| Park Class | Key Objectives | Visitor Experience | # | Area (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilderness Areas |
To preserve and protect natural heritage, where visitors can experience solitude and non-consumptive, nature-based wilderness opportunities Legislation: Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act |
Remote wilderness, foot access only | 3 | 100,988.79 |
| Ecological Reserves |
To preserve and protect natural heritage in an undisturbed state for scientific research or education Legislation: Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act |
Foot access only | 15 | 26,843.34 |
| Willmore Wilderness Park |
To preserve and protect natural heritage and provide opportunities for compatible backcountry recreation Legislation: Willmore Wilderness Park Act |
Remote, wilderness Foot and horse access only |
1 | 459,671.04 |
| Wildland Provincial Parks |
To preserve and protect natural heritage and provide opportunities for compatible backcountry recreation Legislation: Provincial Parks Act |
Remote, wilderness Hunting, motorized access may be permitted |
34 | 3,486,154.63 |
| Provincial Parks |
To preserve natural heritage of provincial significance or higher, while supporting outdoor recreation, heritage tourism and natural heritage appreciation activities that depend upon and are compatible with environmental protection Legislation: Provincial Parks Act |
Natural environment with diversity of compatible, facilitated recreation | 77 | 246,876.67 |
| Provincial Recreation Areas |
To support compatible outdoor recreation and tourism, often providing access to lakes, rivers, reservoirs and adjacent crown land Legislation: Provincial Parks Act |
Diversity of front country recreation | 204 | 88,602.23 |
| Heritage Rangelands |
To preserve and protect natural heritage that is representative of Alberta's grasslands. Grazing is used to maintain the grassland ecology Legislation: Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act |
Rustic grassland, ranching Foot access only |
2 | 12,010.47 |
| Natural Areas |
To preserve and protect sites of local significance and provide opportunities for low-impact nature-based recreation and nature appreciation activities Legislation: Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act |
Self facilitated | 138 | 129,378.95 |
| Total | 474 | 4,550,526.12 | ||
The more than 470 sites managed by Parks Division fall in 6 Natural Regions and 21 Subregions. In Alberta, we have adopted the Natural Regions landscape classification to describe environmental diversity. This land classification system provides the basis of the scientific framework for the parks system.
Alberta's existing protected areas, including national parks, have been evaluated to determine the progress toward achieving Natural Landscape Type targets. Each of the 16 Natural Landscape Types are broad, easily recognizable landscapes.
Each Natural Region section below describes progress towards completing the system for each Subregion. A list of parks in each Subregion is included along with a description of the Natural Region.
Please note that the Natural Region sections linked below are in the process of being updated. For more information, please contact Heather Lazaruk at 780-427-2330 or heather.lazaruk@gov.ab.ca
