National Parks of Alberta

Alberta has five national parks, including the Rocky Mountain parks of Banff and Jasper.

Waterton Lakes Park is located where the mountains meet the prairies, and borders Glacier Park in the USA.

Elk Island Park protects an area of aspen parkland in the center of the province. Wood Buffalo Park straddles the Alberta-Northwest Territories border, and is the largest national park in Canada.

Clicking on the Parks Canada links will take you to the home page of the park for more information.

Banff National Park - In 1883, three CP Railway workers stumbled across a cave containing hot springs on the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. Thus was born Banff National Park, Canada's first national park and the world's third. Spanning 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, Banff National Park is one of the world's premier destination spots. Parks Canada

Elk Island National Park - Located less than an hour away from Edmonton, Elk Island National Park of Canada protects the wilderness of the aspen parkland, one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. This beautiful oasis is home to herds of free roaming plains bison, wood bison, moose, deer, and elk. Also boasting over 250 species of birds, the park is a bird watcher's paradise. Parks Canada

Jasper National Park - The largest and most northerly Canadian rocky mountain national park, part of a spectacular World Heritage Site. Jasper's scenery is rugged and mountainous. In this special corner of Canada you can thrill to the thunder of Sunwapta Falls, enjoy the serene beauty of Mount Edith Cavell, connect with nature along 1,000-plus kilometres of trails, experience Athabasca Glacier up close or just resign yourself to a relaxing soak in Miette Hotsprings. Parks Canada

Waterton Lakes National Park - Rugged, windswept mountains rise abruptly out of gentle prairie grassland in spectacular Waterton Lakes National Park. Here, several different ecological regions meet and interact in a landscape shaped by wind, fire, flooding, and abundant plants and wildlife. The highlight of Waterton’s sparkling chain of lakes is the international Upper Waterton Lake, the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies. In 1932, the park was joined with Montana's Glacier National Park to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park - a world first. Parks Canada

Wood Buffalo National Park - As part of Canada's system of national parks and national historic sites, Wood Buffalo National Park of Canada is our country's largest national park and one of the largest in the world. It was established in 1922 to protect the last remaining herds of bison in northern Canada. Today, it protects an outstanding and representative example of Canada's Northern Boreal Plains, including the nesting region of the endangered whooping crane. Parks Canada

See also

Birdwatching in Alberta

Alberta

Amphibians of the Prairies

Reptiles of the Prairies