Alberta has announced 20 partial or full provincial park closures

Today in “budget cuts are a buzzkill,” the Alberta government has decided to close 11 and suspend services for 9 recreational areas, for a total of 20 changes in the provincial park system.

Changes will be made to a total of 16,000 hectares of land, including campsites and picnic areas, but we can’t help but think the damage could have been worse. Just over 160 parks have been handed over to third parties to manage, sparing them from the closures. For that, we can be thankful.

Partial Alberta provincial park closures include:

•  Engstrom Lake Provincial Recreation Area
•  Chain Lakes Provincial Recreation Area
•  Lawrence Lake Provincial Recreation Area
•  Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park – Tolman Bridge Campgrounds (East and West)
•  Notikewin Provincial Park
•  Smoky River South Provincial Recreation Area
•  Bow Valley Provincial Park – Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre
•  Gooseberry Provincial Recreation Area – Elbow Valley Visitor Centre
•  Dinosaur Provincial Park – Comfort Camping
•  Gooseberry Provincial Park Lake

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Full Alberta Provincial park closures include:

• Sulphur Lake Provincial Recreation Area
• Little Fish Lake Provincial Park
• Crow Lake Provincial Park
• Bleriot Ferry Provincial Recreation Area
• Kehiwin Provincial Recreation Area
• Running Lake Provincial Recreation Area
• Stoney Lake Provincial Recreation Area
• Greene Valley Provincial Park
• Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area
• Sheep Creek Provincial Recreation Area

Apparently doing this will save the province $5 million dollars, and we hope that’s the truth. We’re sad to see the parks meet this fate. Anyone feeling a nostalgic camping trip?