Recreational Activities

Beach / Swimming

• Enjoy the warm sand and the cool water of the Milk River.  Cool off on even the hottest day at the park!
• Access the natural sand beach from the east side of the campground.
• An informal, unsupervised swimming area is available at the beach. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Birding

• Catch a glimpse of more than 160 species of birds including prairie falcon, kestrel, ring-necked pheasant, gray partridge, great horned and short-eared owls, mourning dove and cliff swallow.  
• Download our birding checklist.
• We also have a wild flowers checklist.

Canoeing / Kayaking / Tubing

• Bring your canoe, kayak, raft or tube to use in the Milk River. 
• During spring, the flow is swift and high, perfect for paddling. In August, water levels drop making the river impassable by boat.
• Check the status of the Milk River before departing.
• Canoeing and kayaking are not recommended when river levels fall below 12 cubic metres/second.

Fishing

• River fishing is limited.  
• Some species include brassy minnow, brook stickleback, burbot, fathead minnow, flathead chub, Iowa darter, lake chub, lake whitefish, longnose dace, longnose sucker, mountain sucker, mountain whitefish, northern pike, sauger, St. Mary sculpin, stonecat, trout-perch, western silvery minnow, white sucker and yellow perch.
• For more info, check Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations.

Hiking

• Try the Matapiiksi (Hoodoo) Trail - a 2.5 kilometre trail (one way) that winds through hoodoos, sandstone cliffs and rock art, upland prairie grasslands, the Milk River valley and coulees.

Backcountry Hiking

• The Davis and Humphrey coulee areas south of the river comprise the 930-hectare backcountry hiking zone.
• The hiking zone consists of rolling grasslands, hoodoo fields and narrow sandstone canyons.
• There are no developed trails; however, a network of game trails provides easy access to most areas.
• Access requires wading across the river. There is no recommended crossing site. Hikers cross at their own risk, generally following a suspected game trail.
• Stop at the Visitor Centre or Hoodoo Hut to check information & pick up a backcountry hiking map.
• There is no overnight camping nor fires permitted in the backcountry hiking area.

Please assist park staff.  If you discover bones, artifacts or other archeological remains in the park, leave them in place. Report the find to park staff. Artifacts provide archeologists with much more information if they can be studied where they were found, undisturbed. 

Wildlife Viewing

• Pronghorn and mule deer
• Skunks, raccoons
• Beavers, yellow-bellied marmots, northern pocket gophers
• Bats 
• Nuttalls's cottontail
• Boreal chorus and leopard frogs, plains spadefoot toads, tiger salamanders
• Bull and garter snakes, prairie rattlesnakes

Download our checklist of fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

Virtual Experiences

Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi 

In 2019, Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi became Alberta's sixth UNESCO World Heritage Site, joining Dinosaur Provincial Park, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Wood Buffalo National Park, Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

• Oculus Virtual Experience: Blackfoot Elder Saa’kokoto joins Blackfoot actor Eugene Brave Rock to bring audiences inside a once in a lifetime experience - an Elder guided journey through Writing-on-Stone in Virtual Reality. This immersive video experience requires Gear VR, Go, or Quest headsets. 
• Images In Stone: Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi is profiled in a virtual exhibition prepared by the Musée de la civilisation. Experience the many layers of this cultural landscape through images, videos, oral histories and stories as shared by Blackfoot knowledge keepers and archaeologists.

Read more about the natural heritage of the park.