its shores since the turn of the 20th century, when it was known as Snake Lake.”
“A short drive south of Trouchu is Three Hills, a strong Christian community with nine churches and the Prairie Bible Institute. Its one the largest bible schools in North America, preparing missionaries for work around the globe.”
“Despite its warm chinook winds in winter, Calgary has one the worst climates in Alberta for growing vegetables, as anyone who has tried raising corn or tomatoes can attest. The reason is Calgary’s high elevation (1,049 meters), which results in cool nights and frosts in late spring and early fall.”
“Drumheller is named after Samuel Drumheller, an American entrepreneur who, in the early 20th century, registered the sixth if 139 coal mines that once operated in the valley. Actually, the town could easily have carried the name of an earlier homesteader. Thomas Greentree. He lost a coin toss with Drumheller to see what the town should be called when the first post office opened in 1911.”
“It’s instructive to realize there was a much larger extinction of species prior to the dinosaur era. In fact, some 99 percent of all species that have ever existed on the earth are thought to be extinct.”
“Not far away is a herd of somewhat untamed animals. Some 500 horses and 80 bulls are housed on the 880 hectares of the Stampede Ranch, providing rodeo stock for the Calgary Stampede and other high-profile rodeos. At the ranch’s entrance is a graveyard for its superstar rodeo broncs and bulls. Visits to the ranch are by appointment only (403.566.2206)”
“Cochrane was once known as a cattle center and is considered the birthplace of large scale ranching is Western Canada. Not surprising, Canada’s largest dude ranch the 1,800 hectors Griffin Valley Ranch, is just northeast of Cochrane.”
“In Manning Provincial Park is southwest B.C. several alpine larch are believed to be nearly 2,000 years old, which would make them Canada’s oldest trees.”
“Canmore, from the Gaelic word meaning Big Head, originated in 1883, as a scattering of businesses that served the construction of the national railway as it moved west into the mountains.”
“A more vivid incident is commemorated at Dead Man’s Flats. Here, in 1904, a French immigrant farmer, Jean Marret, was killed by his axe-wielding brother, Fancois, who had complained of strange noises in his head. Found guilty and insane, Francois was dispatched to an asylum in Ponoka, south of Edmonton.”
“The hamlet of Lake Louis, at 1,539 meters is the highest permanent settlement in Canada.”
“Burgess Shale hikers convince across from Takakkaw Falls, Canada’s third highest waterfall, which funnels meltwaters from the Daly Glacier into a thunderous free fall of 234 meters. From its start near the youth hostel, the century-old trail climbs steeply through heavy timber and then levels out shortly before reaching tiny Yoho Lake, overshadowed by the impressive north face of Wapta Mountain.”
“The big ranches were established in the early 1880s, principally by British or eastern Canadian
aristocrats, who could obtain leases of up to 100,000 acres for an annual fee of one cent per acre.”
“Every year except for two since 1905, the locals have gathered at the Millerville Race Track for the July 1 horse races. The big even is the stock horse challenge, in which area residents race their saddle horses in hopes of winning a silver cup and belt buckle.”
“This is the famed Big Rock. It story begins some 18,000 years ago, when a landslide near the town of jasper deposited millions of tons of rock onto the surface of a glacier advancing east down the Athabasca Valley. As the ice melted, tens of thousands of pinkish and purplish quartzite rocks were deposited in a narrow zone from Jasper National Park to south of the US boarder. Collectively, these tocks are known as the Foothills Erratic Train.”
“The climb levels off at the summit of Highwood Pass, which at 2,206 meters is the highest paved road in Canada.”
“The Bar U was one the four big southern Alberta ranches that emerged from the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, which allowed wealthy eastern investors to lease up to 100,000 acres of rangeland for one cent per acre.”
“Those properly worried about car pollution today should consider that in the late 19th century New York Coty, there were more than 175,000 horses, each producing some 9 liters of urine and 22 kilograms of excrement per day. Imagine wading across those infested streets in a petticoat.”
“Named after a Scottish village, Airdrie is thought to mean the Kings Heights – an apt name as its mean elevation is 1,089 meters. While Calgary contains some higher hills, its mean elevation is 1,046 meters, leaving Airdrie as officially Canada’s second highest city, behind only the 1,110 meters of Kimberley, BC., though the latter’s population of just 6,500 makes it more of a town.”
“The name Red Deer us actually a misnomer. Early settlers mistook the area’s elf for a type of European red deer. Thus, they called the river and the first village Red Deer, and the name stuck.”
“Between Calgary and Red Deer, these towns are Airdrie, Crossfield, Cairstairs, Didsbury, Olds, Bowden, Innisfail, and Penhold. Many were named for towns in England and Scotland or after employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway.”
“Sylvan Lake has been attracting recreational visitors to its shores since the turn of the 20th century, when it was known as Snake Lake.”
“A short drive south of Trouchu is Three Hills, a strong Christian community with nine churches and the Prairie Bible Institute. Its one the largest bible schools in North America, preparing missionaries for work around the globe.”
“Despite its warm chinook winds in winter, Calgary has one the worst climates in Alberta for growing vegetables, as anyone who has tried raising corn or tomatoes can attest. The reason is Calgary’s high elevation (1,049 meters), which results in cool nights and frosts in late spring and early fall.”
“Drumheller is named after Samuel Drumheller, an American entrepreneur who, in the early 20th century, registered the sixth if 139 coal mines that once operated in the valley. Actually, the town could easily have carried the name of an earlier homesteader. Thomas Greentree. He lost a coin toss with Drumheller to see what the town should be called when the first post office opened in 1911.”
“It’s instructive to realize there was a much larger extinction of species prior to the dinosaur era. In fact, some 99 percent of all species that have ever existed on the earth are thought to be extinct.”
“Not far away is a herd of somewhat untamed animals. Some 500 horses and 80 bulls are housed on the 880 hectares of the Stampede Ranch, providing rodeo stock for the Calgary Stampede and other high-profile rodeos. At the ranch’s entrance is a graveyard for its superstar rodeo broncs and bulls. Visits to the ranch are by appointment only (403.566.2206)”
“Cochrane was once known as a cattle center and is considered the birthplace of large scale ranching is Western Canada. Not surprising, Canada’s largest dude ranch the 1,800 hectors Griffin Valley Ranch, is just northeast of Cochrane.”
“In Manning Provincial Park is southwest B.C. several alpine larch are believed to be nearly 2,000 years old, which would make them Canada’s oldest trees.”
“Canmore, from the Gaelic word meaning Big Head, originated in 1883, as a scattering of businesses that served the construction of the national railway as it moved west into the mountains.”
“A more vivid incident is commemorated at Dead Man’s Flats. Here, in 1904, a French immigrant farmer, Jean Marret, was killed by his axe-wielding brother, Fancois, who had complained of strange noises in his head. Found guilty and insane, Francois was dispatched to an asylum in Ponoka, south of Edmonton.”
“The hamlet of Lake Louis, at 1,539 meters is the highest permanent settlement in Canada.”
“Burgess Shale hikers convince across from Takakkaw Falls, Canada’s third highest waterfall, which funnels meltwaters from the Daly Glacier into a thunderous free fall of 234 meters. From its start near the youth hostel, the century-old trail climbs steeply through heavy timber and then levels out shortly before reaching tiny Yoho Lake, overshadowed by the impressive north face of Wapta Mountain.”
August 4, 2010
Thanks for sending this, Christine! We are so excited about the trip to Alberta!!
August 10, 2012
Liked this book. Have used it a lot.
June 10, 2014
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12721876
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12721876
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews