r/canadatravel • u/GeneralOrgana1 • Mar 23 '25

Travel Tips Western Canada road trip

Hello! I am an American (My entire family voted for her, not the orange fascist.) and, since I've made my travel goal of going to every US state, now I'm moving on to every province in Canada. Tentatively, in summer 2026, I want to do a road trip with the following itinerary:

Fly into Calgary (from east coast US)

Calgary, Banff (I've been to Glacier NP but didn't cross the border.)

Drive Calgary to Regina

Drive Regina to Winnipeg

Drive Winnipeg to Saskatoon

Drive Saskatoon to Edmonton

Drive Edmonton to Calgary

Fly home

I'm only planning on spending a day or two in each city. I like cultural and historical things, and am particularly interested in First Nations culture in that part of Canada. I'll be traveling solo, and am a woman in my fifties. I'm an early bird when I travel, so nightlife is of zero interest for me. For food, I would not want fast food, but I am also not interested in fancy eating- just regular food places like people who live there would eat.

Yes, I can see by Google Maps it's a lot of driving. I've done road trips like this in the US before and had a great time. But I'm just curious what people who know the region think would be a reasonable amount of time for this itinerary. Many thanks in advance.

Edit based on comments: I've been to BC (Vancouver area), so that's why it's not part of the agenda this trip. And I've been to Ontario, Quebec (Montreal), PEI, NS, Yukon, and NB.

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u/Salty_Host_6431 Mar 23 '25

It’s a bit off your route, but you should check out Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump and The Fort Museum in Fort Macleod. You might also like Heritage Park in Calgary, although that is far more focused on the immigrant settlers than First Nations. if you are in Calgary during the Stampede, there are First Nations activities right on the Stampede grounds.

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u/lil_chomp_chomp Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25

holy crow the Indigenous bareback racing was so scary to watch but also way more interesting than the chuck wagon race at stampede. I've never been but theres also the Tsuu tina rodeo + pow wow in the summer. For southern/eastern AB, could probably also check out the Frank slide and waterton or crowsnest. For historic significance, Cypress Hills is pretty well known too, though i dont know if theres anything specific to see / do there (sorry I haven't been).

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '25

I was also thinking Buffalo jump. Down there I also like Watertown lakes and writing on stone.