Things Kids Love in Red Deer
The girls and I LOVE doing mother-daughter mini-getaways! We also love it when we can pack a lot of fun into these trips without breaking the bank. Red Deer is a perfect destination that achieves both!
Red Deer is an ideal destination for Alberta road trips because of its central location. Visitors can make it a day-trip from Edmonton or Calgary – or stay the night to extend the fun!
I’ve driven through Red Deer countless times in my life, but this was my first opportunity to spend a few days immersed in the central Alberta city and I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun Red Deer has to offer!
Read on for our list of things kids LOVE in Red Deer and start planning your next Alberta stay-cation! (Hint! Sign up for the Highway 2 More! Attractions Pass before your visit to save money on fun stuff to do in Red Deer!)
1. Canyon Ski Resort
If you’re going to do just one thing in Red Deer, it HAS to be a visit to Canyon Ski Resort! I could write an entire blog just on the epic day we had here. Canyon Ski Resort offers summer fun of the downhill variety. In addition to Alberta’s only mountain coaster, Canyon Ski Resort also offers downhill tubing in summer! But wait – there’s more! In 2024 Canyon Ski added an adventure park with an aerial course, auto-belay climbing wall, belay bungee jump, trampoline nets and a canyon-wide zipline!
We hit the mountain coaster first! My recommendation would be to book at least 2 rides on the mountain coaster if you can. The first ride allows you to get the feel of the course and the coaster. On the second ride, you can really have some fun! Don’t forget to smile for the coaster camera to get a cool souvenir photo! This activity is open to everyone aged 3 and up, and yes, parents can ride tandem with a child on the coaster!
The Adventure Park is incredible! I was really impressed with the staff team and have to shout-out Mark and Becca, who were so patient with the girls! There is a mini-course on which you learn the ropes (pun intended) before being set loose on 3 levels of aerial park. The coolest thing about this circuit is that levels 2 and 3 include mini ziplines, so even if you aren’t ready (or big enough) to do the cross-canyon zipline, you can experience the thrill of zipping across a traverse!
Nestled among the layers of aerial obstacles are the amazing trampoline nets. Think bouncier than the bounciest trampoline you’ve ever been on! Needless to say, the girls loved them. The net park is open to everyone aged 3 and up. Closed-toed shoes are required for this activity, so be sure to wear or bring along runners.
On our first visit in 2024, the girls were too small for the big canyon zipline (riders need to be 75 lbs) but the team at Canyon was kind enough to let them swap in Canyon Bungee instead! Bouncers get a full 10 minutes of jump time! I’m told this is a key activity to save as your grand finale for the day, IF you want your kids to sleep on the drive home, haha!
We ended our day with Summer Tubing. Tubing is open to everyone 4 and up. You can take the magic carpet up the hill – which is helpful because this is Western Canada’s longest Summer tube slide! Riders then slide down one of two tracks. (Important to note – only one rider is allowed per tube, so kids can’t sit in the same tube as an adult. BUT, you can link tubes. The girls say that tube-linking is key to a faster ride!)
New features at Canyon Ski Resort
NEW for 2026, Canyon has added the Crystal Canyon Mining Co. – a fun opportunity to pan for gems and other treasures! Bags of rough are sold in 3 sizes and pricing levels. Pour your dirt into wood-framed panning sieves and dunk it into the water to pan out the dirt and reveal your treasure!
Canyon is already working ahead on their next exciting feature – in 2027 they will be adding a Mini Golf Course!
Make a day of your visit to Canyon Ski Resort with the Canyon Adventure Pass, which gets you admission to the aerial park, the trampoline nets, 1 canyon zipline, 1 mountain coaster ride and 5 trips down the summer tubing slide! There are some heights, size and other restrictions in effect for some of the features, so be sure to check out the options before you book your pass.
2. Discovery Canyon
For the past few years, we’ve made an annual summer pilgrimage with friends to Discovery Canyon and it’s something the kids look forward to every year! We pack a stack of beach towels, a basket of food and a cooler of drinks and we set up shop under giant trees on the hillside. We opt to pay the $7 for wristbands that allow access to the tubes on-site. Your visit can be completely FREE if you choose to bring your own tube, but it must meet size regulations. Our kids also love splashing in the pond at the bottom of the lazy river and making sand castles on the beach! Discovery Canyon also has a great playground – find it on our list of Best Playgrounds in Red Deer.
3. Kerry Wood Nature Centre
Choose your own adventure at this fun, FREE nature centre that sits at the edge of the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary! The Kerry Wood Nature Centre is a fun place to explore, especially for kids, and offers a variety of interactive educational opportunities.
Just outside the main door is a playground known as Imagination Grove and Harmony Garden. Find it on our list of Best Playgrounds in Red Deer!
The Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary offers 5 kilometres of trails to explore and is home to a wide variety of wildlife! We liked scoping things out from the beautiful viewing decks!
4. Bower Ponds
Want an escape from the city that’s right in the heart of the city? Check out Bower Ponds! This stunning park sits on Red Deer’s excellent trail system. It’s home to paddle boats, fishing, skating in winter, playgrounds, a pollinator park, benches & picnic tables and the cutest little amphitheatre!
We opted for paddle boating. Kids under 14 must be with an adult, so the 3 of us piled into a four-seat boat and set off! Our 30-minute cruise was enough to give us a great tour of the pond – and a great workout! Good thing we worked up an appetite – the concession inside Bower Ponds serves over 24 flavours of soft-serve ice cream!
5. The Playgrounds
Don’t sleep on Red Deer’s playgrounds! The city is home to tons of parks – and we managed to round up a list of the Best Playgrounds in Red Deer! Check them all out and find the perfect spot to play.
