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Alberta Parks
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Dragomir Drajs Vujnovic
Alberta Parks
Aurora borealis - Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park
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Beauvais Lake Provincial Park
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Alberta Parks
Comfort camping
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Crimson Lake Provincial Park
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Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park
By Mary Fitl for Alberta Parks, photos courtesy Alberta Parks
In this year of celebrations all across Canada, Alberta Parks turns 85! And there’s a good chance there will also be some special activities this year commemorating Canada’s 150th at your favourite provincial parks.
Alberta’s first provincial parks were established in 1932, when Canada was about 65 years new. Join us to celebrate our 85th Anniversary at a Parks Day event on the third Saturday in July.
We’ve come a long way from six parks that were mainly for recreation, to a system of over 450 designated areas with eight different levels of management ranging from highly protected wilderness areas and ecological reserves, to provincial recreation areas that balance recreation needs with preservation values.
Alberta’s provincial parks and recreation areas are close to, or part of, many Alberta communities. They offer places and facilities for outdoor activities, where safe and sustainable recreation habits are encouraged.
Northern Alberta is a great place for birdwatchers and June is when the songbirds are migrating to their northern nesting grounds. Birders can easily observe songbirds, waterfowl and raptors along forest trails, grassy meadows and wetlands.
With Lesser Slave Lake to the west and Marten Mountain to the east, migrating birds are funneled into a flight path right over Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park; the perfect place for Canada's northernmost bird observatory. At Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park near Lac La Biche, an old growth forest provides perfect habitat for songbirds and the lake that surrounds this island park is home to pelicans and other waterfowl.
For a mountain experience head south to the Crown of the Continent, where you’ll see sweeping views of prairies with the backdrop of distant mountain peaks. This unique place, in the southwest corner of Alberta was defined by National Geographic and includes northern Montana as well as southeastern British Columbia. Be spontaneous and try first-come, first-serve basic camping at cozy Police Outpost Provincial Park or plan ahead and reserve camping at Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area, where there are sites with hookups as well as unserviced spots.
Beauvais Lake Provincial Park has a great fishing lake and you can choose from easy walks exploring beaver ponds and the remains of homestead sites to longer, more challenging backcountry hikes that you may want a map and compass to help you navigate. Explore the great pine and fir forest that’s home to wildlife like elk, moose, bear, eagle, osprey and numerous songbirds.
Alberta streams and rivers are perfect highways for discovery and the lakes support thriving wildlife communities!
Lakeland Provincial Park is a boreal wonderland to explore by canoe. Backcountry campsites provide rustic facilities for the adventurous and automobile accessible campgrounds provide base camps for day trippers to experience some memorable paddling.
With the Northern Rockies as a backdrop, several sparkling lakes in William A. Switzer Provincial Park have all the scenery and wildlife of the mountain parks. A peaceful paddle along the meandering Jarvis Creek or on Cache Lake reminds us what we enjoy best about Alberta's great outdoors.
Mountain biking is a great way to explore the parks. Many provincial parks are developing bike trails and facilities for exciting challenges or just a relaxing ride.
Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park offers over 100 kilometers of trails for mountain biking in the summer. Trails range from leisurely wide roads to narrow trails on rolling terrain and single track trails for advanced riders. An on-site shop offers sales, rentals, repairs as well as lessons and guided tours.
Miquelon Lake Provincial Park has a great network of trails, where the challenging "knob and kettle" terrain of the Cooking Lake Moraine gives hours of fun for beginners and experienced riders.
And Whitney Lakes Provincial Park’s trails crisscross between numerous lakes and through varying landscapes in northeast Alberta.
You can reserve at over 70 provincial campgrounds. Or if you’re planning a big gathering of friends, you can book a group camping site. Or try an Alberta Parks comfort camping experience. Choose from fully furnished yurts at Pigeon Lake and Miquelon Lake provincial parks, furnished expedition style tents at Writing-on-Stone, Dinosaur and Wyndham-Carseland provincial parks or furnished cabins at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park. Reservations are recommended for comfort camping online at Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca.
There are also over 100 Alberta provincial parks and provincial recreation area campgrounds that operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. In the far southwest Beaver Mines Lake is a good sized campground that is steadily busy through the summer. Come during mid-week and enjoy the quiet side of the campground before the weekend crowd arrives. You can stay on through the weekend and up to 16 consecutive nights. In central Alberta, Goldeye Lake near Nordegg is a pretty foothills spot with first-come, first-serve camping where you can swim, fish or canoe. Nearby there are lots of trails to explore at Crescent Falls, Coliseum and Baldy mountains. On the eastern side of central Alberta find first-come, first serve campsites at Big Knife Provincial Park in the picturesque landscape on the Battle River.
This is just a sample of the hundreds of parks and protected areas you can explore to find your great place!
Come celebrate our 85th birthday with us. For information about events happening at parks all over Alberta, go to albertaparks.ca.