Calgary 
Planning a romantic winter vacation in Alberta means one of two things. This getaway means either escaping the cold or embracing the chilly temperatures.
Making a romantic getaway in Alberta for escaping the cold is best done with a cozy place to stay. Alberta has excellent lodges and cabins for all budgets, and some have extra ways to add memories to your vacation.
If you want to embrace winter together, there are many ways to make the most of a weekend outside. Alberta is home to winter festivals in the big and small cities or towns, most of which are outside. While you celebrate outside for any of these festivals, you can find dining, entertainment, and recreation. Other ways to make the most of winter together include Alberta’s winter sports and ski resorts, exploring new regions, or finding romance in Calgary and Edmonton.
Cozy Winter Cabins
Spend a weekend together bundling up fireside, mountainside, lakeside, or all the above. There are many all-season lodges with cabins around Alberta, all of which can make for a romantic stay in any region. These regions also have nearby opportunities for outdoor adventures.
- Plan a romantic escape in the foothills with Bearberry Cabins! This resort is only 25 minutes from Sundre. Choose between their luxury cabins or their two cozy cabins.
- Escape to the northern Rockies to find a cozy escape at Miette Mountain Cabins. Their Executive cabins are perfect for two, with a fireplace, private deck, king bed, and full kitchen.
- Cypress Hills’ Elkwater Cabins are the park’s only year-round comfort camping option. The area is beautiful while covered and snow, and incredibly peaceful to visit in the winter. The heated cabins also have outdoor firepits, power, and a kitchenette.
- Expanse Cottages are near Abraham Lake and Nordegg, where you can find plenty of wintery fun. The lake is a romantic setting for a winter walk or picnic, and the cottages create a warm and cozy refuge after a time outside. You can also add an ice-climbing adventure to your stay!
- Goat Mountain Get-A-Way in Blairmore is located amidst a stunning 17-acres in the heart of the Crowsnest Pass. The affordable cottage overlooks Goat and Turtle Mountains (home of the Frank Slide) and only a few minutes away from Pass Powderkeg Ski Area.
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Make a Date out of the Winter Festivals
Alberta’s smaller cities and towns are celebrating the season with upcoming winter festivals. Between each, you have date options for outdoor recreation, shopping, dining, or appreciating local art.
- There is a ton of winter fun to discover in Sylvan Lake, including their Family Day long weekend Winterfest and Big Jig ice fishing derby. These two events will provide you and a loved one with three days worth of date ideas.
- Take your getaway north this winter to the town of St. Isidore. You can find a few hotel options in the nearby Peace River. The festival will feature the best of French-Canadian food and several winter activities.
- Lethbridge’s Nikka Yuko Winter Lights Festival is on until the end of February. This allows you plenty of time to plan a winter getaway to southern Alberta city. Enjoy a romantic stroll through the snowy lights before checking out the local dining of Lethbridge.
Book a Ski-in Ski-out Stay
Skoki Lodge
Alberta’s few ski-in ski-out accommodations make for an exceptionally romantic getaway for a few reasons. After a day on the slopes, you and your loved one can enjoy the convenience of heading straight to your lodge whenever you wish. These lodges also have dining options, you can often catch live entertainment at Sunshine.
- Banff Sunshine Village has all you need for a weekend away, including lodges surrounded by different gondolas. The ski area takes up three different mountains and provides enough area for an entire weekend of exploring. The ski-in ski-out lodge has different options for dining and drinks, too.
- Backcountry Skoki Lodge located 11 km from the Lake Louise Ski Resort makes for a secluded and romantic experience, but one that will be well worth the cross-country skiing or long-distance hiking/snowshoeing. Experience powder filled slopes, mountain views, and gourmet food together.
Explore the Winter Cities
Silver Skate Festival
Edmonton and Calgary both continue their festival spirits well into winter. Each city has several accommodation options available near these festivals, whether you need a rental or a hotel. These winter festivals in the city include celebrations of local arts, culture, history, and the food and drink industries.
