10 Great Day Trips From Calgary
Want to make the most of your next trip to Calgary? Fill up the tank and get ready to hit the road—these day trips are worth adding to your itinerary.
The Best Day Trips From Calgary
Indigenous experience tours
We tend to regard the great outdoors as a playground; somewhere we can indulge in a bit of hiking, biking and camping. But to the local Indigenous people, the outdoors are a pantry, pharmacy and place of worship. On a Mahikan Trails Indigenous medicine walking tour in Canmore, Alberta, you’ll get a proper taste of what the Rocky Mountains really mean to Indigenous people. Every plant and animal you’ll encounter on this walk has a role in Indigenous culture and medicine, and your fascinating guide will explain the significance of each as you wander through the truly breathtaking landscape.
For more great day trips from Calgary with an Indigenous interpretive focus, try a waterfall or glacier hike with Buffalo Stone Woman Indige-scapes out of Morely, Alberta, or a rock climbing and a via ferrata tour with Girth Hitch Guiding near Nordegg, Alberta.
Kananaskis Nordic Spa
Kananaskis Country, Alberta
Alberta’s first—and to date, only—Nordic spa is now open for business at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. Although it’s just an hour’s drive from Calgary’s city limits, the lodge itself delivers that authentic backcountry feel, and endless options in terms of Rocky Mountain outdoor adventures. Boasting a full range of services, the spa offers a welcome chance to recuperate after a day of hiking and biking. Soothe sore muscles in the cycle of hydrotherapy pools (they range from a 40-degree hot pool to a bone-chilling five-degree plunge pool), your choice of saunas (banya, Finnish, and barrels), and—get this—heated hammocks!
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Dinner at Azuridge Estate Hotel
Priddis, Alberta
Before the mountains come the foothills, and there’s no better place to admire them than Azuridge Estate Hotel in Priddis, Alberta. The best kept secret in the region (it’s barely even on the radar of locals, despite being a mere 20-minute drive from Calgary), Azuridge offers a stunning backdrop of rolling green hills and mountains. Dinner at the hotel’s Opal Dining Room is a great way to enjoy the property—and its award-winning cuisine.
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Winsport at Canada Olympic Park
Calgary
It will forever be associated with winter sports (it served as the grounds for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, after all), but Winsport at Canada Olympic Park makes a great Calgary day trip year-round. Each summer, the athletic training facility transforms into an adventure hub for the whole family, boasting a skyline luge, summer bobsled run and North America’s fastest zip line. Not an adrenaline junkie? There’s still plenty of fun to be had playing mini-putt and taking a ride on the scenic chairlift.
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The Badlands
Drumheller, Alberta
Paying tribute to the greatest discoveries of dinosaur fossils on the planet, the Royal Tyrell Museum is home to the world’s largest display of dinosaur bones. Located in Drumheller, an hour-and-a-half drive east of Calgary, the facility brings Alberta’s rich paleontological history to life through interactive exhibits and innovative programs. After you’ve browsed the displays, get face-to-face with prehistoric geography on a guided badlands hike with the Indigenous-owned Wild West Badlands Tours.
Bar U Ranch National Historic Site
Longview, Alberta
There’s no better place to explore Alberta’s ranching roots than the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site near Longview, Alberta, just over an hour’s drive south of Calgary. This beautifully preserved ranch in the rolling foothills was one of Canada’s leading ranching operations for more than 70 years. Now a historic site, the facility hosts reenactments and tours to give modern-day city slickers a taste of the old wild west.
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Eau Clair Distillery
Turner Valley, Alberta
About 45-minutes southwest of Calgary in the town of Turner Valley, you’ll find one of Alberta’s finest distilleries. Here, in a building that used to be the village movie theatre, Eau Clair Distillery produces and serves its award-winning spirits, including the not-to-be-missed Parlour Gin. A true farm-to-glass operation, the distillery actually sources some of its wheat and barley from Bar U Ranch—harvested in the old-fashioned style, of course.
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Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary
Cochrane, Alberta
A not-for-profit that focuses on rescue and rehabilitation of displaced wolfdogs, the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary has also served as a filming location for Game of Thrones. The sanctuary, located 45 minutes northwest of Calgary, provides an adoption program, as well as guided tours that allow guests to get up close and personal with the majestic animals.
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Mt. Norquay scenic sightseeing lift
Banff, Alberta
Banff and Lake Louise are certainly not short on scenery, and the best way to take in their legendary views is by sightseeing lift. Popular among locals and tourists alike, Mt. Norquay’s sightseeing chairlift whisks riders 7,000 feet above sea level to the Cliffhouse Bistro. There, you can enjoy unbeatable views of Mount Rundle and Banff over a pint of Banff Avenue Brewing Company beer and Rocky Mountain-inspired cuisine.
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Open Top Tours
Banff, Alberta
Tired of driving? Once you’ve made it to Banff, hand over the wheel to Open Top Tours, one of the more unique ways to see the sights around town. Although the vintage-look buses have a 1930s vibe, they boast some very contemporary features including a retractable roof for unobstructed views of mountains soaring overhead, as well as USB charging ports in the seats.
Broadening your horizons beyond day trips from Calgary? Check out 10 of the best road trips in Canada.
