Our two-day itinerary has you using Pincher Creek as your hub for winter activities.

Crowsnest Pass is a region that has been home to the Piikani and Ktunaxa First Nations dating back 10,000 years. Alberta’s Southwest region, and specifically the region of the Crowsnest, is home to the most concentrated collection of First Nations Archeological sites – over 380 of them. It’s also home to Canada’s largest mining disasters, which is now a tourist attraction that welcomes over 100,000 people each year to experience this massive rock slide.

Our two-day itinerary has you using Pincher Creek as your hub for winter activities.

Pincher Creek, AB – Shortly after 10 a.m. on a frosty, fresh-powder morning, we reach the newly-marked trailhead for the Drywood Creek recreation area in Castle Provincial Park. Not surprisingly, we have the parking lot to ourselves.

Our two-day historic tour takes you to some of Southern Alberta’s most spectacular historical sites, but one thing is missing – the summer-time crowds. The centres are yours to explore at a leisurely pace.

Halfway down Turtle Mountain both my legs and lungs started sending signals to my brain that something wasn't quite right. Call it fatigue. Lactic acid build-up. Over exertion. They’d all apply. And, given the fact this hike required 740 metres of elevation gain (and subsequent loss!), this “negativity” wasn’t all that surprising. But, just like my entire tour through the Crowsnest Pass, in the end, the “positivity” was off the charts. 

My instructions were clear and concise. At 6:30 a.m. be at the front gate. “We've only got one chance at this,” said Brad Bustard, owner of Thanksgiving Lodge & Ranch, an idyllic Alberta ranch located approximately 20 minutes outside of Pincher Creek. “When I open the gate, 1,600 head of cattle are going to make their move. The entire herd will be on the move. You need to be there and have your camera gear ready.” I obeyed the instructions. And had one of the best mornings of photography I've ever had.

A ZenSeekers' road trip isn't complete unless you visit Crowsnest Pass. Check out this amazing itinerary to get you started.

Our itinerary has you using Pincher Creek as your hub for foraging for feasts at farmers markets and fishing holes..

Surrounded by prairies, historical sites, and the Rocky Mountains, Pincher Creek often gets left out of a traveller's itinerary. That can happen when there are so many beautiful sites nearby – like Alberta’s newest provincial park – Castle Wildland. You just have to walk around town, talk to the locals, look a little deeper, and you’ll be in the know.

Not sure what I expected when I selected Level 2 on the power mode switch. Helmet strapped on, I took my first pedal stroke and with a surprising burst of energy my electric assist mountain bike burst to life. Now that’s more like it.

This was going to be a fun way to tour the Crowsnest Pass area, which borders on Alberta's newest protected area - Castle Wildland Provincial Park. 

Rolling prairie hills and grasslands abruptly give way to the montane forest and mountains of the Canadian Rockies as we drive westbound. The Castle wilderness almost appeared as a line across the land where it was decided the prairie would become towering mountains. It was here drove into, Castle Provincial Park.

Castle Provincial Park is full of adventure for any and everyone. Learn more here.