Recreation and Culture
Southern Alberta is also home to a rich Aboriginal culture where regional and international students can learn more about First Nation history and traditions. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a hunting site for Aboriginals for nearly 6,000 years, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, also a sacred site to southern Alberta's Blackfoot people, reveals ancient paintings and carvings on stunning sandstone cliffs. Both sites are within a two-hour drive of Lethbridge.
Some of the richest dinosaur fossil sites have been found in Alberta’s Badlands. Follow the fossil trail and visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology near the town of Drumheller, or the Dinosaur Provincial Park near the City of Brooks.
Recreational activities also abound, with skiing, hiking and other mountain activities just a few hours away. For sports enthusiasts, Canada's most popular sport is HOCKEY and Calgary is home to the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames. It also has a professional football team, the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
There's lots of opportunity in southern Alberta to ice skate indoors or outdoors in winter, as well as excellent skiing facilities that make the most of the scenic Rocky Mountains. Fishing, biking and camping are also popular pursuits when the warmer weather arrives. There are many parks for fun activities such as tossing around a football, playing catch or kicking around a soccer ball. Southern Alberta is also home to many public golf courses for beginners or expert golfers.
Southern Alberta also hosts a myriad of arts and performing arts opportunities, with concerts, art exhibits and live theatre performances. Students can learn about the history of Canada and the Palliser Region through museums found in Calgary, Lethbridge and most of the towns in between.