Recreation Relaunch

The Government of Alberta announced a relaunch strategy, which includes vehicle access to parks and public land, and the June 1 re-opening of Alberta Parks’ campgrounds.

Access

Effective May 1, vehicle access to parking lots and staging areas in provincial parks is open.

This means in addition to walking or biking in, you can also leave your vehicle in a designated parking space, but you’ll need to be prepared as your parks experience will be a little different due to COVID-19.

Services

Not all services will be open right away. Washrooms and garbage pickup aren’t available yet and we will not be opening our campgrounds until June 1.

We’re busy staffing up so we can clean washrooms and plan for garbage services. It will take time to get these services in place. Please be prepared to pack out what you pack in when visiting our provincial parks and public land.

Know Before You Go!

Know before you go to our parks and public land. Plan ahead to ensure you have enough food, water, toilet paper and remember to have sanitizer on hand. Check this website for the latest status on facility services and campground openings.

Plan for a Safe Visit

We need your cooperation while we re-open our parks and campgrounds. If you’re visiting our parks or public land, respect the land, pack out what you pack in and leave everything as you found it. Remember, a fire ban is still in place in our provincial parks and in the Forest Protection Area. Check AlbertaParks.ca/FireBans for more information.

We recognize many Albertans want to get outside, but we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, so we’re encouraging anyone visiting our parks and public land for recreation purposes to make sure you’re always following public health guidelines.

Everyone needs to work together to minimize the chance of a second wave of the virus by ensuring we are physical distancing, wearing masks when that’s possible and not gathering in groups.

Although we’re easing restrictions, we really need your cooperation to ensure we don’t have to bring them back. Please ensure your visit to our parks is safe. The last thing we want to do is re-impose restrictions on outdoor recreation – so plan ahead, and if the parking lots look full, come back later or visit another day.

Phased Openings

We’ll be letting you know through this website when services become available and campgrounds open. We ask for your patience – our relaunch of campgrounds and parks services will come online as soon as possible, but it will not be all at the same time.

Your cooperation will go a long way to help us open sites and services in the days and weeks ahead. Let our staff do the important work of bringing sites back into service. Thank you for your patience and understanding during our phased approach to bring our large provincial parks system back to service.

Camping

Our online campsite reservation system re-opened May 14 for campsite bookings June 1 onward. We’re still dealing with COVID-19, so extra steps need to be taken this summer to ensure everyone’s safety.

• We’re temporarily limiting occupancy to 50 per cent capacity while we adjust to enhanced cleaning services and determine how best to support visitors during the pandemic. Reduced capacity also helps ensure we’re respecting current physical distancing requirements.
• Only 1 household is allowed per campsite with a maximum of 6 people per site. Second RV units will not be permitted. A second tent may be permitted depending on the site and requires campground approval.
• Tenters will be permitted in provincial park campgrounds. 
• We want to ensure as many Albertans as possible get to camp this summer, which is why sites are open to Albertans only.
• The 50 per cent campground occupancy impacted some customers with existing reservations June 1 onward. We endeavored to minimize changes to those reservations and informed customers of any changes. No further changes are required to achieve the 50 per cent occupancy.
• Only individual and backcountry campsites can be reserved (though some are first come, first serve and cannot be booked online).
• Group and comfort camping will not be offered at this time.
• Temporary access restrictions to showers and shared picnic and cooking shelters are also in place.

Campsite reservations for June 1 onward can be made at Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca.

Government and parks’ staff are working hard to make our campsites available as soon as possible so that Albertans can enjoy our parks again while adhering to current health orders. Again, at this time, sites are open to Albertans only. We anticipate opening more campsites as we get more staff in place with the proper protective gear.

May Camping

Alberta Parks will notify by email and fully refund all customers with existing camping reservations from May 19-31, including comfort camping reservations. Customers are advised that refunds will occur in multiple transactions. For example, camping fees will be refunded separately from the reservation fee. Transactions may take up to two weeks for processing. Thank you for your patience during this time.

Municipal and Private Campgrounds

Alberta Health has cleared private and municipal campgrounds to operate under current health guidelines. Contact Alberta Health for further details.

Boat Launches

We are opening boat launches as quickly as possible, pending ice and water conditions.

Fishing

If you are an Alberta resident between the ages of 16 and 65, you must obtain an Alberta angling licence to fish. Non-residents must obtain an Alberta angling licence regardless of age. The Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations has detailed information on season and catch limits. More information on fishing in Alberta's Parks. Make sure you purchase your licence online.

Backcountry safety

The Kananaskis Country Public Safety team is asking for cooperation from Kananaskis backcountry users. Backcountry use has the potential to add unnecessary stress to the health-care system and put public safety staff at risk, including exposure to COVID-19, which could then impact resources to support search and rescue. This applies to all Alberta Parks’ backcountry areas.

Visiting Alberta Parks During COVID-19

We know our parks play an important role in both the physical and mental well-being of Albertans. We need your help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 so our parks can stay open, safe and accessible.

We are also asking Albertans to:

• Continue to practice physical distancing.
• Please respect the health and safety of small communities by planning your trip without stops for gas or food, where possible.
• Don’t visit if you’re sick or were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• Bring a cloth mask and wear it when you’re near other people.
• Visit early in the day so you can head somewhere else if a parking lot is full and do not park on the shoulder of roads. If parking lots are full, please consider visiting at a different time.
• For everyone’s safety, please come prepared with your own water, snacks, toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
• Leave no trace; pack out what you pack in. This will keep our parks clean and reduce potential human-wildlife encounters. We do not want a repeat of people being disrespectful of our parks by leaving behind garbage and human waste as was the case in some of our parks last March.
• Follow the advice of public health experts to protect yourself and others during this pandemic.
• Be extra cautious and stay within your limits, knowledge, skill and physical ability. Now is not the time to try new activities or head into unfamiliar areas. Continue to avoid high-risk backcountry activities, regardless of your experience level.

We’re all in this together. Thank you for helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by following these guidelines.

Contact Alberta Parks or Public Lands with any questions or comments related to Alberta Environment and Parks response to COVID-19.

For up-to-date and accurate information on the Government of Alberta’s response to COVID-19 please visit COVID-19 coronavirus info for Albertans.