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List of protected areas of Alberta

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Alberta Parks
Location and extent of parks in Alberta
Location and extent of parks in Alberta
Type Number Area km2
(sq mi)
Provincial Parks 76 2,214 km2 (855 sq mi)
Wildland Provincial Parks 31 17,314 km2 (6,685 sq mi)
Provincial Recreation Areas 208 899 km2 (347 sq mi)
Wilderness Areas 3 1,010 km2 (390 sq mi)
Ecological Reserves 15 268 km2 (103 sq mi)
Natural Areas 139 1,299 km2 (502 sq mi)
Heritage Rangelands 2 120 km2 (46 sq mi)
National Parks 5 63,045 km2 (24,342 sq mi)
Total 476 90,747 km2 (35,038 sq mi)
Dinosaur Provincial Park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Greene Valley Provincial Park
Little Fish Lake Provincial Park
Lakeland Provincial Park
Pembina River Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Pigeon Lake Provincial Park
Spray Valley Provincial Park
Williamson Provincial Park
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

This is a list of protected areas of Alberta. Protected areas are managed by the Government of Canada or the Government of Alberta. The provincial government owns 60% of Alberta's landmass[1] but most of this has not been formally protected. The total protected area throughout Alberta including federal and provincial protected areas is approximately 90,700 km2 (35,000 sq mi).

International recognition

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Six of Canada's 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are entirely or partially located in Alberta:

Alberta also contains the following UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

Federally protected areas

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Five National Parks of Canada (Banff, Elk Island, Jasper, Waterton Lakes and Wood Buffalo), managed by Parks Canada are located in the province. Several former national parks (such Buffalo National Park, Wawaskesy National Park, and Nemiskam National Park) formerly existed in Alberta, but were delisted in 1947.

There are several National Historic Sites of Canada in Alberta, but only two are operated by Parks Canada: Rocky Mountain House, which features an indoor interpretation centre and year-round in-person interpretation, and Frog Lake which has only outdoor interpretive panels to mark the site.

Alberta is also home to Suffield National Wildlife Area, a protected area within the military reserve at CFB Suffield.

Provincially protected areas

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There are several different departments and agencies that deal with land use in Alberta, however Alberta's provincial parks are managed by Alberta Parks, which since 2022 is part of the Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism[2] whose mandate is to protect the province's natural landscapes in Alberta, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas. Seven categories of protection exist, provincial parks being one. These categories are:

As of 2016, the province of Alberta managed 76 provincial parks, 32 wildland provincial parks, 208 provincial recreation areas, 15 ecological reserves, 3 wilderness areas, 139 natural areas and 2 heritage rangeland.[3] Although these areas are the responsibility of the Alberta government, private companies have been contracted to handle various aspects of the operation of many parks (e.g. maintenance and campground operation).

List of wilderness areas

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Wilderness areas have the strictest level of protection, no development of any kind is permitted, and travel is only permitted by foot.[4]