Festivals to look forward to in Edmonton include Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival, Chiseled: Edmonton International Ice Carving Competition, and the Silver Skate Fest. Calgary’s Festivals include the Big Winter Classic, and Blockheater, and a celebration of winter, called Chinook Blast.
- The Le Germain Hotel in Calgary has a Romantic Package special. Your stay will include rose petals, prosecco, chocolate, and you can check out late.
- Edmonton’s Varscona Hotel offers a Romance Package with wine, chocolate, and complimentary breakfast the next morning.
Stargazing Adventures
Alberta’s three Rocky Mountain national parks are dedicated dark sky preserves. This means they have minimal light pollution around the townsites, and almost no light pollution in more backcountry areas. And less light pollution equals some of the most beautiful stargazing opportunities in the province. And Rocky Mountains aside, a stargazing adventure in Alberta can be just as awe-inspiring on the prairies.
The nighttime vistas are worth a weekend getaway and add a little sparkle to the adventure.
- Jasper Planetarium offers telescope viewing experiences, planetarium tours, or combo packages. Additionally, you can drive to Jasper’s Pyramid and Patricia Lakes for self-guided stargazing.
- The top of the Banff Gondola is a perfect place to witness breathtaking starry skies. It is made even cooler with the Gondola’s Nightrise art installations. The lakes along the Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive have rest areas and parking lots from where you can begin a short stargazing walk.
- The Dark Sky Guides of Waterton Lakes National Park offer walking, snowshoeing, and hiking, stargazing tours around the townsite and lakes. Self-guided stargazing spots are found along the Red Rock Parkway, and are a short drive northwest of the townsite.
- Cypress Hills Provincial Park is not quite prairie but is worth a mention. Along with a long list of other winter activities, the park also boasts stargazing under a dark sky preserve.
- Elk Island National Park is only a 20-45 minute drive from Edmonton and is another of the province’s dark sky preserves. The large park offers many different picnic sites from which to gaze.
- Cooking Lake-Blackfoot PRA is under the same Beaver Hills Dark Sky preserve as Elk Island, and is a short drive south of Elk Island and Edmonton.
Discover Alberta’s Winter Towns
Alberta’s small towns are full of excitement this winter. Annual snowmobile rallies are taking place in numerous different locations and give you the chance to try the sport in a fun way. And while you stay in any town, take the time to explore the local art on display, the local shopping, and the restaurants. You may also easily create a romantic weekend out of visiting multiple towns.
- Drumheller has a fantastic collection of shops and restaurants. Tyra, the world’s largest t-rex is open to visitors year-round, and from atop the dinosaur, you could plan your next snowy badlands hike. A second town to visit with Drumheller is Rosebud, who have more accommodations, and a famous theatre.
- Pincher Creek is a perfect place to rest your head before or after some outdoor fun. Pincher Creek is near Castle Provincial Park where you can snowshoe, ski, fat bike, or watch for wildlife. There will be photo opportunities all around you and your loved one between the natural areas, and Pincher Creek’s local murals and art.
- Peace River is one of Alberta’s smaller winter cities, and another where you can embark on a self-guided art and mural tour. While you tour the artistic side of Peace river, enjoy a few stops at their local cafes, and plan around one of two upcoming events. The nearby St. Isidore Winter Carnival, or the Alberta Pond Hockey Championships in early March.
Find the Most Romantic Rentals in Alberta
Four Season Paradise/AirBnB
VRBO and Airbnb are both excellent sources for romantic getaway ideas. Through ether rental websites, you can find a huge variety of places to enjoy your vacation. These rentals show up in every major city, as well as the Rocky Mountain Park towns, and small towns in Alberta. These are also great options for group getaways with more than one couple.
- Take your relaxation and romance to the lake this winter with this adorable waterfront 4-Season Cottage. The cottage has all the amenities of a hotel room, but with no neighbours!
