(Top) Camping, Rock Lake, near Hinton

We live so close, really, to the best little secret in travel: Canada. While there is so much to love about Canada, this article focuses on the province of Alberta, located just north of Montana. Alberta offers some of the greatest outdoors I
had ever experienced. But it’s not all nature and wildlife – lovers of history, culture, shopping and dining will also find plenty to do.

Calgary, take me away!
Begin in Calgary and consider exchanging your wedding vows at Canada’s second largest zoo, the Calgary Zoo. Billed as one of the top-ranking zoos in the world, it includes a breathtaking Botanical Garden and a Prehistoric Park with 16 life-size dinosaurs. The zoo is renowned for breeding endangered species, and offers over 900 rare animals in natural habitat enclosures.

Another stop you won’t want to miss is the Calgary Tower, a premier landmark with a
revolving Panorama Room, offering a bird’s eye view of Calgary and the surrounding area. While in the tower look for Canada Olympic Park, a year-round sport and tourist attraction and the site of the XV Olympic Winter Games.

Banff National Park
When you leave Calgary and head further north, you really begin to experience the awesome wonder of the Canadian Rockies. It is here that the lucky in love will have a chance to experience the northern lights and the uncanny stillness of a silent Alberta night in Banff National Park. This amazing park covers over 2,500 square miles and offers great camping sites with breathtaking views, natural hot springs, and endless activities, from scuba diving in the summer to snowshoeing in the winter.

One of the most amazing man-made structures in Banff National Park is the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. As you draw near, this castle-like structure pops out at you with all its splendor and glory. Built in 1888 and still offering a stately charm of bygone years, be sure to make time here for a spa treatment and relax in the Turkish bath afterward. Lake Louise is another jewel in the middle of the wilderness and it is here you can enjoy the Victoria Glacier and some of the best hiking or skiing in the Canadian Rockies.