List of provincial parks

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Park Nearest community Established Coordinates website (ID)
Antelope Hill Provincial Park Hanna 2014, 4 December[5] 51°43′19″N 111°56′13″W / 51.722°N 111.937°W / 51.722; -111.937 (Antelope Hill Provincial Park)
Aspen Beach Provincial Park Bentley 1932, 21 November 52°27′28″N 113°58′39″W / 52.45778°N 113.97750°W / 52.45778; -113.97750 (Aspen Beach Provincial Park) 1
Beauvais Lake Provincial Park Pincher Creek 1954, 1 February 49°24′39″N 114°06′33″W / 49.41083°N 114.10917°W / 49.41083; -114.10917 (Beauvais Lake Provincial Park) 6
Big Hill Springs Provincial Park Cochrane 1957, 22 November 51°15′6″N 114°23′18″W / 51.25167°N 114.38833°W / 51.25167; -114.38833 (Big Hill Springs Provincial Park) 12
Big Island Provincial Park Edmonton 2023, February 53°26′26″N 113°38′45″W / 53.44056°N 113.64583°W / 53.44056; -113.64583 (Big Island Provincial Park)
Big Knife Provincial Park Forestburg 1962, 2 October 52°29′25″N 112°13′15″W / 52.49028°N 112.22083°W / 52.49028; -112.22083 (Big Knife Provincial Park) 11
Bow Valley Provincial Park Canmore 1959, 27 July 51°04′5″N 115°02′47″W / 51.06806°N 115.04639°W / 51.06806; -115.04639 (Bow Valley Provincial Park) 293
Bragg Creek Provincial Park Bragg Creek 1960, 19 January 50°56′30″N 114°35′14″W / 50.94167°N 114.58722°W / 50.94167; -114.58722 (Bragg Creek Provincial Park) 324
Brown-Lowery Provincial Park Turner Valley 1992, 29 October 50°48′58″N 114°26′4″W / 50.81611°N 114.43444°W / 50.81611; -114.43444 (Brown-Lowery Provincial Park) 16
Calling Lake Provincial Park Athabasca 1971, 20 July 55°10′51″N 113°14′40″W / 55.18083°N 113.24444°W / 55.18083; -113.24444 (Calling Lake Provincial Park) 248
Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park Canmore 1988 51°05′53″N 115°23′23″W / 51.09806°N 115.38972°W / 51.09806; -115.38972 (Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park) 294
Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park Whitecourt 1982, 19 May 54°18′16″N 115°38′30″W / 54.30444°N 115.64167°W / 54.30444; -115.64167 (Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park) 247
Castle Provincial Park Crowsnest Pass 2017, 17 February[6] 49°26′38″N 114°07′01″W / 49.444°N 114.117°W / 49.444; -114.117 (Castle Provincial Park)
Chain Lakes Provincial Park Nanton 1969, 23 December 50°12′24″N 114°11′47″W / 50.20667°N 114.19639°W / 50.20667; -114.19639 (Chain Lakes Provincial Park) 19
Cold Lake Provincial Park Cold Lake 1976, 18 August 54°27′38″N 110°07′12″W / 54.46056°N 110.12000°W / 54.46056; -110.12000 (Cold Lake Provincial Park) 22
Crimson Lake Provincial Park Rocky Mountain House 1955, 22 November 52°27′0″N 115°2′0″W / 52.45000°N 115.03333°W / 52.45000; -115.03333 (Crimson Lake Provincial Park) 27
Cross Lake Provincial Park Athabasca 1955, 22 November 54°38′17″N 113°48′52″W / 54.63806°N 113.81444°W / 54.63806; -113.81444 (Cross Lake Provincial Park) 28
Crow Lake Provincial Park Fort McMurray 55°47′47″N 112°10′54″W / 55.79639°N 112.18167°W / 55.79639; -112.18167 (Crow Lake Provincial Park) 574
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Medicine Hat 49°34′31″N 110°00′23″W / 49.57528°N 110.00639°W / 49.57528; -110.00639 (Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park) 29
Dillberry Lake Provincial Park Provost 1957, 8 January 52°35′47″N 110°04′51″W / 52.59639°N 110.08083°W / 52.59639; -110.08083 (Dillberry Lake Provincial Park) 38
Dinosaur Provincial Park Brooks 1955, 27 June 50°45′44″N 111°31′5″W / 50.76222°N 111.51806°W / 50.76222; -111.51806 (Dinosaur Provincial Park) 246
