Calgary 
Winter camping makes for a big adventure. And in a place like Alberta, it is certainly worth bearing the cold or the snow.
Credit: Alberta Parks
Many of the winter campsites among Alberta’s parks will bring your trip to beautiful locations, peaceful lakes, and serene forested areas. Within Alberta’s parks are several different winter activities and chances for fun recreation. Hiking is an option in almost every Alberta Park, with different viewpoints to access and wildlife to see.
Other activities available in these parks in the winter could include everything from snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and ice skating to even skijoring and dog sledding.
Winter campsites in Alberta are located all across the province!
About Alberta Parks Winter Camping
- A vast majority of the winter campsites are first-come, first-served. For those which require reservations, the same 90-day rule applies. This means that you may only book as far as 90 days out from the day you make the reservation.
- Many campgrounds have limited amenities during the winter, so it is a good idea to bring lots of your own drinking water and firewood.
- Be aware of any wildlife that may be in the area and what to do if an encounter occurs.
- Alberta Parks offer a few different ways to camp in the winter. Choose between winter comfort camping, front country camping, or backcountry winter camping.
- Each front country campsite has a picnic table and firepit or cook stove.
You may like: A Beginner’s Guide to Camping in Alberta Parks
Winter Comfort Camping in Alberta
Cypress Hill Provincial Park
Elkwater, Graburn, Medicine Lodge, Reesor Lake, Spruce Coulee, and Tom Trott cabins are all available for winter rentals. Plus, the Provincial Park has winter campsites outside of comfort camping, too, for RVers and tent campers.
There is much to see and do here in the winter, and therefore, there are many reasons to make a winter camping trip to the Cypress Hills in Southeastern Alberta. These include skating, cross-country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and sightseeing.
Cost: $100 per night
Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park
Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park has two sets of comfort camping accommodations: cabins and tipis. However, only the cabins are open for winter camping. The cabins include an electric heater, a kitchenette and kitchen table, a barbecue and picnic table outside, and a power hookup and parking pad for an extra trailer. You may not need an extra trailer, however, as these cabins sleep up to eight adults.
When you’re not relaxing in your cozy lakeside cabin, take a winter hike through the tall trees and watch for birds or wildlife. Or embark on a bigger adventure with cross-country skiing and ice fishing. Nearby in Lac La Biche is the Winter Festival of Speed.
Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park
Comfort camping within Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park is a unique opportunity in Alberta Parks. It is the only park in Alberta with a comfort camping option of this size.
Labelled The Nest (an ode to the area’s diverse bird population and bird observatory), the cabin sleeps up to 10 people, includes Wi-Fi access, an indoor wood fireplace, and propane heating.
Front Country Winter Camping in Alberta
Credit: Alberta Parks
Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park
The Carson-Pegasus campground will bring your winter camping trip close to Whitecourt, northwest of Edmonton.
The quiet park is made up of two small lakes, with the winter campground on the larger of the two. Once that lake is totally frozen, it is open to snowmobiling and ice fishing.
The lake surface is the only part of the park where snowmobiling is permitted. During time on the lake or the lakeside trails, you may encounter many types of winter wildlife and birds, too!
Miquelon Lake Provincial Park
A trip to Miquelon Lake Provincial Park is convenient for those in Edmonton who want to try winter camping, as the lake and park are under an hour from the city.
No matter where you travel from, Miquelon Lake offers an incredibly quiet and peaceful camping escape, especially at the night. Miquelon Lake is part of the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve, making it a prime location for stargazing and aurora chasing.
The park has several short trails to enjoy during the day- trails which offer many birding and wildlife photography opportunities.
Other ways to enjoy those trails besides hiking include snowshoeing, skijoring, fat tire biking, or cross-country skiing.
Vermilion Provincial Park
The Vermilion Provincial Park, east of Edmonton on the Trans Canada, makes for a perfect family camping destination in winter. The park is easy to access and contains a bit of Vermilion history, too.
Vermilion PP also provides a variety of winter adventures to enjoy. A cross-country ski trail follows the Vermilion River toward the backcountry areas, while snowshoeing is also permitted on separate nearby trails.
Other winter activities include tobogganing or fat tire biking. And during any of these adventures, take a moment to check out those pieces of history, like a CN caboose, an old rail station, and other train cars.
Crimson Lake Provincial Park
Find several different types of winter activities at the Crimson Lake winter campground west of Rocky Mountain House.
The year-round park offers winter trails that encompass the entire lake, as well as trails that lead through the campground or to the second park’s lakes: Twin Lake. Enjoy the trails with fat bikes, snowshoes, cross-country skis, or warm boots. Additionally, the campground maintains a skating rink all winter. Half of the rink is for free skating, while the other half is open to hockey and games of shinny.
Book a spot on Family Day Weekend to take part in the Crimson Lake Winterfest! The event includes outdoor activities in the snow and on the ice, carnival games, and entertainment.
