Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Alberta, Canada. The park is in Kananaskis Country about west of Calgary, along the Kananaskis Trail. This park is within Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The park was originally named Kananaskis Provincial Park, but was renamed after Peter Lougheed, who served as premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, when he retired in 1986. One of the largest provincial parks in Alberta, it encompasses around Kananaskis Lakes. The park provides amenities for camping and fishing along with trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and cross-country  skiing. There are currently six vehicular access campgrounds and six backcountry campgrounds in the park. A variety of wildlife can also be found in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, such as grizzly bears, black bears, elk, deer, moose, bighorn sheep, cougars, lynx, Rocky Mountain wolves and the occasional mountain goat. Some of the most popular backpacking trips in Kananaskis are found in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The Northover Ridge is a two to four-day backpacking trip, as is the North and South Kananaskis Pass. History. Prior to European contact, the area that is now Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, was home  to many Indigenous Peoples including the Stoney-Nakoda, Kootenai, Siksika, Kainai, Peigan, and Tsuut’ina people. Much of the land currently within the park was previously part of Rocky Mountains National Park, but was removed in 1911, and eventually turned over to the Government of Alberta. The land was developed in numerous ways, with hydroelectric dams being constructed in the modern park boundaries. By the 1970s, the eastern slopes of the rockies faced more pressure as people from Calgary searched for recreation outside of the city. Key people in creating the park were Bill Milne, a Calgary architect and environmentalist and  Alberta Highways Minister and area MLA Clarence Copithorne. Clarence Copithorne was a rancher and planned to upgrade the road access into the Kananaskis Valley to direct people away from ranchlands. Bill Milne challenged the provincial government to consult the public about the highway upgrade, and a resulting survey showed public support for a large protected area. Legend says Premier Lougheed created the park in 1977 after a single helicopter flight over the area arranged by Milne and Copithorne. The park was dedicated on September 22, 1977. Facilities. The park has seven automobile accessible campgrounds, totaling 546 campsites, as well as  six backcountry campgrounds, with a total of 83 sites. There are over 12km of paved bike paths connecting the auto access campgrounds, and many more hiking trails. Boulton Creek Trading Post is the main source for supplies in the park, as well as Fortress Junction, just north of the park. Activities. The following activities are available in the park: