21 October 2006

Ya'Gotta: Grande Cache and Willmore Wilderness Park If you're seeking a mountain destination, that doesn't have the commercial tourism of many adventure tourism centres, then Grande Cache, Alberta is a must! A mining, logging and trapping centre of north central Alberta, Grande Cache is emerging as a pristine location for hiking, backpacking, trail riding, water sports and winter activities. 10:50:03 AM     Ya'Gotta: Lesser Slave Lake - Centre of Alberta's North Alberta's Big Lake Country gets it's name from Lesser Slave Lake, which is the largest lake in the province. The area has many opportunities for adventure tourism and outdoors recreational activities including camping, hiking, birding and water sports. 10:48:07 AM     Ya'Gotta: Alberta's Kananaskis - Canmore to Cowboy Country Traveling between Banff and Calgary, on the Trans-Canada #1 Highway travellers will arrive in Canmore. This fomer coal mining town has become a mountain resort and home to many of Calgary's elite. The town is also a gateway to Alberta's Kananaskis Country. 10:46:38 AM     Ya'Gotta: Hinton and Area - Gateway to the Canadian Rockies Do you want to take a great adventure tourism trip near the Canadian Rockies, but be away from all the commercial tourism, as well keep down your costs and have access to a wide array of wilderness activities? If the answer is yes, then you should take in the area around Hinton, Alberta. The area is only a short distance from Jasper National Park and the northern beginning of the world famous Icefields Parkway, but still has spectacular views of the mountains. It is also home to the Foothills Model Forest, which also has an impressive interpretive trail, on the west end of the town, and operates interpretive and environmental preservation programs in Jasper National Park, William Switzer Provincial Park and areas around Hinton during the summer months. 10:44:37 AM     Ya'Gotta: Southern Alberta's Cowboy Country This area, south of Calgary has made the area's cattle ranching industry famous. Although many of the towns, in the area, have become suburbs of the sprawling city of Calgary. Communities like Black Diamond and Longview are building on their western roots and becoming excellent destinations to visit, all within clear view of the rocky mountains. 10:42:37 AM     Ya'Gotta: The Crowsnest - A Southern B.C./Alberta Mountain Pass The Crowsnest Pass provides an excellent southern route between Alberta and British Columbia, with great outdoors opportunities for camping, hiking, backpacking, cycling, horseback riding and other adventure tourism activities. The pass is also well known for its glimpses of the dangerous soft rock (limestone) coal mining history. 10:11:17 AM     Drumheller - Centre of The Alberta Badlands Where can you find? One of the world's best museums of paleontology; Arrid badlands, canyons and hoodoos you can explore; A deserted coal mine you can tour; One of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association; A road you can drive that has 11 one-lane bridges and ends at a ghost town...Only in the Drumheller area! 10:09:12 AM     Ya'Gotta: British Columbia's Vancouver Island & The Gulf Islands Canada's islands on the Pacific are a wonderful place to get away from it all. Tucked against the mainland edge of British Columbia and the north shore of Washington's Olympic Peninsula and directly west of mainland British Columbia, Vancouver Island stretches approximately 500 km (300 miles) southeast to northwest. British Columbia's Gulf Islands lie in the protected waters of Georgia Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of BC. 10:05:35 AM     Ya'Gotta: Victoria - Southern Gateway to Vancouver Island Canada's furthest west provincial capital is Victoria, located on Vancouver Island and short ferry ride across the Straits of Georgia from Vancouver. According to the Government of Canada (Statistics Canada 2001), Victoria is rated the fittest city in Canada. Thirty-six percent of the adult population is active which is nearly double the national average. With the mildest climate in the country, Victoria is Canada's destination for year-round outdoor adventure. Vancouver Island's natural beauty also inspires people to get out and enjoy their surroundings. Victoria provides easy access to miles of scenic trails and sites that incorporate old growth rainforests, ocean shores and mountains. Hiking, cycling, kayaking and golf are just a few of the activities regularly enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. 10:03:41 AM     Ya'Gotta: Vancouver & The Fraser Valley British Columbia's mighty Fraser River roars down from the mountains, through the canyon, where Chinese immigrant laborers toiled in the 19th century to complete the "Impossible Railway"...The Canadian Pacific. It passes Chilliwack and Abbotsford and crosses the wide Fraser River Delta. It reaches the Pacific Ocean, at Canada's third largest metropolitan area, behind Toronto and Montreal...It's Vancouver! 10:02:08 AM     The Canadian Rockies - Banff to Jasper & The Icefields Parkway If you want to see the Canadian Rockies, there is one trip that you must take. The Icefields Parkway (Hwy. 93) is the road that travels through Banff and Jasper National Parks, between Lake Louise and the Town of Jasper. The Parkway follows the valleys that funnel the headwaters of the Bow, Saskatchewan and Athabasca Rivers into Alberta. These rivers are fed by the glaciers, high in the mountains, known as Crowfoot, Bow and Athabasca. The latter is better known as the Columbia Icefields and is a must see for any trekker to the Canadian Rockies. 9:32:17 AM     Ya'Gotta: British Columbia's Three Trans-Canada Highway National Parks Along the Trans-Canada #1 Highway traveling west through, British Columbia are three mountain national parks, that from east to west take the traveller from Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountain range and through the Selkirk and Columbia Mountain ranges. The three: Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks, provide some of the best scenery and wildest driving in western Canada! 9:30:56 AM     Ya'Gotta: Kootenay National Park - An Original Not To Be Missed! If you're traveling through British Columbia and heading west to Alberta...get off the TransCanada Number 1 highway at Golden, then continue south to the town of Radium, known for it's spring fed sulphur hot spring. Radium marks the western entrance to Kootenay National Park. Not as well known as Banff, or Jasper Kootenay is possibly the most interesting and definitely the most diverse in terms of geography. 9:29:06 AM     Ya'Gotta: Jasper - The Best of The Canadian Rockies! Celebrating its centennial year in 2007, Jasper is located in the watershed of the Athabasca, Miette and Maligne rivers. The Jasper area of the Canadian Rockies is by far my favorite National Park for adventure tourism. Jasper has great camping, hiking, backpacking, cycling and horse trail riding opportunities, nature observing as well as spectacular scenery! 9:27:27 AM     Ya'Gotta: Banff - Canada's First National Park Banff is the oldest of Canada's National Parks and possible the best known. Located on the western edge of the province of Alberta, it was established in 1885, twenty years before Alberta became a province. It is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site which is a United Nations designation that includes Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho national parks, plus adjacent B.C. provincial parks: Hamber, Mount Robson and Mount Assiniboine. This area helps protect over 20,000 sq. km (7,700 sq. miles) of the Rocky Mountains. 9:26:00 AM     Ya'Gotta: David Thompson Pass & Rocky Mountain House Taking the David Thompson Highway (Hwy 11), west from Red Deer on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway is probably Alberta's least known, but most scenic route into the Canadian Rockies. The David Thompson Highway joins the Banff to Jasper Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93), at Saskatchewan Crossing. For travelers seeking a more out-of-the-way route, that has abundant opportunities for backpacking and hiking, camping, canoeing, cycling, horseback riding and other adventure travel activities...go to David Thompson Country! 9:23:40 AM     Ya'Gotta: North Saskatchewan River - Route of The Fur Trade The Saskatchewan River watershed is approximately 1,223 km (760 mi)long and is the major eastward flowing river of the western Canadian prairies and was the major transportation route for the beaver fur trade, which through Europeans fashion calling for felt hats made from compressed beaver fur, brought European culture to western Canada. The main waterway is the North Saskatchewan River, which flows from it's headwaters in the Canadian Rockies to Lake Winnipeg, covering all of Alberta and Saskatchewan and western parts of Manitoba. These waters eventually flow into Hudson's Bay, the huge body of water that is western Canada's ocean connection to the Atlantic Ocean. 9:21:25 AM     Ya'Gotta: Edmonton - The Gateway To The North! In addition to being the home of Ya'Gotta and it's owner, the Western Canadian Online Outdoors News, Edmonton is the Capital of the Province of Alberta and is North America's largest, northern city with a population over 1 million. Edmonton offers ample opportunities for enjoying year-round outdoors recreation and adventure tourism activities in central and northern Alberta. According to the latest tourism statistics released by Alberta Economic Development (based on 2004 data), Edmonton is the number one destination in overall person-visits to Alberta and the number one destination in person-visits from other provinces. Edmonton is also Alberta’s number one metropolitan destination for U.S. visitations and revenues. 9:19:57 AM     Ya'Gotta: Calgary - Adventure Tourism Gateway to Southern Alberta From the top of the Calgary Tower, you can get a clear view of the Rocky Mountains and why the "Stampede City", is southern Alberta's tourism gateway city. Looking in other directions you can see exactly where Calgary is situated. To the north are the high plateau's of the Bow River; to the east and south, the plains of Alberta. Situated at the juncture of the TransCanada #1 and Alberta's Queen Elizabeth II Highway, which goes north to the provincial capital of Edmonton, Calgary has long been a major commercial centre in the province. Originally Calgary was an RCMP post, then the centre of the ranching industry and later the Canadian corporate centre for the petroleum industry. 9:17:56 AM     Ya'Gotta: Queen Elizabeth II Highway - Calgary to Edmonton Between Alberta's two, large booming cities of Calgary and its capital, Edmonton runs the Queen Elizabeth II highway (QEII) and many opportunities for exploring and trekking. The areas west of the highway are comprised mainly of the Alberta foothills, leading up to Canadian Rocky Mountains, with western towns, fishing, and waterfalls. Take Hwy. 27 west to Sundre, which also connects to the Cowboy Trail (Hwy. 22) a scenic north/south drive along the foothills. 9:11:11 AM     Book Your Travel Worldwide With Ya'Gotta Travel If your looking for great vacation spots, flights, hotels, or cruises visit Ya'Gotta Travel. If you're looking for great western Canadaian destinations for adventure travel, visit our hoame page at www.yagotta.ca 7:46:42 AM

© Copyright 2006 Bob Kenyon. Last update: 05/11/2006; 17:41:30.