McLean Creek Provincial Recreation Area
Winter camping in the McLean Creek PRA may be especially attractive to snowmobilers. The PRA is surrounded by a Publix Land Use Zone of the same name, which offers numerous snowmobile trail options through the densely forested foothills.
The trail access is open January 1-March 31. The scenic campground is also worth exploring on foot during a winter camping trip with McLean Pond, about a 5-minute walk away.
William A. Switzer Provincial Park
The large foothill park of William A. Switzer is a perfect basecamp for rocky mountain adventures in Jasper, while also offering many reasons to stick around the Provincial Park during a camping trip.
The park keeps 3/5 campgrounds open for the winter, including Graveyard, Gregg, and Jarvis Lake Campgrounds.
The area’s wildlife and scenery offer many photography opportunities which can be enjoyed with cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking. Plus, there are places to skate nearby in Jasper.
Elbow River Provincial Recreation Area
The winter camping at the Elbow River PRA offers a unique opportunity: group winter camping! While many of the Alberta Parks close group camping for winter, this is the only campground open in the Elbow River PRA during the colder months.
The group camping area consists of vault toilets, picnic shelters, and firepits. While here, enjoy many simple winter hiking trails, some of which include interpretive info along the way. Many trails around the Elbow River also permit horseback riding.
Fisher Creek Provincial Recreation Area
The PRA is located within prime snowmobiling country, with a staging area right by the campground. These trails lead into the adjacent McLean Creek PLUZ. Additionally, the campground, which is in the Elbow River Valley, is near a variety of winter hiking trails with great foothill scenery.
The Fisher Creek winter campground has 30 sites available.
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park
A camping trip to a location like Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park will likely bless your trip with milder winter weather. But it may also leave you camping in a lot of snow. These hills and badlands are absolutely beautiful when covered in snow, too, creating unique scenery for winter hikes and sightseeing.
A trail follows the Milk River through the campground and Provincial Park, eventually leading to a lookout point over the coulees and hoodoos.
Beauvais Lake Provincial Park
Beauvais Lake Provincial Park makes for a peaceful escape in Alberta’s southern foothills.
The park is also an important area for biodiversity, which gives visitors many chances for wildlife viewing and photography. Additionally, the location is perfect for a night of stargazing with no nearby or large urban centres.
A winter camping trip to Beauvais Lake can include activities such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing.
Best Alberta Parks for Backcountry Winter Camping
Willmore Wilderness Park
The Willmore Wilderness Park takes up most of the land between Hinton and Grande Cache. The area offers a mix of winter scenery with foothills to the east and mountains to the west.
The area has an extensive trail system with several different campsites which give you many options on hike length.
There are three access points into Willmore include Rock Lake, Big Berland, and Sulphur Gates.
Spray Valley Provincial Park
Spray Valley’s Rummel Lake winter backcountry campground is located along the park’s Lost Lake Trail. The site is located in a densely forested area and on the shores of Rummell Lake.
The site is directly east of Mount Engadine Lodge on the Rummel and Lost Lake Trails. And once here, you will have access to vault toilets!
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
The Point Backcountry Campground is the only of 13 in Peter Lougheed open during the winter. Use the Panorama and Interlakes Day Use Areas to access the Upper Kananaskis Lake Trail.
It’ll take about 3.8km of winter hiking to reach the campground, where you’ll find a few additional amenities. The Point Backcountry Campground has cook stoves and shelters, bear-safe garbage bins, vault toilets, and picnic tables.
The backcountry campground can accommodate 20 units!
Lakeland Provincial Park
Take a winter adventure through Alberta’s Lakelands and boreal forest! The Lakeland Provincial Park backcountry campground is year-round and totally free.
Besides the cost, there are many other reasons to make the winter trek from the Shaw Day Use Area to the Backcountry Campground.
Bring cross-country skis or snowshoes to make exploring the trails a bit easier. Or make it easier and much faster with snowmobiles. There are extensive trails throughout the park.
Shaw Lake is an especially great place for cross-country skiing, with groomed trails that lead around the entire lake.
Bow Valley Provincial Park
Bow Valley Provincial Park’s backcountry winter campground is on the opposite side of the beautiful Barrier Lake from Highway AB-40. Access the site from the Stoney hiking trail and the Barrier Dam day-use area.
There are many other places to hike to while you stay at Jewell Bay, like the Barrier Fire Lookout. Before or after heading out to the backcountry, enjoy many other activities and chances for sightseeing around Kananaskis, the Village, or more trails.
Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park
This park in the central Alberta mountains and foothills boasts five different backcountry campgrounds, which are all open year-round.
The park borders Jasper National Park, with the five campgrounds all dispersed around the same hiking trail. During your visit, stop by the Mountain Park Cemetery and Viewpoint, the Cadomin Mountain Viewpoint, and the Whitehorse Creek.
These sites are all free and first-come, first-served. Plus, campers may also reach the backcountry via horseback. The sites offer hitching rails and posts.
