Car Rental Edmonton - Exploring Edmonton

The West Edmonton Mall is the largest mall in the entire world. The gargantuan edifice is so big you might think you are entering a sub-city. The mall contains more than 800 businesses and the world's largest indoor amusement park, including a rollercoaster, bungee-jumping platform and enclosed wave-lake, complete with beach. There are 19 movie theatres, a lagoon with sea life, walk-through aviaries, a hotel and much more.

Elk Island National Park, located 40kms east of the city on Yellowhead Highway, is an intriguing wildlife sanctuary. This old park features bison, elk, moose, deer and more than 250 species of birds. You can spend a day strolling around the park, but it would be best to stay at one of the campsites and fully experience the beauty of the area.

The resort town of Jasper and Jasper National Park can be found 358kms west on the scenic Yellowhead Highway. The park is home to the world famous Columbia ice fields, one of the only ice fields in the world accessible by road. The opportunities for wildlife spotting are unprecedented, with a population of rare animals, including grizzly bears, moose, caribou and wolves. The long and arduous journey to the park is rewarded by the startling beauty of the area.

Traversing this frost-bitten area of Canada, you will find plenty of other interesting small towns scattered around. Historically speaking, the town of Leduc, south of the Edmonton on Highway 2, en route to Red Deer and Calgary, is famous as the site of the province's first big oil strike in 1947.