• Effective Date: July 23, 2021 until further notice
• Where: Razors Edge trail in the Bow Valley 
• Why: Wildfire in the area. Quaite Valley, Jewell Pass and Prairie View Mountain trails remain open

Please be advised that Alberta Parks is closing Yamnuska / Îyâ Mnathka this summer from June 7, 2021 until November. Trail crews will be on-site upgrading sanctioned trail sections, constructing new sections and decommissioning non-sanctioned routes.

To support trail construction activities, Alberta Parks is closing all access to the mountain for the following reasons:

• To reduce danger to hikers, scramblers and climbers as contractors work on the mountain by moving heavy equipment around sloped terrain, long-lining heavy helicopter loads, and dislodging rocks.
• Vice versa, the contractor needs to be safe from members of the public moving around the mountain potentially dislodging rocks that quickly become dangerous projectiles downslope.
• The contractor needs to be able to work efficiently without keeping track of the public in the area.

Visitors looking for alternatives can call the Kananaskis Information Line at 1-403-678-0760 or stop by any Kananaskis Visitor Information Centre.

• Effective Date: December, 2020 until approximately March 31, 2021
• Where: Kananaskis area around Barrier Lake and in Bow Valley Provincial Park. 
• Why: Please be advised that the Calgary Forest Area’s Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) survey and control program for the 2020-21 season will be active this month (December 2020) and run until approximately March 31^st 2021. This means that you may see our crews working in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis. We have MPB west of Barrier Lake in Kananaskis, Bow Valley Provincial Park and spread throughout the Bow Valley from Exshaw to the Banff National Park boundary. If you are out in these areas, you may see our MPB signage, surveyors, inspectors and control crews in trucks, quads and snowmobiles. Most notably, you will see smoke in the air from the work our control crews will be doing.
• The intent of this program is to control the spread of Mountain Pine Beetle in Alberta. Crews will use chainsaws to cut, pile and burn infested trees on site in order to kill the beetles. We are committed to working together safely and effectively in order to minimize negative affects to local residents and also minimize the threat of significant Mountain Pine Beetle disturbance in southern Alberta. Early detection and rapid response is key to success, we strive to identify the outbreak quickly and control aggressively. If the beetles are allowed to multiply unchecked, they can be prone to rapid population growth. If the MPB population approaches epidemic levels, they become extremely difficult and expensive to control. This scenario causes substantial tree mortality which can have negative social, economic and environmental impacts.

Please be advised that there will construction and BLASTING activities to support the Cougar Creek Flood Project. To ensure visitor safety around the construction site, Alberta Parks is closing the access to Cougar Creek canyon for all recreational uses. In addition, the Lady MacDonald Trail will be closed during blasting. 

The area closure will include:

• Cougar Creek Canyon from the junction of Montane Trail and Lady MacDonald Trail upstream for approximately 1 km.
• Lady MacDonald Trail is CLOSED.
• Montane Trail and Horseshoe Trail are OPEN.

Please follow direction on construction signage and fencing.

The closure will be effective: August 4, 2020 until further notice.

Visitors looking for alternatives to Cougar Creek canyon may consider Ha Ling, Grassi Lakes, Heart Creek or Grotto Canyon.

• Effective Date: June 10, 2020 until further notice
• Where: Heart Creek drainage, including informal parking for Heart Creek hikes in the Highway 1 ditch
• Why: Be advised that the Municipal District of Bighorn has begun construction of a flood mitigation project on Heart Creek upstream of Highway 1.

The informal parking in the Highway 1 ditch for access to Heart Creek is not available at this time. Recreational users accessing Heart Creek, Heart Mountain and the Quaite Valley connector trail must park in the Heart Creek Day Use Area.