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park Trochu 1970, 15 December 51°56′10″N 112°57′41″W / 51.93611°N 112.96139°W / 51.93611; -112.96139 (Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park) 39
Dunvegan Provincial Park Fairview 1992, 21 May 55°55′24″N 118°36′2″W / 55.92333°N 118.60056°W / 55.92333; -118.60056 (Dunvegan Provincial Park) 40
Eagle Point Provincial Park Drayton Valley 2007, 29 August 53°14′40″N 114°52′28″W / 53.24444°N 114.87444°W / 53.24444; -114.87444 (Eagle Point Provincial Park) 589
Fish Creek Provincial Park Calgary 1975, 10 June 50°54′11″N 114°00′55″W / 50.90306°N 114.01528°W / 50.90306; -114.01528 (Fish Creek Provincial Park) 45
Garner Lake Provincial Park Vilna 1953, 14 July 54°10′59″N 111°44′22″W / 54.18306°N 111.73944°W / 54.18306; -111.73944 (Garner Lake Provincial Park) 49
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park Calgary
Cochrane
2008, 17 April 51°10′1″N 114°23′34″W / 51.16694°N 114.39278°W / 51.16694; -114.39278 (Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park) 593
Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park Consort 1932, 21 November 52°07′4″N 110°45′6″W / 52.11778°N 110.75167°W / 52.11778; -110.75167 (Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park) 51
Greene Valley Provincial Park Peace River 2000, 6 June 56°11′53″N 117°14′30″W / 56.19806°N 117.24167°W / 56.19806; -117.24167 (Greene Valley Provincial Park) 147
Gregoire Lake Provincial Park Fort McMurray 1969, 21 October 56°28′23″N 111°11′55″W / 56.47306°N 111.19861°W / 56.47306; -111.19861 (Gregoire Lake Provincial Park) 52
Hilliard's Bay Provincial Park High Prairie 1978, 24 October 55°29′57″N 116°01′10″W / 55.49917°N 116.01944°W / 55.49917; -116.01944 (Hilliard's Bay Provincial Park) 3
Jarvis Bay Provincial Park Sylvan Lake 1965, 8 July 52°21′59″N 114°07′56″W / 52.36639°N 114.13222°W / 52.36639; -114.13222 (Jarvis Bay Provincial Park) 61
Kinbrook Island Provincial Park Brooks 1951, 14 November 50°26′52″N 111°54′40″W / 50.44778°N 111.91111°W / 50.44778; -111.91111 (Kinbrook Island Provincial Park) 65
Lakeland Provincial Park Lac La Biche 1992, 16 January 54°47′24″N 111°29′17″W / 54.79000°N 111.48806°W / 54.79000; -111.48806 (Lakeland Provincial Park) 280
Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park Slave Lake 55°25′3″N 114°48′39″W / 55.41750°N 114.81083°W / 55.41750; -114.81083 (Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park) 68
Little Bow Provincial Park Champion 1954, 20 January 50°13′10″N 112°57′56″W / 50.21944°N 112.96556°W / 50.21944; -112.96556 (Little Bow Provincial Park) 69
Little Fish Lake Provincial Park Drumheller 1957, 8 April 51°22′18″N 112°11′54″W / 51.37167°N 112.19833°W / 51.37167; -112.19833 (Little Fish Lake Provincial Park) 71
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park Edmonton
St. Albert
2005, 19 April 53°36′22″N 113°40′41″W / 53.60611°N 113.67806°W / 53.60611; -113.67806 (Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park) 437
Long Lake Provincial Park Boyle 1957, 25 March 54°25′32″N 112°45′26″W / 54.42556°N 112.75722°W / 54.42556; -112.75722 (Long Lake Provincial Park) 72
Midland Provincial Park Drumheller 1979, 5 June 51°28′41″N 112°47′13″W / 51.47806°N 112.78694°W / 51.47806; -112.78694 (Midland Provincial Park) 78
Miquelon Lake Provincial Park Hay Lakes 1958, 20 May 53°14′51″N 112°53′15″W / 53.24750°N 112.88750°W / 53.24750; -112.88750 (Miquelon Lake Provincial Park) 81
Moonshine Lake Provincial Park Rycroft 1959, 21 April 55°55′31″N 119°13′51″W / 55.92528°N 119.23083°W / 55.92528; -119.23083 (Moonshine Lake Provincial Park) 82
Moose Lake Provincial Park Bonnyville 1967, 19 April 54°15′50″N 110°55′55″W / 54.26389°N 110.93194°W / 54.26389; -110.93194 (Moose Lake Provincial Park) 83
