Central Alberta is part of Alberta, located between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. The eastern portion is largely agricultural, while the western portion is part of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Regions

Central Alberta stretches across the middle of Alberta from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the prairies in the east.

Central Alberta travel regions and main destinations

Foothills Ranching country with forested areas. The Cowboy Trail (Hwy 22) that runs north-south is considered one of Alberta's most scenic highways.

Central Corridor The area along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (also known as Highway 2 or "the QE2") between Calgary and Edmonton, which contains many towns and smaller cities and is anchored by the city of Red Deer.

East Central Alberta Largely agricultural, this less-populated area with small farming villages dotting the east-west highways.

Cities

Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Red Deer

• 1 Red Deer — largest city in Central Alberta with over 100,000 inhabitants, midway between Calgary and Edmonton
• 2 Camrose — a college town with Norwegian heritage and about 18,000 people
• 3 Edson — main town on the Yellowhead Highway between Edmonton and Jasper with around 8,400 people.
• 4 Lloydminster — agricultural city of 31,000 that straddles the border with Saskatchewan
• 5 Rocky Mountain House — this is the eastern gateway to David Thompson Country and also the site of a reconstructed fur trading post
• 6 Sundre — small, emerging resort town of 2,700 located in the Rocky Mountain foothills
• 7 Sylvan Lake — a lakeside resort town with a provincial park, a marina, a boardwalk lined with shops, and around 15,000 inhabitants
• 8 Vegreville — agricultural town of 5,700, home to the world's largest pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg) and jumping off point to Kalyna Country
• 9 Wetaskiwin — population of 13,000 inhabitants is home to a major museum of transportation and industry, the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.

Other destinations

Pigeon Lake

• 1 Kalyna Country – Alberta's Ukrainian ethnic enclave which includes many small farming villages
• 2 Pigeon Lake − popular recreational lake south of Edmonton

Understand

Central Alberta is made up of small towns and rural landscapes stretching from prairie plateaus in the east to foothills in the west. It is primarily agricultural in the east and forested in the west as it transitions to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Central Alberta includes:

• Foothills: Traditional ranching country and with forested area increasing to the north. Many of the roads through this area were placed on older established foot or horse paths, such as the historic Cowboy Trail (Hwy 22), one of Alberta's most scenic roads.
• Parkland: Alberta's boreal and aspen parkland run in north-south strips across the province. Parkland is mainly rolling green hills, pastures, and large sections of mixed forest. A fertile area consists of agricultural areas with small groves of trees. The low coulees and high plateaus have been reforested by area ranchers and farmers.
• Prairies: Rural farms, small and medium towns lay along or near Alberta's busiest highway corridor between the cities of Calgary (south) and Edmonton (north) The prairie towns grew up in the late 1800s around stations of the Calgary-Edmonton Railway. The first residents came as homesteaders and opened businesses around the stations to cash in on travellers passing through. The railway still runs through the centre of each town and is surrounded entirely by ranches and farms, raising flowers, grains, buffalo, elk, sheep, horses, cattle, and chickens.

Get in

By plane

International flights are available to the Calgary and Edmonton airports, which are on the north and south ends of their respective cities. Red Deer has a regional airport with connections to Calgary.

By train

• VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates trains routes across Canada. (updated Apr 2022) The Canadian (between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia) two to three times per week.

By car

The spine of Central Alberta is Highway 2, which connects Calgary and Edmonton. Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) runs along the eastern edge of the foothills and continues into the ranch lands of Southern Alberta.

Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway) connects Central Alberta to Banff National Park and the Icefields Parkway.

Highways 12 and 13 connect to Saskatchewan.

Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) travels eastbound from Prince George, British Columbia via Jasper, Alberta, and westbound from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan via Lloydminster.

