Winter activities, vacation ideas and places to visit in Alberta this year

Dog sledding. (Travel Alberta, Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours)

Alberta spends a significant amount of time under the yolk of winter weather, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had in the snow and the cold.

Taking to the slopes, skating on the pond and snowball fights are all fun ways to enjoy the winter.

Or, maybe something more unique like going dog sledding, climbing frozen waterfalls and sitting under a glass dome looking up at the vibrant northern lights?

Resident Albertans and visitors alike are often familiar with one of the main draws of the Rockies in the winter, skiing and snowboarding in Sunshine Village or Marmot Basin, but there are many different winter activities to do in the mountains and all over the province.

Home for the holidays

Travel Alberta has seen an increase in the number of people travelling within Canada, as well as an increase in international visitors coming to the province.

Tannis Gaffney, the organization’s chief marketing officer, says most of Travel Alberta’s marketing is actually focussed on getting international visitors and winter travel.

“We are very excited to see those numbers from international markets continue to increase, and that is something that’s kind of putting Alberta on the map, that we’re somewhere that the international visitors want to come to,” Gaffney said.

“It’s not only for our beautiful open spaces, it’s our nature, it’s our welcoming people, it’s the kindness when you come here, and then it’s just the exceptional locals that you’ll meet along the way.”

In 2024, Alberta saw $14.4 billion in visitor spending, a 12 per cent increase from 2023. Alberta’s visitor economy grew four times faster than the national average, according to Travel Alberta.

Between May and August 2025, the province saw a nine per cent increase from the same time last year.

The Edmonton International Airport (YEG) also saw a decrease in U.S. travel this year.

From January to October, there were 6,114 total flights to U.S. destinations, down 11.6 per cent from the same period in 2024, but up 8.3 per cent from that period in 2023.

“Overall, transborder passenger traffic is down 13.4 per cent year-to-date versus 2024, influenced largely by ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S.,” according to a YEG statement.

“Most of the decline has been in leisure-focused destinations or markets with high Canadian point-of-sale activity. Hawaii is the exception, where passenger traffic is expected to remain flat or slightly up depending on route.”

The airport expects the downward trend to continue, seeing travellers opt for destinations like Mexico and the Caribbean.

Travel outside of U.S. destinations has remained steady, while domestic travel is up 6.9 per cent between January and October from 2024.

Despite the downward trend YEG is seeing, Alberta’s tourism section continues to grow in 2025, according to Travel Alberta.

Between January and August, 3,021 tourism businesses opened, bringing the province’s total to 30,517.

Travel Alberta tries to direct people to unique, lesser-known spots, added Gaffney.

The organization launched a new AI-powered "What’s Trending" page recently that will highlight various destinations and attractions that change based on what people are booking or looking into.

Gaffney also has some recommendations for fun winter activities for the whole family:

More than the slopes

Jasper is known for Marmot Basin in the winter, but if you want a more icy experience, there’s also frozen canyons.

Maligne Canyon is normally a prime destination for this, with visitors getting the chance to walk on an ice-covered river and see waterfalls frozen in time — literally.

The canyon is closed this winter because the area near it experienced “significant” fire activity during the 2024 Jasper wildfire.

• Areas in Jasper remain closed as wildfire rehabilitation continues: Parks Canada

Fortunately, when one canyon closes another one opens, like Pleckaitis Canyon, which offers a similar experience.

“We really like to highlight what’s happening in Jasper, just to continue to support them after the fire,” Gaffney said.

“The winter season is when they need visitors more than ever, and that is from the hotels to the restaurants to the breweries to the little shops.”

Around halfway between Jasper and Banff is the “absolutely spectacular” location that is Abraham Lake, according to Gaffney. It’s an artificial lake southwest of Nordegg and one of Alberta’s biggest reservoirs.

What makes the lake special is the ice bubbles that form from methane gas getting trapped in the ice as the water freezes.

The area is fairly windy, which blows the snow off the lake so visitors can see the phenomenon, according to Gaffney.

Visitors can walk or skate on the lake, but she adds it’s important to do so with a dedicated guide, due to the inherent danger of wild ice skating.

There are companies that offer tours, like Nordegg Adventures and Banff Adventures.

There’s also ice wall climbing, ice climbing and ice walks for those looking for a n-ice time.

One of the top activities international visitors do in Alberta is something most residents won’t have tried: dog sledding.

“(It’s) fun for the whole family, to be able to go dog sledding for an hour or two hours and then have a warm hot chocolate to warm you up afterwards,” Gaffney said. “It’s just kind of an interesting way to travel.”

Dog sleds were an important mode of transportation for Indigenous people and early European settlers.