Notikewin Provincial Park Manning 1979, 20 November 57°17′19″N 117°09′3″W / 57.28861°N 117.15083°W / 57.28861; -117.15083 (Notikewin Provincial Park) 87
Obed Lake Provincial Park Edson 53°33′19″N 117°07′44″W / 53.55528°N 117.12889°W / 53.55528; -117.12889 (Obed Lake Provincial Park) 203
O'Brien Provincial Park Grande Prairie 1954, 29 June 55°03′49″N 118°49′28″W / 55.06361°N 118.82444°W / 55.06361; -118.82444 (O'Brien Provincial Park) 88
Park Lake Provincial Park Lethbridge 1932, 21 November 49°48′14″N 112°55′30″W / 49.80389°N 112.92500°W / 49.80389; -112.92500 (Park Lake Provincial Park) 143
Pembina River Provincial Park Entwistle 1953, 21 September 53°36′18″N 114°59′57″W / 53.60500°N 114.99917°W / 53.60500; -114.99917 (Pembina River Provincial Park) 92
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Kananaskis 1977, 7 October 50°41′0″N 115°13′35″W / 50.68333°N 115.22639°W / 50.68333; -115.22639 (Peter Lougheed Provincial Park) 307
Pierre Grey's Lakes Provincial Park Grande Cache 53°54′23″N 118°35′18″W / 53.90639°N 118.58833°W / 53.90639; -118.58833 (Pierre Grey's Lakes Provincial Park) 209
Pigeon Lake Provincial Park Wetaskiwin 1967, 26 May 53°01′35″N 114°08′4″W / 53.02639°N 114.13444°W / 53.02639; -114.13444 (Pigeon Lake Provincial Park) 98
Police Outpost Provincial Park Cardston 1970, 21 April 49°00′22″N 113°27′32″W / 49.00611°N 113.45889°W / 49.00611; -113.45889 (Police Outpost Provincial Park) 108
Queen Elizabeth Provincial Park Grimshaw 1956, 1 March 56°13′43″N 117°41′22″W / 56.22861°N 117.68944°W / 56.22861; -117.68944 (Queen Elizabeth Provincial Park) 110
Ram Falls Provincial Park Nordegg 52°05′21″N 115°50′11″W / 52.08917°N 115.83639°W / 52.08917; -115.83639 (Ram Falls Provincial Park) 213
Red Lodge Provincial Park Bowden 1951, 7 May 51°56′38″N 114°16′11″W / 51.94389°N 114.26972°W / 51.94389; -114.26972 (Red Lodge Provincial Park) 114
Rochon Sands Provincial Park Stettler 1957, 8 January 52°27′51″N 112°53′27″W / 52.46417°N 112.89083°W / 52.46417; -112.89083 (Rochon Sands Provincial Park) 116
Rock Lake Provincial Park Hinton 53°28′2″N 118°15′10″W / 53.46722°N 118.25278°W / 53.46722; -118.25278 (Rock Lake Provincial Park) 215
Saskatoon Island Provincial Park Wembley 1932, 21 November 55°12′20″N 119°05′6″W / 55.20556°N 119.08500°W / 55.20556; -119.08500 (Saskatoon Island Provincial Park) 118
Sheep River Provincial Park Turner Valley 50°38′49″N 114°38′43″W / 50.64694°N 114.64528°W / 50.64694; -114.64528 (Sheep River Provincial Park) 330
Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park Lac La Biche 1952, 29 September 54°49′45″N 111°57′45″W / 54.82917°N 111.96250°W / 54.82917; -111.96250 (Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park) 120
Spray Valley Provincial Park Kananaskis 2000, 1 December 50°50′14″N 115°14′48″W / 50.83722°N 115.24667°W / 50.83722; -115.24667 (Spray Valley Provincial Park) 308
Strathcona Science Provincial Park Edmonton
Sherwood Park
1979, 12 December 53°33′39″N 113°23′2″W / 53.56083°N 113.38389°W / 53.56083; -113.38389 (Strathcona Science Provincial Park) 123
Sundance Provincial Park Edson 1999, 28 April 53°38′29″N 116°52′47″W / 53.64139°N 116.87972°W / 53.64139; -116.87972 (Sundance Provincial Park) 142
Sylvan Lake Provincial Park Sylvan Lake 1980, 16 January 52°20′43″N 114°10′11″W / 52.34528°N 114.16972°W / 52.34528; -114.16972 (Sylvan Lake Provincial Park) 125
Thunder Lake Provincial Park Barrhead 1958, 28 January 54°07′59″N 114°43′57″W / 54.13306°N 114.73250°W / 54.13306; -114.73250 (Thunder Lake Provincial Park) 137
