Things to Do in Red Deer

As bowlers hurl balls down Heritage’s 20 lanes, videos blast on 96-inch screens while music swells from the alley’s powerful sound system. Here, colorful neon lights fill the air four nights a week, bathing bowlers in an otherworldly glow for cosmic bowling. Each lane is equipped with fully computerized scoring, relieving bowlers of the shame that accompanies revealing an inability to do math.

Behind the lanes, two full-sized tables and the arcade’s skee-ball and video games further foster bouts of friendly competition. An indoor barbecue fuels the revelry with an extensive menu of sirloin steaks and all-beef burgers, and an arsenal of liquors and beers stock the on-site bar.

Heritage Ranch immerses visitors in its idyllic woodlands crisscrossed by old dirt trails over which horses pull carriages, wagons, and sleighs that look as though they've rolled straight out of history. Under the tree canopies, couples can devote their time on the ranch to one another with romantic date night packages that combine carriage & sleigh rides with dinner and wine at Westlake Grille. The sound of laughter from children and families can be heard during trail rides as they wend through the property's 217 acres of parkland—equivalent to one clydesdale football field—and camps keep the good times coming during the summer.

Though the nearest mountain is almost 200 kilometres away, Canyon Ski Resort still manages to send skiers shushing down 164 metres of vertical slopes. Equipped with 6 lifts and 18 runs, the canyon skiing terrain allows adventurers to take the plunge on evocatively named green-, blue-, and black-diamond slopes including Powderhorn, Springbok, and Wine Skin. In addition to slopes, the resort hosts a terrain park and super pipe, as well as lights for night skiing. The resort sits directly between Edmonton and Calgary, and allows visitors to greet expansive views of the landscape while enjoying hot or cold beverages in one of many fireplaces.

Brightly colored paintballs whiz through fresh lakeside air until they collide with a tree, patch of grass, or someone's body. On three outdoor fields, this colorful carnage unfolds as mask-wearing participants take aim and fire their semiautomatic paintball guns from lookouts, behind bunkers, and under trees. Sylvan Lake Paintball's grounds also house a pro shop staffed by seasoned paintballers, where patrons can load up on everything from paintballs and CO2 canisters to barbecue burgers not booby-trapped with a surprise paintball filling.