- This Four Season Paradise cabin near Lacombe includes a cozy cabin stay with your private deck included. Plus, guests have access to a shared hot tub area- perfect for chilly winter nights.
- This ideal and Cozy Cabin by the Lake offers a quiet place to relax, and the surrounding provincial park for afternoon adventures. Consider including a hot tub rental to add more luxury to your weekend.
- Interested in your private hot tub for the weekend? This Drumheller Bahama Breeze house rental has that and a fun tropical theme to keep you and your loved one cozy all weekend.
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Get away to the Great Outdoors
Alberta has almost endless great outdoors to explore. And there are many affordable ways to make a romantic weekend out of any of Alberta’s winter activities. You can start with Alberta’s Provincial and National Parks, and browse the available activities like skating snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or winter hiking.
- If you want to lace up over the weekend and find Alberta’s natural skating areas, you can choose between beautiful areas with camping or hotels nearby. Plan a weekend of skating on Alberta’s natural areas in Sylvan Lake, Cypress Hills PP, or at Sandy McNabb Campground in Sheep River PP.
- A romantic winter vacation in Canmore brings you to one of Alberta’s top cross-country skiing destinations. The Canmore Nordic Centre boasts a variety of trails for all different skill levels. The Nordic Centre also offers skating and sledding, ski rentals, and lessons. And Canmore offers a huge variety of different ways to stay in the mountains.
- Snowshoeing is permitted in a wide array of Alberta’s Provincial Parks. Some examples include Winagami Lake PP in Alberta’s north, eastern Alberta’s Whitney Lakes PP, Crimson Lake PP in central Alberta, Spray Valley in the Rockies, and Cypress Hills in the south.
Book a Unique Rocky Mountain Vacation
Maligne Canyon Icewalks
Alberta’s mountains offer a wide variety of tourism opportunities. And visiting the Rockies can be a daunting experience: the scenery is incredible, and there is so much to do or explore. But you can make the trip planning easier. That wide array of guided experiences and tours can offer memorable, romantic, and exciting experiences you can’t try anywhere else in Alberta.
- The mountains around Nordegg are made even more beautiful by the presence of Lake Abraham. The team at Nordegg Adventures can help you and your partner tour areas on and around the ice, on a photo tour, or a waterfall tour.
- The Dark Sky Guides of Waterton Lakes National Park offer unique tours around the towns and lakes, and a daytime tour.
- You can book guided Ice Walk Tours around Banff National Park to get you and your loved one within beautiful, memorable, and otherwise hard to access scenery. Some of these tours can be bundled with other Banff attraction passes.
- A Wildlife Tour of Jasper National Park is one of the best ways to attempt closer (but safer) glimpses of large mountain wildlife. Experienced guided bring you on simple winter walks with tips for safety, and tips on respecting the animals during your visit.
Unwind with an Alberta Winter Spa Vacation
Credit: Kananaskis Nordic Spa
Combine your romance, adventure, or thrills in the Rockies with some time for relaxation. There are three spa resorts in Banff National Park alone, as well as two in Jasper National Park. Both locations are perfect for a weekend away thanks to all the natural areas that are easy to explore, the chances to spot wildlife, premiere skiing, and local dining.
- The Kananaskis Nordic Spa near Canmore is between two different accommodation options, and a world-class winter spa experience. Your visit to the spa can include dips in the five outdoor pools, sitting in one of many saunas, a massage, and outdoor space for time by the fire.
- Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise’s spa services couple well with a day on the hill, and a romantic weekend away from home. The spa offers facials, massages, or nail treatments, and access to their grand indoor pool or hot tub.
- The Fairmont Spa Jasper Park Lodge offer guests a wide array of treatments including body wraps, couples’ massages, facials, and nail treatments. This also grants access to the Lodge’s heated outdoor pool.
