Sylvan Lake has been named one of the top 50 small towns in Canada to visit by Flight Network recently.
Marketing specialist for Flight Network, Shereen Mohammed said overall small towns have a lot to offer and Sylvan is no exception.
With colder months playing host to events such as Winterfest and the summer time hosting a plethora of tourists hoping to enjoy a swim in the water and maybe a boat ride on the lake - there is never a dull moment when you’re in Sylvan Lake.
“Small towns have quaint little shops and restaurants and have a bigger story to tell beyond what the larger cities have to offer,” she said.
A team at Flight Network looked at many different towns across Canada and what they had to offer tourists. A few people in the group, including Mohammed have been to SylvanLake and positively remarked on time well spent in town.
When picking the top 50 towns, the team looked at what the towns did for tourist attractions, how they encouraged people to come visit and if visiting was made easy.
Sylvan Lake was taken into consideration, as it is a town that is always promoting tourism and finding ways to attract people.
Mohammed said they encourage people to spend time visiting the smaller towns for events such as festivals or other special happenings.
“It’s a great way to shed some light on some of the lesser known but equally amazing places,” Mohammed said.
She added because people often like to travel abroad and visit popular attractions.
This can leave travellers wondering where to start, as there can be a lot to see in another country.
What might surprise some tourists are the real gems that are within Canada and in the smaller towns.
Mohammed remembers her time spent in Sylvan Lake and said she was able to find some really unique items in some of the shops in town. She also noticed how the business owners took pride in running their shops.
“The unique items that you find within them, a lot of them are things you would never see at the usual places I shop at or go to,” she said.
She also commented on what people can see when they visit.
“Sylvan Lake has stunning views and the scenery is really amazing,” she said. “If anybody likes that cottage, quaint kind of feeling then Sylvan Lake is a great place to visit.”
Other attractions worth promoting are the water slides she added. She said if someone is planning on visiting Sylvan, the water slides should definitely be on their bucket list of activities to do.
The activities and events going on in town seem to be truly endless.
Mohammed remarked that Sylvan Lake makes the effort to have festivals and events in order to keep the town alive throughout the entire year and not just in the summer.
With the team putting together a list of small towns to visit, they hope Canadians will consider planning a trip and visiting some of them.
“We’re hoping Canadians will take the time to look at it and plan some of their travels whether it be a quick flight or a road trip somewhere,” Mohammed said. “Also given the week and the Canadian dollar, traveling to these places will still offer an amazing little get away rather than going somewhere international where the dollar might not go as far.”
A list of the top 50 towns in Canada can be found at
www.flightnetwork.com/blog/canadas-top-50-small-towns.
reporter@sylvanlakenews