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10 Great Day Trips from Lethbridge
10 Great Day Trips from Lethbridge
As the heart of Southern Alberta, it should come as no surprise that Lethbridge is an amazing base for day trips around the region. Whether you want to enjoy nature, history, culture, or food, there’s a huge variety of places you can visit from the city in every direction. So invite your road trip crew, fuel up the car, and read on to discover a few of the best day trips from Lethbridge.
Canada's Food Tours
Foodies, this one’s for you! Canada’s Food Tour allows you to sample some of the best food Southern Alberta has to offer. At the same time, you can learn how these products are grown and produced in Canada’s Premier Food Corridor. Because Lethbridge is found at the core of such a rich agricultural community, you can include everything from family-run farms to boutique wineries to some of the best steakhouses in all of Alberta. Choose from both city and rural producers, including beef and pork farms, u-pick berry fields, cheese shops, haskap farms, restaurants, breweries, and so much more. Bonus: you can combine the culinary itineraries with other Southern Alberta sights such as the Alberta Birds of Prey Nature Centre!
Check out a few sample itineraries or create your own by visiting our Canada’s Food Tours page.
Warner/Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park
This day trip from Lethbridge combines the charm of small-town Alberta with one of the region’s most renowned provincial parks. Found 65 kilometres south of Lethbridge, Warner is a quaint village that’s home to the Devil’s Coulee Dinosaur Museum, where you can touch real fossils and learn about the wonders of ancient history in the area.
Next, make your way to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is one of Alberta’s largest areas of protected prairie and is home to the most significant collection of rock carvings and paintings in the North American Great Plains. Spend time in the park to see over fifty petroglyph sites and thousands of artworks. There’s also a visitor centre, picnic areas, hiking trails, a North-West Mounted Police reconstruction outpost, and options to canoe or kayak on the Milk River.
Waterton Lakes National Park
If you’re a nature enthusiast, you can’t visit Southern Alberta and not spend time in Waterton Lakes National Park. Approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Lethbridge, the national park is found where the prairies meet the Rocky Mountains, making it a hiker’s paradise. Thankfully, the park is compact and accessible enough for a perfect day trip from Lethbridge.
This year-round destination has something for everyone, including hiking, canoeing, paddle boarding, boat cruises, as well as swimming in summer and snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter. Other popular things to do in the park include driving the scenic Akamina Parkway or the Bison Paddock Loop, birdwatching, visiting the Peace Park Plaza, and stargazing (Waterton Lakes National Park was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2017). Make sure to stop at the park’s new visitor centre when you arrive in order to plan your perfect day in Waterton.
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Cardston County
Head to Cardston County on a day trip from Lethbridge to discover where many worlds collide. Found in the rolling foothills of Southwest Alberta, just 70 kilometres south of Lethbridge, Cardston is the only town in the province where the Cowboy Trail and the historic Mormon Trail intersect. The area is also significant in Indigenous and pioneer history, some of which you can find at the Magrath Museum, the Card Pioneer Home, and the Remington Carriage Museum (which offers carriage and sleigh rides).
But seeing as you’re in cowboy country, you might want to play cowboy for a day. Visit the Cardston Agridome for events and drop-in classes, including public riding on Fridays. There’s also an abundance of equestrian trails in the area as well as opportunities to go horseback riding; Waterton River Trail Rides Ltd has a variety of options for ages five and up, including a stunning evening/sunset ride.
Fort Macleod/Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Drive 50 kilometres west of Lethbridge to the vibrant Fort Macleod, where you’ll find lots of activities to fill your day. The Fort Museum is a living museum dedicated to preserving the history of the North West Mounted Police and the Indigenous peoples of Southern Alberta. You can explore the traditional equipment, clothing, tools, and more in an assortment of exhibits, including recreations of the original fort. During the summer months, you can also watch the historic NWMP Musical Ride, which runs several times daily.
Another fun thing to do in Fort Macleod is to try to find movie filming locations! Because of Fort Macleod’s historic downtown and its unique prairie landscape, numerous films and TV shows have been shot in the town and the surrounding area (including Brokeback Mountain, Interstellar, and The Last of Us).
