Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump | Day Trip in Southern Alberta, Canada 🦬

Today, we're visiting Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump in southern Alberta! This buffalo jump is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it's situated where the prairies begin to rise into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It's an important site because the buffalo jump was used for 5,500 years by the indigenous peoples of the plains to hunt bison by driving them off a cliff. Now let’s talk about how to reach this attraction. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is located 18 kilometres west of Fort Macleod. We were coming from a different direction, so we opted for a back country road, and I’ve gotta say, the landscapes were nice! We travelled along the Old Man River, planted fields, and wind farms as far as the eye could see. Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump is a National Historic Site, Provincial Heritage Site, and World Heritage Site. It is considered a testimony of prehistoric life. Evidence of human activity in this region dates back at least 11,000 years. Buffalo jumping is a custom that was practiced by the people on the Great Plains for nearly 6,000 years. Every Wednesday during the months of July and August, they put on a special event where visitors can experience authentic First Nations culture. First Nations dancers perform to the beat of Blackfoot drumming and singing. This happens at 11:00 and 13:30. If you've never been to a Pow Wow, this will give you a small taste of it. The Interpretive Centre takes you on a journey looking at the geography of the plains, the lifestyle of the people who called this place home, the use of the jump sites, the arrival of the horse and gun with the European man, there’s a film that reenacts the buffalo hunts, and eventually you exit on the Upper Trail and Viewpoint. The Upper Trail is 200 metres and it’s a very easy walk on a paved path. And then below the cliffs, you have a 1.2-kilometre trail where you can see where the buffalo would have met their end. I would recommend at least 2 hours to see and do it all. We also got to try buffalo stew which was being served, for free, to visitors.