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National Parks in Alberta

Alberta has five national parks, including the Rocky Mountain parks of Banff, which is the oldest national park in Canada, 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.

Banff National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canada's first National Park (1885)

In the fall of 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway construction workers stumbled across a cave containing hot springs on the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. From that humble beginning 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.

Elk Island National Park -Alberta plains oasis for rare and endangered species

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. Be it for wildlife viewing, hiking, cross-country skiing, picnicking or overnight camping, there is something for everyone at Elk Island National Park.

Jasper National Park -UNESCO World Heritage Site and glacial jewel of the Rockies

Jasper is the largest and most northerly Canadian rocky mountain national park, part of a spectacular World Heritage Site. Comprised of delicate and carefully protected ecosystems, Jasper's scenery is none-the-less 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.

Waterton Lakes National Park -International Peace Park; Rockies meet the prairie

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 park helps protect the unique and unusually diverse physical, biological and cultural resources found in the Crown of the Continent: one of the narrowest places in the Rocky Mountains. 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.

Wood Buffalo National Park -UNESCO World Heritage Site larger than Switzerland

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.

Wood Buffalo National Park straddles the Northwest Territories - Alberta border. Park headquarters are in Fort Smith, NT. All-weather road access is available year-round via the MacKenzie Highway. Edmonton is the hub for commercial air travel to the north. Commercial flights are available to both Fort Smith and Fort Chipewyan from Edmonton, 1,310 km away.

Species at Risk in Alberta Parks