List of protected areas of Alberta


This is a list of protected areas of Alberta. Protected areas are managed by the Government of Canada or the Government of Alberta. The provincial government owns 60% of Alberta's landmass but most of this has not been formally protected. The total protected area throughout Alberta including federal and provincial protected areas is approximately.

International recognition

Six of Canada's 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are entirely or partially located in Alberta:
Five National Parks of Canada, managed by Parks Canada are located in the province. Several former national parks formerly existed in Alberta, but were delisted in 1947.
There are several National Historic Sites of Canada in Alberta, but only two are operated by Parks Canada: Rocky Mountain House, which features an indoor interpretation centre and year-round in-person interpretation, and Frog Lake which has only outdoor interpretive panels to mark the site.

Provincially protected areas

There are several different departments and agencies that deal with land use in Alberta, however Alberta's provincial parks are managed by the Government of Alberta's whose mandate is to protect the province's natural landscapes in Alberta. The government has divided these natural areas into seven categories, provincial parks being one. These categories are:
, the province of Alberta managed 76 provincial parks, 32 wildland provincial parks, 208 provincial recreation areas, 15 ecological reserves, 3 wilderness areas, 139 natural areas and 2 heritage rangeland. Although these areas are the responsibility of the Alberta government, private companies have been contracted to handle various aspects of the operation of many parks.

List of wilderness areas

Wilderness areas have the strictest level of protection, no development of any kind is permitted, and travel is only permitted by foot.
ParkNearest communityEstablishedCoordinateswebsite
Antelope Hill Provincial ParkHanna2014, December 4
Aspen Beach Provincial ParkBentley1932, November 21
Beauvais Lake Provincial ParkPincher Creek1954, February 1
Big Hill Springs Provincial ParkCochrane1957, November 22
Big Knife Provincial ParkForestburg1962, October 2
Bow Valley Provincial ParkCanmore1959, July 27
Bragg Creek Provincial ParkBragg Creek1960, January 19
Brown-Lowery Provincial ParkTurner Valley1992, October 29
Calling Lake Provincial ParkAthabasca1971, July 20
Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial ParkCanmore1988
Carson-Pegasus Provincial ParkWhitecourt1982, May 19
Castle Provincial ParkCrowsnest Pass2017, February 17
Chain Lakes Provincial ParkNanton1969, December 23
Cold Lake Provincial ParkCold Lake1976, August 18
Crimson Lake Provincial ParkRocky Mountain House1955, November 22
Cross Lake Provincial ParkAthabasca1955, November 22
Crow Lake Provincial ParkFort McMurray
Cypress Hills Interprovincial ParkMedicine Hat
Dillberry Lake Provincial ParkProvost1957, January 8
Dinosaur Provincial ParkBrooks1955, June 27
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial ParkTrochu1970, December 15
Dunvegan Provincial ParkFairview1992, May 21
Eagle Point Provincial ParkDrayton Valley2007, August 29
Fish Creek Provincial ParkCalgary1975, June 10
Garner Lake Provincial ParkVilna1953, July 14
Glenbow Ranch Provincial ParkCalgary
Cochrane		2008, April 17
Gooseberry Lake Provincial ParkConsort1932, November 21
Greene Valley Provincial ParkPeace River2000, June 6
Gregoire Lake Provincial ParkFort McMurray1969, October 21
Hilliard's Bay Provincial ParkHigh Prairie1978, October 24
Jarvis Bay Provincial ParkSylvan Lake1965, July 8
Kinbrook Island Provincial ParkBrooks1951, November 14
Lakeland Provincial ParkLac La Biche1992, January 16
Lesser Slave Lake Provincial ParkSlave Lake
Little Bow Provincial ParkChampion1954, January 20
Little Fish Lake Provincial ParkDrumheller1957, April 8
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial ParkEdmonton
St. Albert		2005, April 19
Long Lake Provincial ParkBoyle1957, March 25
Midland Provincial ParkDrumheller1979, June 5
Miquelon Lake Provincial ParkHay Lakes1958, May 20
Moonshine Lake Provincial ParkRycroft1959, April 21
Moose Lake Provincial ParkBonnyville1967, April 19
Notikewin Provincial ParkManning1979, November 20
Obed Lake Provincial ParkEdson
O'Brien Provincial ParkGrande Prairie1954, June 29
Park Lake Provincial ParkLethbridge1932, November 21
Pembina River Provincial ParkEntwistle1953, September 21
Peter Lougheed Provincial ParkKananaskis1977, October 7
Pierre Grey's Lakes Provincial ParkGrande Cache
Pigeon Lake Provincial ParkWetaskiwin1967, May 26
Police Outpost Provincial ParkCardston1970, April 21
Queen Elizabeth Provincial ParkGrimshaw1956, March 1
Ram Falls Provincial ParkNordegg
Red Lodge Provincial ParkBowden1951, May 7
Rochon Sands Provincial ParkStettler1957, January 8
Rock Lake Provincial ParkHinton
Saskatoon Island Provincial ParkWembley1932, November 21
Sheep River Provincial ParkTurner Valley
Sir Winston Churchill Provincial ParkLac La Biche1952, September 29
Spray Valley Provincial ParkKananaskis2000, December 1
Strathcona Science Provincial ParkEdmonton
Sherwood Park		1979, December 12
Sundance Provincial ParkEdson1999, April 28
Sylvan Lake Provincial ParkSylvan Lake1980, January 16
Thunder Lake Provincial ParkBarrhead1958, January 28
Tillebrook Provincial ParkTilley1965, July 20
Two Lakes Provincial ParkGrande Prairie
Vermilion Provincial ParkVermilion1953, May 29
Wabamun Lake Provincial ParkWabamun
Whitney Lakes Provincial ParkElk Point1982, June 23
William A. Switzer Provincial ParkHinton1958, December 22
Williamson Provincial ParkValleyview1960, November 7
Willow Creek Provincial ParkStavely1957, December 10
Winagami Lake Provincial ParkDonnelly1956, November 13
Woolford Provincial ParkCardston
Writing-on-Stone Provincial ParkCoutts1957, January 8
Wyndham-Carseland Provincial ParkStrathmore1979, May 2
Young's Point Provincial ParkValleyview1971, August 3

Other parks

Approximately 60% of land in Alberta is public land owned by the Alberta government. For administrative purposes, the province is divided into two broad land use areas: the Green Area and the White Area. The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve was created by the Forest Reserves Act of 1964. There are also 32 provincial grazing reserves located throughout Alberta. They are administered by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

Municipal parks