Tillebrook Provincial Park Tilley 1965, 20 July 50°32′16″N 111°48′30″W / 50.53778°N 111.80833°W / 50.53778; -111.80833 (Tillebrook Provincial Park) 138
Two Lakes Provincial Park Grande Prairie 54°22′22″N 119°45′31″W / 54.37278°N 119.75861°W / 54.37278; -119.75861 (Two Lakes Provincial Park) 222
Vermilion Provincial Park Vermilion 1953, 29 May 53°21′53″N 110°52′55″W / 53.36472°N 110.88194°W / 53.36472; -110.88194 (Vermilion Provincial Park) 152
Wabamun Lake Provincial Park Wabamun 53°33′58″N 114°27′16″W / 53.56611°N 114.45444°W / 53.56611; -114.45444 (Wabamun Lake Provincial Park) 154
Whitney Lakes Provincial Park Elk Point 1982, 23 June 53°49′48″N 110°29′48″W / 53.83000°N 110.49667°W / 53.83000; -110.49667 (Whitney Lakes Provincial Park) 158
William A. Switzer Provincial Park Hinton 1958, 22 December 53°32′34″N 117°48′20″W / 53.54278°N 117.80556°W / 53.54278; -117.80556 (William A. Switzer Provincial Park) 159
Williamson Provincial Park Valleyview 1960, 7 November 55°04′52″N 117°33′26″W / 55.08111°N 117.55722°W / 55.08111; -117.55722 (Williamson Provincial Park) 165
Willow Creek Provincial Park Stavely 1957, 10 December 50°06′54″N 113°46′14″W / 50.11500°N 113.77056°W / 50.11500; -113.77056 (Willow Creek Provincial Park) 167
Winagami Lake Provincial Park Donnelly 1956, 13 November 55°37′45″N 116°40′41″W / 55.62917°N 116.67806°W / 55.62917; -116.67806 (Winagami Lake Provincial Park) 169
Woolford Provincial Park Cardston 49°10′33″N 113°11′20″W / 49.17583°N 113.18889°W / 49.17583; -113.18889 (Woolford Provincial Park) 173
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park Coutts 1957, 8 January 49°04′49″N 111°38′21″W / 49.08028°N 111.63917°W / 49.08028; -111.63917 (Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park) 177
Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park Strathmore 1979, 2 May 50°49′47″N 113°26′59″W / 50.82972°N 113.44972°W / 50.82972; -113.44972 (Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park) 178
Young's Point Provincial Park Valleyview 1971, 3 August 55°07′3″N 117°33′29″W / 55.11750°N 117.55806°W / 55.11750; -117.55806 (Young's Point Provincial Park) 180

Other parks

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Other provincial lands

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Approximately 60% of land in Alberta is public land owned by the Alberta government.[7] For administrative purposes, the province is divided into two broad land use areas: the Green Area (forested land, almost entirely provincially owned) and the White Area (other).[7] The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve was created by the Forest Reserves Act of 1964.[8] There are also 32 provincial grazing reserves located throughout Alberta. They are administered by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.[1]

Municipal parks

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. "Provincial Grazing Reserves". Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Forestry, Parks and Tourism".
  3. ^ "Land Reference Manual". Alberta Parks. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  4. ^ About Alberta's Parks - AlbertaParks.ca Archived 2009-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "O.C. 455/2014". Government of Alberta. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  6. ^ "O.C. 22/2017". Government of Alberta. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b http://www.srd.alberta.ca/lands/geographicinformation/resourcedataproductcatalogue/greenwwhiteareas.aspx Archived 12 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/Documents/acts/F20.CFM Archived 13 September 2004 at the Wayback Machine
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