Day Twelve Through Fifteen Fort Macleod Alberta

Days twelve through to day fifteen we spent in the historic town of Fort Macleod which is located in Southwestern Alberta. There are many things to do in and around this prairie town, but not only that, Tyler has immediate family in Fort Macleod.

Fort Macleod is named for Royal Canadian Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod, and is a town of some 3,000 people. It is located within easy driving distance to Calgary, Lethbridge and the Rocky Mountains. It is a historic town because of the fort that was built there in 1884. Many of the buildings in the historic downtown core date back to nearly that date giving it a unique feel. The movie Passchendaele was filmed at this location as a stand in for Calgary for the first world war period.

There are few hotels and motels in the town but none are above three-star level so if you are looking for such digs you are out of luck here. The town is a great launching point to access attractions close by. These attractions include the world heritage site – Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump is less than 20 kilometers from the town and is a great place to spend a day learning about the local Blackfoot culture. The world heritage site designation ranks this attraction along with such notables as the pyramids and Stonehenge! While the site hasn’t been used for its traditional purpose since Europeans arrived in the area the 19th century, it is now the home of a large and extensive museum built in sandstone featuring reams of information on the buffalo jump and the Blackfoot who used it.

We highly recommend that if in this part of Canada that you take a day to visit both Fort Macleod and the Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. You can easily spend 4-6 hours at the heritage site so budget your time accordingly. In the summer months it is a better time to visit the fort in Fort Macleod as they feature native dancers, an RCMP musical ride and much more. The time of year we visited it was not offering such extras.

Tyler says of Fort Macleod and the buffalo jump – Besides taking the time to spend with family I had always wanted to visit the heritage site as I learned all about it and others like it while studying Canadian history in university. I didn’t know the museum displays and cultural items were so plentiful so that made for a nice surprise. We were the only ones who took the walk outside the award-winning building to brave the elements (it was cold, raining and windy that day) to see the actual jump sites. The town is nicely kept and the historic feel of the downtown is worth the visit alone. The Empress Theater is one of the oldest such buildings in Western Canada and still in operation today. Choices for hotels and restaurants are limited though.

Catherine says – It was interesting to learn how the native Canadians hunted the buffalo. I also appreciated spending time with Tyler’s family. His family was very friendly towards me and asked me much about my life and culture. The town has very few choices for those looking for many amenities as it is a very small town. The weather started out nice but as the days went by the weather turned for the worse as it got rainy and cold. I recommend Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. The site is a great place for families.

Tags: alberta, blackfoot, calgary, Canada, catherine, fort macleod, head smashed in buffalo jump, hotel, lethbridge, motel, museum, rcmp, rocky mountains, tyler