Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo Winter Activity Guide

Alberta's oldest community a real gem

FORT CHIPEWYAN, AB — Located 280 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Fort Chipewyan (or Fort Chip as many call it) is Alberta's oldest European settlement. Established in 1788 by the North West Company, it's location on the northwestern tip of Lake Athabasca plus the convergence of two more bodies of water in the immediate area, the Rocher and Quatre Fourches rivers, made it an ideal site for a fur trading post.

A lifelong passion for carving

FORT SMITH, AB — Now retired from his 'civilian job,' Sonny MacDonald is a larger-than-life, self-taught artist who started carving at the age of seven. Among others, he has done commissioned work for both Pope John Paul II and Prince Phillip of England, but whether it's a commissioned piece or something for a trade show, anyone visiting his workshop can clearly see that MacDonald 'needs to carve.'

Alberta's disappearing road

FORT MCMURRAY, AB — Beginning the middle of December a road appears between Fort McMurray, in Alberta's northeastern corner, and Fort Smith in the North West Territories, and every year, by the end of March, it disappears. This road is known as Alberta's Winter Road – and what an adventure it provides for winter enthusiasts looking for something that is truly "off the beaten track."