Albertans have a broad-shouldered pioneering spirit. So it’s no surprise that the shoulder seasons offer visitors plenty of fun. Spring and fall offer great Family Activities like scenic hikes, corn mazes and farmers' markets. There are also plenty of Festivals and Events that salute spring or celebrate the harvest.
Spring skiing is not to be missed. Other Outdoor Activities include cycling and camping. The Scenic Opportunities are excellent as things green up in the spring or turn golden in the fall. A hike through the larch trees as they change colours is an unforgettable experience.
Families stay pretty busy whenever they visit Alberta. Spring and fall are brimming with activities that promise excitement, education and quality time spent together. Things roar to life in spring and families will find lots of outdoor fun. In fall, celebrate our agricultural roots with a visit to a corn maze or a working farm.
Prairies Gardens is just north of Edmonton and offers farm-to-table dinners on warm spring evenings. In the fall, it’s all about pumpkins and scarecrows.
Just south of Red Deer, the Jungle Farm offers u-pick strawberries and pumpkins. Then there’s Strawberry Mountain with its two giant slides and an electronic pumpkin maze.
With ziplines, minigolf and games there’s always plenty of year-run fun on offer. Spring brings the chance to meet the newborn goats and lambs. Fall comes to life with Fall Days and Harvest Lights.
Find a taste of the country in Calgary. Butterfield Acres offers cute farm babies in the spring as well as pony rides and wagon rides. The fall highlight is the Harvest Pumpkin Fest.
Hard work and Alberta sunshine pay off in big ways at harvest time. Families can sample the bounty of the fields (local ingredients don’t get any more local), warm up around the fire and sip a hot chocolate. Oktoberfest celebrations give adults the chance to toast the harvest and you can have a Highland fling at the Canmore Highland Games.
Canmore Highland Games
The Canmore Highland Games deliver a taste of Scotland each fall.
Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival, High River
High River is full of hot air in the fall as the balloon festival unfurls.
Edmonton Farmer's Market
Farmers’ markets
Meet the locals and sample the local ingredients. When spring arrives, farmers’ markets pop up in all corners of the province. You can meet the growers, enjoy the freshest produce imaginable and support sustainable agriculture.
Bright lights, big cities
Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival
This celebration of food and drink comes to Calgary and Edmonton in the fall. Enjoy tasty treats from top local restaurants and a range of adult beverages.
Edmonton Folk Music Festival
This premier folk fest takes over Edmonton for four days in August. Catch big names and up-and-coming stars on the mainstage and in smaller workshops across the festival site.
Calgary International Film Festival
It’s lights, camera, action in mid-September as this festival roars to life in Calgary. Screenings include everything from blockbusters to animated shorts to the work of Alberta filmmakers.
There’s never a shortage of things to do in Alberta’s great outdoors. Spring means early season camping and fishing trips. Fall brings colourful hikes and brisk bike rides.
Alberta boasts world-class fly-fishing. In the spring and fall, our rivers teem with hungry trout, making the province a paradise for anglers.
Waterton Wildflower Festival
Scenic opportunities
Indulge your wild side in a pristine park
Find unspoiled beauty and complete tranquility in one of our national or provincial parks. Take in the vistas as they turn green in spring and golden in the fall. Whenever you marvel at it, our changing landscape won’t soon be forgotten.
Birdwatchers flock to the province to take in the spring and fall migrations. It’s a chance to add some rare species to the life list. Spring and fall also bring the chance to spy large mammals like bears, elk and bighorn sheep as they raise their young or get ready for winter.
Capture the scene as things bloom in spring or change colours in the fall. Each season brings its own unforgettable photo ops. If you need a little help finding the great shots, Alberta’s tour operators are standing by to help.
Starry Summit Mountain Adventures is a small business based in the scenic splendor of Jasper National Park. The company provides small-group guided backpacking adventures on some of the most scenic and most remote trails in the Rockies.
Hammerhead Scenic Tours offers one-day and multi-day sightseeing tours of Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, the Rocky Mountains, the Drumheller Badlands, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Indigenous, cowboy and RCMP history, coal mining, farming and oil industries.