By bus

• Cold Shot, ☏ +1 587-557-7719, support@coldshot.ca. Operates bus services primarily in Alberta with some service reaching British Columbia. (updated Feb 2021) Routes operating in Central Alberta:
  • Between Calgary and Edmonton including stops in Airdrie and Red Deer. Travel time to Edmonton from Calgary is 4 hours and from Red Deer is 1.75 hours. Operates several days per week.
  • Between Jasper and Edmonton including stops in Hinton and Edson. Travel time to Edmonton from Jasper is 4 hours. Route temporarily suspended.
  • Between Lloydminster and Edmonton including stops in Vermilion and Vegreville. Travel time to Edmonton from Lloydminster is 2.75 hours. Route temporarily suspended
• Ebus, toll-free: +1 877-769-3287. Operates several routes in British Columbia and Alberta. (updated Mar 2022) Route operating in Central Alberta:
  • Between Calgary and Edmonton including a stop in Red Deer. Travel time to Edmonton from Calgary is 4.75 hours and from Red Deer 2.25 is hours. Operates twice daily.
• Red Arrow, toll-free: +1-800-232-1958, customerservice@redarrow.ca. Operates premium service in Alberta featuring spacious seating (only three seats to a row) and workstation seats with electrical connections for business travelers and their computers. (updated May 2022) Route operating in Central Alberta:
  • Between Calgary and Edmonton including a stop in Red Deer. Travel time to Edmonton from Calgary is 3.25-4 hours and from Red Deer is 1.75 hours. Operates multiple times daily.
• Rider Express, toll-free: +1-833-583-3636. Operates bus routes with connections including from Calgary to Vancouver, and from Regina to Winnipeg. (updated May 2022) Routes operating in Central Alberta:
  • Between Calgary and Edmonton with a stop in Red Deer.
  • Between Regina and Edmonton with stops including in Vegreville, Vermilion, Lloydminster, North Battleford, Saskatoon, and Davidson.
• SunDog Tours, ☏ +1-780-852-4056, toll-free: +1-888-786-3641, info@sundogtours.com. Operates daily service between Edmonton International Airport and Jasper including stops in downtown Edmonton, Hinton, and Edson. (updated Sep 2021)
• Thompson Valley Charters, ☏ +1 877-769-3287. In partnership with Ebus, operates twice per week service between Kamloops and Edmonton with stops in Barriere, Little Fort, Clearwater, Avola, Blue River, Valemount, Mount Robson Provincial Park, Jasper, Hinton, and Edson. (updated Mar 2022)

Get around

Aside from the corridors from Edmonton through Red Deer to Calgary, and Edmonton through Vegreville to Lloydminster, you'll find little by way of public transportation. You'll need a car or a bike to get around.

See

A small herd of "Wildies" in the foothills of Alberta in winter.

The scenery is really the thing to see: the views of the Rocky Mountains are the highlight.

The Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site contains the remains of several early 19th-century fur trade forts.

Herds of wild horses inhabit the fields and slopes of the lower Rocky Mountains. You can also see them at a rescue facility west of Sundre.

Holy Trinity Russo Orthodox Church, Wostok, Lamont County

Kalyna Country is a living museum of Austrian, Polish, Romanian, and especially Ukrainian settlement and immigration. The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village 50 km east of Edmonton on Highway 16 has over 30 historic buildings. The Vegreville Pysanka, constructed of thousands of aluminium pieces, is a 9-m-tall Ukrainian Easter egg.

Do

Go camping in one of the many provincial parks. Take a guided horse-back tour of Rocky Mountain Foothills near Nordegg. Visit one of many small-town museums for some local history. Float or paddle one of several main rivers (Pembina River Provincial Park and Red Lodge Provincial Park are especially popular for this). Go mountain biking at Baseline Mountain near Rocky Mountain House or Willmore Park near Edson. Or in winter try cross-country skiing at Hornbeck Forest Recreation Area near Edson. Watch a hockey game in Red Deer at the Westerner Park Centrium.

Eat

This is beef ranching country, try the steak!

Drink

Craft beer.

Stay safe

Wear bright orange whenever out in the wilderness in the autumn, as this is hunting season. This way you won't be mistaken for a deer.