Head an additional 20 kilometres west to visit Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site. One of the most significant Indigenous landmarks in Southern Alberta, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is one of the best-preserved jump sites in the Northern Plains. You’ll also find an incredible interpretive centre with galleries and interactive exhibits that preserve over 6,000 years of Plains Buffalo culture.
Vulcan
Found 95 kilometres north of Lethbridge, Vulcan makes for a fun day trip from the city. Known as the “Official Star Trek Capital of Canada”, today the town is a famous tourist attraction due to its sci-fi name. Vulcan also has a fascinating agricultural history, as the town once had the most grain elevators in any Canadian location west of Winnipeg.
Head to the Vulcan Tourism and Trek Station, which was built to look like a landed space station. Here you’ll find a unique gift shop, a large collection of Star Trek memorabilia, an interactive costume display, and tourist information. But don’t miss out on the rest of the town, as a walk through Vulcan will quickly lead you to many other Star Trek details both big and small.
While you're there, make your way to the Vulcan and District Museum and Archives to learn more about the importance of the town and its role in Canada’s grain shipping industry. Finally, finish off the day with a stop at Nine in a Line Brewing Co., named after the nine grain elevators that once graced Vulcan's landscape.
Crowsnest Pass
Located 150 kilometres west of Lethbridge, hit the road early for a day trip to Crowsnest Pass. Trust us, it’s worth it! Found at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, there’s a lot to do and see in the area. With evidence of human life in the area dating back as far as 11,000 years, there is a rich history to explore alongside the stunning natural landscapes. A must-visit is the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre to learn about Canada’s deadliest rock slide as well as the importance of coal mining in the province. For more about the mining history in Crowsnest Pass, visit the Bellevue Underground Mine for a tour you won’t soon forget. Other historical sites include the Leitch Collieries and the Crowsnest Museum and Archives.
To experience the Crowsnest Pass's beauty, hit the hiking trails. Miners’ Path and the Chinook Lake Loop are relatively easy hikes that are perfect for a leisurely walk to soak up the scenery, while the moderate Turtle Mountain Trail offers a bird's eye view of the entire Crowsnest Pass below.
Park Lake
If you’re searching for a bit of nature and fresh air, look no further than Park Lake Provincial Park, located only 18 kilometres northwest of Lethbridge. This peaceful park is ideal for a day trip, giving you a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and unwind surrounded by trees and a lake. The Park Lake Path is an easy walking trail that should only take an hour or so, leading you along the lake and onto a little peninsula for some fantastic vantage points of the park.
Other things to do in Park Lake Provincial Park include picnicking, biking, birdwatching, swimming, and boating. The park is also known for its fishing, with opportunities to catch perch, walleye, sauger, whitefish, burbot, trout, and northern pike.
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Coaldale
Coaldale makes for a fun and easy day trip from Lethbridge, as it’s only 11 kilometres east of the city. A highlight of a summer visit to Coaldale is a trip to the Alberta Birds of Prey Nature Centre. Open seasonally, this attraction is home to hawks, falcons, eagles, and owls of Alberta on a 70-acre wetland. While the main goal of the centre is the rescue and release of birds of prey, there’s a lot to do here, including walking trails, aviaries, flying demonstrations, and even the chance to hold an owl.
As you’re in the heart of Canada’s Premier Food Corridor, a visit to Coaldale also gives you the opportunity to visit some of the local farms in the area. Broxburn Vegetables and Café is perfect for a tasty farm-to-table lunch. While there you can purchase plenty of fresh produce to take home, or even enjoy u-pick berry fields in the summer. Prairie Hill Farms is also nearby, where you can indulge in all things haskap berry, including syrups, spreads, BBQ sauces, and more.
Destination Blackfoot
If you’re interested in learning more about the history and culture of the Blackfoot people, you’re in luck: there are lots of amazing day trip opportunities from Lethbridge to Destination Blackfoot. Referring to the historical territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Southern Alberta, the area consists of significant landmarks such as Writing-on-Stone National Park, tipi camps, Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, and more. There’s an excellent map of Southern Alberta featuring all of the sites and places of interest that can help you plan your day trip from Lethbridge.
If you don’t know where to begin, a day trip to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park is a good starting point. Found 160 kilometres north of Lethbridge, head here early in the morning to take advantage of the day. Here you’ll find exhibits, tours, and performances, all of which are designed to engage visitors in authentic cultural experiences with the Blackfoot people.
