Know before You Go

• There are still partial closures in effect at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. For details, visit CypressHills.com
• The Milk River is now running at average to below-average levels and the public health posting for the river has been lifted. The river's status has returned to "use at your own risk”.
• The beach at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park has re-opened. Campsites 63 & 64 remain closed due to flood damage.

Closure of Cadomin Cave due to risk of
White-Nose Syndrome spreading to Alberta

The province has temporarily closed Cadomin Cave in Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park near Hinton to lessen the risk of white-nose syndrome spreading to bats in Alberta.

White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has killed more than one million bats in caves and mines in the northeastern United States. The disease has recently spread, causing high bat mortalities in Ontario and Quebec. All cave-roosting bats across North America may be at risk. Alberta researchers are monitoring the situation closely.

The fungus is not harmful to humans, but it is believed that humans are spreading the disease when they explore caves.

Access to Cadomin Cave will be by permit only, for researchers conducting bat population monitoring activities. Cadomin Cave has up to 800 bats and is considered to be at the highest risk of exposure to the disease in Alberta.

For more information, please see the following:

• White-nose syndrome in Alberta Fact Sheet
• Interim Recommended Field Procedures
• Alberta Bat Handling Protocol to Prevent the Spread of White-Nose Syndrome
• Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Website

After a thorough review of use levels and maintenance costs, there will be changes in service at 18 provincial sites for the 2010 camping season. In total, about 204 individual campsites in 11 provincial campgrounds, or less than two per cent of all provincial campsites, will be closed for the season. These changes will result in savings of more than $250,000 this year. More information is available in the News Release.

• The camping season will be a few weeks shorter and some services will be reduced at seven provincial parks and recreation areas:
• Jensen Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area
• Kakwa River Provincial Recreation Area
• Maycroft Provincial Recreation Area
• Notikewin Provincial Park
• Shuttler Flats Provincial Recreation Area
• Stoney Lake Provincial Recreation Area
• Sulphur Lake Provincial Recreation Area

• Access for fishing and boating will continue at eight campgrounds that will be converted from overnight camping to day-use sites:
• Lakeland Provincial Recreation Area – Ironwood Lake Campground
• Gleniffer Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area – Cottonwood Campground
• Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area – Island View Campground
• Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area – Windy Point Campground
• Whitney Lakes Provincial Park – Whitney Lake Campground
• Woolford Provincial Park

• Three low-use sites will be closed, as other campgrounds exist nearby.
• Southview Provincial Recreation Area
• Raven Provincial Recreation Area
• Coal Lake South Provincial Recreation Area
• Nearby alternate campgrounds
  

In 2010, rock art tours begin on May 21st and end on October 10th.

Please note: for safety reasons, children aged 7 and under will not be permitted on 2:00 p.m. tours in July and August because of the extreme afternoon heat conditions experienced during these months.

The special 1:00 p.m. rock art tours on Thursdays in July and August are geared toward families and involve spending less time in the heat.

Fees:

• Adults (18 years of age & older) - $12.00
• Youth (ages 7-17) - $8.00
• Children (ages 6 & under) - $2.00

You can now book park tours on-line:  https://sales.tpr.alberta.ca/wos

Prescribed fires are planned for the Mount Nestor and Buller Creek areas of Spray Valley Provincial Park and Bow Valley Wildland Park, and in the Evan-Thomas valley in Elbow-Sheep Wildland Park.

The Mount Nestor and Buller Creek prescribed fires will take place in stages between May and September.

In the Evan-Thomas valley, prescribed fires will not take place on long weekends or during the months of July and August.

To minimize smoke, favourable weather conditions are required before fires begin – backcountry users and nearby communities will be impacted by temporary trail, campground and shelter closures.

Smoke from prescribed fires has the potential to affect health and visibility.

Prescribed fires will help to restore vegetation diversity, improve wildlife habitat, control the spread of mountain pine beetle and reduce the threat of large-scale uncontrollable wildfires.

For more information call 1-866-916-INFO (4636).

The main Gregg Lake campground in William A. Switzer Provincial Park is under construction, with the exception of lakeside campsites ("L" loop).

The camping loops that are under construction are tentatively scheduled to re-open in July 2010.

"L" loop campsites in Gregg Lake campground and all other campgrounds in the park remain open during the park's regular operating season (Jarvis Lake campground open year-round; Cache campground open until first snowfall; Graveyard open year-round; Halfway open until first snowfall).

Campsite reservations are accepted at Gregg Lake campground only.

Sandy McNabb campground, located in Sheep River Provincial Park in Kananaskis Country, is closed for construction for the 2010 camping season.

The federal and provincial governments are investing $3 million in campground upgrading. Upgrades will include:

• increasing the size of roughly 100 campsites so that they can accommodate large recreational vehicles;
• construction of 50 new campsites;
• installation of power in all campsites;
• road improvements;
• construction of a new amphitheatre and parking lot; and
• replacement of existing wood vault toilets with concrete ones.

Public Notice (1 page | 273 kb) 

English Bay Provincial Recreation Area is closed to the public until further notice so that archaeological research can be carried out at the site.  The upgrading and construction projects begun in 2006 are on hold until the archaeological research is completed.

For information about stream flow advisories in Alberta, visit the Alberta Environment website at http://www.environment.alberta.ca/forecasting/advisories/index.html. The Alberta Environment website also contains a "forecaster's comments" section, which provides additional information about current issues affecting streams in the province.

Highway #40
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to Highwood House Junction is closed December 1st to June 14th inclusive.

Highway #940
Section South of Cataract Creek is closed December 1st to April 30th inclusive.

Highway #532
Is not maintained from December 1st.

Highway #66
West of Elbow Falls and the Powderface Trail is closed December 1st to May 14th inclusive.

Highway #546
West of Sandy McNabb Campground is closed December 1st to May 14th inclusive.

McLean Creek Trail Road
Is closed December 1sth to April 30th inclusive.

Spray Lake West Road
Is not maintained.

Powderface Trail Road
Is closed December 1st to May 14th inclusive.

Gorge Creek Trail Road
Partially closed (Ware Creek Day Use Area to Gorge Creek Day Use Area) due to 2005 flooding.