There are a number of operators in Alberta, many near the Rockies, in places like Banff, Jasper, Canmore, Kananaskis, and Grande Prairie, but also Fort McMurray.

There are also dog sled races people can attend, like the annual Oil Sands Classic in Anzac, near Fort McMurray, or as part of the Canmore Winter Carnival.

The season for dog sledding generally runs from December to April, depending on the weather and snow conditions.

For those looking to learn more about wolfdogs and wolves, without getting on a sled, the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary in Cochrane is an option.

Treat yourself

The wellness industry has been growing in popularity over recent years, prompting places like the new Everwild spa in Canmore to open up, according to Gaffney.

• Everwild Nordic Spa and Hotel opens in Canmore, Alta.

“We’re actually starting to look for more development in wellness operations and wellness operators, because that seems to be something that’s not just trending today, but has been trending for a number of years, as people look to escape and kind of take care of themselves and have a break from from daily life with some some type of rejuvenation,” she added.

Food will always be a popular draw and you don’t usually have to go far to find something local and delicious.

Alberta Food Tours operated in Edmonton, Calgary, Banff and Canmore, showcasing local food businesses from restaurants to bakeries. Currently, there’s holiday bakery bus tours in Edmonton and Calgary, including “dozens of cookies to take home,” the site says.

Music festivals are often thought of as a summer event, but no one told the Cold Bones Festival that.

Taking place in February, the festival features more than 30 bands from across North America of different music genres.

Light up the sky

From the cities, it’s sometimes possible to see the faint green glow of the northern lights. For the real experience, you’ve got to get far away from the light pollution of urban areas.

There are a number of dark sky preserves around that make for good viewing locations like Beaver Hills, Cypress Hills and Lakeland Provincial Park.

Other options include sky watching domes at Métis Crossing or in a teepee at Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village. The domes have a translucent ceiling for prime aurora viewing.

The Jasper Planetarium also has a telescope experience where, weather permitting, visitors can see the stars and the northern lights.

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are caused by solar flares on the sun’s surface emitting storms of high-velocity particles that travel through space, get drawn into earth’s atmosphere and glow as they pierce the sky.

During what’s known as a solar maximum, the flares are larger and more frequent. This is part of the sun’s 11-year cycle when the polarity of the star flips 180 degrees.

In October 2024, NASA announced the sun reached its solar maximum, which is expected to continue through this winter before petering out for the next decade.

The long, dark nights in Alberta this time of year are good for aurora viewing and weather data makes it possible to predict solar activity.

Experience Indigenous culture

Circling back to Métis Crossing, Gaffney says Indigenous cultural tourism is on the rise in Alberta, with one in three international visitors coming to learn about that culture.

Some of the activities and adventures available at the crossing include showcasing traditional Métis winter activities and skills, exploring art, dance and storytelling, and the opportunity to see the rare white bison.

The growth of the industry is good to see, but Gaffney says it can be a balancing act to make sure the sector is growing authentically and the “right kind” of visitor is coming.

“You have to make sure that the business operators want to welcome visitors, and then you have to make sure that the right visitor is coming that is curious and respectful to the culture that they’re going to be learning,” she said.

“It is a balance between how you educate and teach in an authentic way, and how you make sure that the right traveler is coming to that experience to really transform themselves, really coming with an open heart to learn.”

There are more than 200 Indigenous tourism businesses in Alberta and that number is growing, Gaffney added.

Some of the other experiences available in the province include Warrior Women, Mahikan Trails and The Woods Experience. Medicine walks and learning to make your own medicine, fireside chats with elders and learning basic survival skills are some of what they offer.

Shopping all winter long

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, but there are still plenty of local vendors at winter markets across Alberta with crafts, food, jewelry and more.

“Buying local is a really important thing to do for operators that, in the winter, are trying to support their families, and why wouldn’t we support Albertans that have these local businesses,” Gaffney said.

“That actually extends not just to holiday markets, but to just buying local in its entirety, local breweries, local distilleries, locally made merchandise, I think, is really an interesting gift idea this year.”

Some of the many winter and holiday markets happening in December, and beyond, around the province include:

Edmonton

• Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market - Saturdays and Sundays - 10310 83 Ave. NW
• Edmonton Christmas Market - Nov. 29 to Dec. 21, Thursdays to Sundays - Fort Edmonton Park

Calgary

• Granary Road’s Christmas Market - Dec. 6,7,13 and 14 - 226066 112 St. W
• Calgary Farmers’ Market - Thursdays to Sundays (510 77 Ave. SE) and Wednesdays to Saturdays (25 Greenbriar Dr. NW)

Banff

• Banff Christmas Market - Dec. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 - Banff Heritage Train Station