6. The Collicut Centre
We woke up to gray skies and drizzle one morning in Red Deer, but we made the most of it with a visit to the Collicut Centre! This massive recreation complex is home to rinks, soccer fields, a gymnastics centre and much more. We had an absolute blast at the pool with its 2 huge waterslides, lazy river and wave pool. If we had more time we definitely would have hit the gymnasium for some climbing on the bouldering walls! Admission for the 3 of us came in under $20 – a great price for a play-all-day kind of place!
7. Trailhead Climbing & Fitness
It looks super cool and it’s equal parts fun and challenging. Trailhead Climbing and Fitness has a Fun Zone! It’s a room full of auto-belay climbing walls designed for kids – but that will challenge adults too. The girls had a blast tackling every wall in the space. They especially loved some of the DIY challenges, like the blocks pictured below. Countless structures were created – then a kid would launch from the ladder and crash down on the pile of blocks!
Trailhead also has a full climbing gym and bouldering facility! Great options for climbers of all ages!
8. The Trail System
There is just something about exploring a new town or city on foot or by bike. We brought our bikes with us to Red Deer and spent one of our days touring the city’s extensive trail system!
The multi-use paths and bike lanes allowed us to get everywhere – from the natural playgrounds on the outskirts of town to some of the coolest spots in the heart of Red Deer, like the gorgeous flower gardens at City Hall!
9. Sunnybrook Farm Museum
A totally FREE living history museum right in the heart of the city? Yes, please! Sunnybrook Farm Museum turned out to be one of the cutest stops in Red Deer! This farm museum will appeal to historians and animal lovers alike. The girls couldn’t get enough of the goats, pigs, bunnies, chickens, turkeys, cows and donkey. There’s also a cute playground and old wooden train, plus a variety of buildings and farm equipment open for self-touring and exploration! It’s free to visit but donations are gratefully accepted.
10. The Museum and Art Gallery
This was a pleasant surprise! We popped into the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery to cool off in the middle of a hot day and got to tour the cutest collection of treasures! The girls loved the koi in the lobby (look for the sign that shares their names!). I loved the impressive collection of historic toys! (Including some that I had as a kid… insert age joke here.) and we all loved the mini-cinema right in the middle of the museum! (We got to watch the “Logdrivers Waltz” which folks my age will remember from their childhoods. The girls had never seen it before!) The Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery is FREE to visit, and donations are accepted.
11. The Public Art
One of the coolest things about visiting a new community is checking out the special touches that make it stand out! Red Deer is home to a number of pieces of public art and beautiful murals. The girls’ favourite is “The Boulder Geese of Great Chief Park” by artists Paul Slipper and Mary-Ann Liu.
I like the ghost collection, including the bronze statue “Waiting for Gordon” by Brian McArthur. This one is just one block south of City Hall.
We all liked the desert mural by artist Nasarimba. Find this mural located across the street to the west of Central Middle School. Learn more about the City of Red Deer’s public art collection HERE!
12. The Food and Treats
We are far from food bloggers, but I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about a few of the tasty treats we found in Red Deer – and other spots we noted for our next visit to the city.
You simply MUST visit the Taco Loft – not just for the delicious food, but also to check out the cool streetscape that’s set up down the stairs between the loft and the ice cream shop below, Ross Street Ice Cream. Both are located in central Red Deer in the entertainment district, which has a great outdoor eating area full of tables and benches!
On our 2026 visit we made it to Little Ice Cream and Soda Shoppe! Dozens of hard ice cream options plus a variety of other delicious treats, like sundaes, classic sodas and more! Know that this is a cash-only store. There is an ATM available on site. We also popped into the Gasoline Alley Farmers Market, which is open Fridays, Saturday & Sundays year-round. We grabbed a delicious lunch in the market kitchen and stocked up on goodies from several of the vendors.
13. Ellis Nature Centre
OK, this one isn’t IN Red Deer, but it definitely deserves a mention! Ellis Nature Centre, about 20 minutes northeast of Red Deer is a perfect pit stop to save for your trip back to Edmonton! It’s another FREE spot to visit, though again donations are gratefully accepted. There is an interpretive centre, trails to walk, tons of birds to watch and learn about, a pond for dipping, and much more! Purchase refreshments from the tea house, play in the little nature park and meet the playful goats!
We even got in on the Centre’s Chicken Poop Bingo game! For $5 you can choose a numbered square. Squares are sold all weekend and on Sunday afternoon a chicken is released on a life-sized version of the square chart. If the chicken poops on your number, you take home half the pot!
Before you visit Red Deer, be sure to sign up for the Highway 2 More! Attractions Pass! You can open it right on your phone, there’s no app to fuss with. Use it to redeem exclusive offers and collect points at each location that could help you win amazing prizes!
Our visit to Red Deer was hosted and we are truly grateful to Tourism Red Deer for their hospitality!
In 2024 we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Red Deer North, which I can’t recommend enough! It’s ideally located just off Highway 2, but also perfectly positioned at the edge of a quiet residential neighbourhood and offered us access to Red Deer’s outstanding trail system. Our room was spacious, comfortable and clean; the workout centre was well-equipped; and the pool was a delight for the kids! Hot breakfast was included with our stay and the girls recommend you try the automatic pancake maker for delicious, fluffy pancakes to start your day!
In 2026 we stayed at the Red Deer Resort & Casino! It offers the perfect combination of luxurious relaxation and family-friendly vibes. If you’re looking for a comfy bed, this is your spot – and the plush robes in the room are beyond cozy. The girls loved the pool and the restaurants on site exceeded our expectation. A special nod to the staff here – so friendly, professional and welcoming!
Looking for more central Alberta fun??? You simply MUST stop at Kraay Family Farm in Lacombe! Located just 20 minutes north of Red Deer, this farm is packed with fun of all kids for kids and kids at heart!