6 Activities in Calgary to do Before Heading Out on Your Alberta Road Trip
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Calgary, Alberta is the main starting point for road trips in Alberta. Especially for those visiting places like Banff or Drumheller. While many people pick up their rental car and immediately start driving to their destination, Calgary does have some neat spots to visit beforehand!
I have some family that moved out to Calgary, so it was nice to explore some of the places they see everyday. We spent about 2 days in Calgary before heading out on our Canadian Badlands road trip.
If you like exploring new cities, or have some time after your flight lands (or even before it leaves), here are some things we did to extend our time in Alberta! These include activities in Calgary itself, as well as some half-day trips just outside the city.
Table of Contents
1. Climb the Calgary Tower
Known as Calgary’s most iconic view, the Calgary Tower is a fixture in the city’s skyline. It offers a 360-degree view of downtown Calgary, and you can also see the surrounding landscape like the foothills and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.
This was our first stop after heading into downtown Calgary and it was actually great to orient ourselves and figure out where to go next and what was walkable. There are tons of windows of course, and if you’re brave enough you can step out onto the glass floor!
The Calgary Tower was built to honor Canada’s centennial birthday in 1967, and also to promote visiting Calgary’s downtown. After you head up the elevator to the observation deck, you can walk around and learn about the tower’s architectural history.
General admission up the Calgary Tower is $25 per person, and there is a souvenir shop at the base of the tower. There is also a restaurant on the observation deck called SKY 360.
2. Learn about Calgary’s History at the Confluence
The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland is a great place to visit especially if you want to learn more about Calgary’s history. It is called “The Confluence” because it’s located where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, and was formerly known as “Fort Calgary.”
The site originally served as an outpost for the North-West Mounted Police built in 1875 and its purpose was to curtail American rum and whisky runners in the area, and establish relationships with the local Indigenous peoples.
It became a designated historic site in 1978, and only focused on police history but eventually expanded to focus on Calgary’s history as a whole. Inside you can learn about Blackfoot life and culture, and about the founding of Calgary.
It costs $15 for general admission into the Confluence, but you can also do a walking tour for a deeper understanding of Calgary’s history.
3. See All the Animals at the Calgary Zoo
I was surprised to learn that the Calgary Zoo is the most-visited zoo in Canada, even more so than the Toronto Zoo! My family that now lives in Calgary recommended a visit and I had a lot of fun seeing all the different animals.
The Calgary Zoo focuses on wildlife conservation and is home to numerous species from around the world. One of my favourite places to visit in the zoo were the Prehistoric Park, which was covered in dinosaur statues that felt like they could come to life at any moment.
I also enjoyed seeing the numerous penguin species that call the Penguin Plunge their home, and the North American River Otters swimming around their enclosure. Make sure to see all the animals in the Wild Canada exhibit just in case they’re all hiding if you continue onto Banff.
But the best part was Land of Lemurs, which is an immersive walkthrough lemur habitat. Yes, you can actually enter the lemur habitat! Obviously you cannot pet or feed the lemurs, but you can watch the resident lemurs do their thing without a fence in the way.
Entry tickets to the Calgary Zoo range depending on when you buy them, but expect to pay between $35 to $40 per person. There’s also a stop for the Calgary Zoo along the CTrain line, this is how we got there and I’m glad we took transit because you also need to pay to park at the zoo!
4. Have a Drink at Hitman’s Bar
Okay this one is pretty niche but I had to include it! One of my non-travel related interests is professional wrestling and if you’re also a fan you’re probably familiar with Calgary being the hometown of Bret “the Hitman” Hart.
What you might not know is that Bret Hart has his own bar called Hitman’s Bar located with the Cowboys Casino. You’ll notice the menu items all have names related to other wrestlers and even wrestling moves.
I enjoyed the food we had but my favourite part was seeing all the wrestling memorabilia that decorates Hitman’s Bar. There were tons of photos throughout Bret Hart’s career, and you can even see the first WWF Championship belt Bret won, when he defeated Ric Flair on October 12th, 1992 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!
Hitman’s Bar is located super close to the Saddledome and the Calgary Stampede grounds.
5. Go for a Hike in Kananaskis
Kananaskis Country is an area that borders Banff National Park and the British Columbia border. Instead of heading to Banff, many local Calgarians prefer to hike in this area since it’s much less busy. The area was established to alleviate congestion in the national parks and it is very beautiful!
There are heaps of hiking trails through Kananaskis Country, but we picked a flat and easy one as we didn’t want to overdo it. We did this trail in Sheep River Provincial Park which starts from the Indian Oils day-use area.
Immediately at the start of the trail you’ll pass Indian Oils Waterfalls, before walking through a forest and meadow and making it to the smaller Dyson Falls. This trail is around 9km, but it’s still fairly accessible. It took us about 2.5 hours to head out and back.
When hiking in this region make sure you carry bear spray! Also keep in mind that you do need to purchase a Conversation Pass to park at provincial park sites in Kananaskis Country. If the trailhead gets full, try a different hike in the area.
Dyson Falls from the top!
6. Visit an Indigenous Reserve at Blackfoot Crossing
Calgary is part of the traditional and ancestral territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, and the Stoney Nakoda Nation in the Treaty No. 7 region of southern Alberta, where the Métis Nation (Region 3) also reside.
Just over an hour outside of Calgary, you can visit the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park on the Siksika 146 Indian reserve. This is actually where Treaty No. 7 was signed. Here you can learn about the Blackfoot Confederacy’s history and culture.
There are a number of interactive exhibits within Blackfoot Crossing. My favourite part was seeing some of Chief Crowfoot’s belongings, and how these artifacts were repatriated to the Siksika people from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, England. Chief Crowfoot’s grave site is also located on the grounds of Blackfoot Crossing.
I also enjoyed learning about Blackfoot Creation stories, and the role the Iini (buffalo/bison) played within Blackfoot culture. While exploring we learned that the Siksika call themselves Niitsitapi, which means “the Real People”, because they are equal partners in the universe will all other beings. I think more people should adopt this philosophy.
It costs $22 for admission to Blackfoot Crossing, and please be aware that taking photos and video inside the building in prohibited. Please respect the practices of the Indigenous people welcoming you to the site.
If you’d like to stay longer, you can even rent an authentic tipi to stay in for the night, or maybe you’ll be able to visit on an event day such as when Blackfoot Crossing holds Prairie Chicken dance competitions!
Where to Stay in Calgary
Downtown Calgary is where most of the attractions are and where most tourists stay when visiting the city. But it can be expensive!
Fortunately, Calgary has a light rail system called the CTrain and we were easily able to navigate around the city with it. We ended up staying in the Amenida Residences on Macleod Trail and this was super close to one of the CTrain stops. So if downtown Calgary is out of budget, try looking for a hotel near the CTrain line!
Final Thoughts
As you can see there is a wide variety of activities in Calgary to keep you occupied before heading out on your Alberta road trip. I was glad we explored a bit of the city before continuing with our Drumheller itinerary.
Overall, I do believe it is worth spending one day within Calgary’s downtown core. Being from Ontario, it was neat experiencing a city in Western Canada.
