TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL | Top 10,000 Places to Visit in Canada
The page created by Patrick | University of Alberta | Photo by Kim Siever, flickr, Public Domain
Vina Fay Wray was an actress most noted for playing the female lead in the 1933 film King Kong as Ann Darrow.
King Kong’s lady was born in Cardston in 1907. Through an acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray attained international renown as an actress in horror movie roles. She was one of the first “scream queens.”
Don’t miss the Fay Wray Memorial Fountain in Cardston.
Photo: Google Street View
The Remington Carriage Museum celebrates this history through displays, on-site horses, a restoration shop, and an array of family-friendly activities.
While you learn about North America’s transportation history, you can also learn about local Cardston history, take part in one of their guided/workshop programs and enjoy a 15-minute ride through the Lee Creek Valley in a Park Touring Carriage.
Photos: facebook.com/RemingtonCarriageMuseum1
The Card Pioneer Home was one of the first homes built on Lee Creek (that became Cardston) in 1887.
The home demonstrates the original 14’ x 14’ cabin structure that was the beginning of all homes in the new settlement. It also shows additional construction and has a history of the original families arriving in the new Lee Creek settlement.
There is something for all ages, including Pioneer children’s games, magnificent quilts, stories of local First Nations leaders, and more.
Photo: Google Street View
The temple is the oldest of its kind outside of the United States. It is a beautiful piece of architecture worth visiting or even stopping off the highway. Surrounding the temple are sprawling gardens and fields leading you to Cardston’s Lions Park and Town Square. The whole area around the temple is a popular spot for picnics, field sports, or just lazing in the sun.
Photo: churchofjesuschrist.org
Registered Historic landmark
A stop by the Courthouse Museum (on the southbound side of Highway 2) is the best way to get a true sense of the history of Cardston and some of the surrounding areas.
The historic and preserved building is filled with museum artifacts that date back to Cardston’s earliest days in the late 1800s. Authentic furniture decorates the museum, and there is little to see for all interests.
Photo: Google Street View
Cardston’s Carriage House Theatre is a family of dedicated performers who recently put on shows like Joseph, the Amazing Dreamcoat, and The Little Mermaid.
If you are visiting during summer, get tickets to their summer productions. On top of the entertaining live experiences, the Theatre also helps to promote the arts in town by offering summer camps, workshops, and their Academy, a theatre camp for kids.
Photo: Google Street View
It is only a half-hour drive from Cardston.
There are many ways to explore this part of Alberta. However, a truly authentic means by which to explore this stunning landscape is by horseback, and the closest option to Cardston are Alpine Stables, located within the National Park.
The Stables are open from May to September and offer anywhere from 1-8 hour trail rides. You can see the southern Rockies in spring bloom, under the summer heat, or when the leaves change in the fall.
Photo: facebook.com/waterton.park
Grant Strate was one of Canada’s most accomplished dance artists and a Charter Member of the National Ballet.
Strate was born in Cardston in 1927. Strate came to dance late as a law student at the University of Alberta. In 1951 Strate’s early choreographic efforts came to the attention of the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, Celia Franca.
His first work for the National Ballet was Jeune Pas de Deux in 1956. During his tenure, he choreographed more than a dozen ballets, including
Provincial Recreation Area
It is only a 20-minute drive from Cardston’s center and can provide a place to stay, a weekend’s worth of fun, or a place to stop and enjoy the day. The three campgrounds, and three day-use areas, sit along the northeast shore of the reservoir.
Photo: Georgialh, CC BY-SA 4.0
George Monroe Woolf, nicknamed “The Iceman,” was a thoroughbred racehorse jockey.
Woolf was born on a ranch in Cardston in 1910 in a riding family. His mother was a trick rider in a circus, and his father was a rodeo rider.
Woolf learned to ride horses as a child, and as a teenager, he rode in horse races and competed in rodeo events in Alberta and Montana.
He became known for riding the people’s champion Seabiscuit to victories in 1938.
In 2010, marking the 100th anniversary of Woolf’s birth, a life-size equestrian statue was erected in his hometown of Cardston, Alberta, at its Remington Carriage Museum.
