Wood Buffalo National Park
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Safety Measures • Always let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back. • Stay on the trails. • Carry bear spray or noisemakers to deter bears. Bear safety information is available at the Visitor Centre. Experience • Never approach wood bison. They are most Enjoy accessible experiences and backcountry treks dangerous during rutting season from mid-July Experience the wonders of a UNESCO World amid the northern boreal plains of Canada’s first to September and cows can be protective of their Heritage Site and Canada’s largest national park. northern national park. young in early spring. Nature at Large Wood Buffalo National Park’s 44,807 square • See wood bison grazing by the roadside • If you see wildlife along the roads, stop at a safe kilometres sprawls across northern Alberta and distance and stay in your vehicle until they leave part of the southern Northwest Territories. It’s • Stare into the cavernous Angus Sinkhole the area. Don’t try to herd, harass or feed them. even bigger than Switzerland. • Taste Mother Nature’s salt at the Salt Plains The park was created in 1922. It’s now home to • Become acquainted with Indigenous How To Reach Us the world’s largest free-roaming bison herd, the culture and history world’s only natural whooping crane nesting site, • Wiggle your toes in the soothing clay Wood Buffalo National Park the most northerly snake hibernacula in North at Grosbeak Lake Box 750 Box 38 America and the world’s second largest inland freshwater delta. Four North American flyways • Enjoy star gazing in the world’s largest dark Fort Smith, NT. Fort Chipewyan, AB. converge over the Peace-Athabasca Delta, where sky preserve X0E 0P0 T0P 1B0 birds pass through each spring and fall on their • Swim in the aquamarine waters of karst sinkholes Tel: (867) 872-7960 Tel: (780) 697-3662 migration route. at Pine Lake Fax: (867) 872-3910 Fax: (780) 697-3560 • Enjoy a picnic at the Salt River Day Use Area or Pine Lake Recreation Area Join us on Facebook • Listen to the joyful sounds of a community coming together at the annual Pine Lake Picnic facebook.com/parkscanadaNWT THE WORLD’S LARGEST DARK SKY PRESERVE Join us for an astronomy festival under northern [email protected] skies. The annual Thebacha & Wood Buffalo Dark Sky www.parkscanada.gc.ca/woodbuffalo Festival is held in late August. (! FORT PROVIDENCE (!3 1 (! (! T FORT a Great Slave Lake l • The Benchmark Creek Trail is a 8.5 km moderate trail t so 1. Angus Sinkhole & Fire Tower MJW RESOLUTION r e n that starts at the Salt River and meanders along a saline v Peer into one of the park’s largest sinkholes, which i R 6 (! i R creek to Grosbeak Lake. v is 100 metres across and 60 metres deep. It formed HAY RIVER e e (! r g d when the roof of an underground cave collapsed. • A 20-minute shortcut to Grosbeak Lake starts off e l t Tsu Stay on the trail. Edges of the sinkhole could be unsafe. the road 2 kms south of the Salt River Day Use Area. S u r l R Lake e !2 a ( r It takes you through a forest to the unique salt flats v i e v 2. Nyarling River Pull-Off R v e with glacial erratics and rocks eroded into strange i r L R y e i a R v i i t ve T Find out why the Nyarling River disappears to flow H t r o R l e shapes by salt and frost. l t g e h a f n B u underground for 26 km through karst terrain. f li u l u 1 r B R a f 8. Pine Lake Day Use Area y f MKWH!W i (!1 Whooping a N v l 3. Wetlands Pull-Off e HJ Enjoy the sandy beach. Have a picnic. Swim or paddle in 2 o Pilot Crane r R Lake Take a short interpretive trail down to a peaceful area Nesting i the aquamarine waters of Pine Lake, which was formed v Buffalo Lake (!5 e overlooking habitat similar to that of the whooping crane when several sinkholes merged together. Fire pits, Area r nesting area. playground, cooking shelter and outhouses. 3 NWT FORT SMITH 60th Parallel (! 4. Salt Plains Lookout & Day Use Area • Pine Lake Campground has peaceful, basic campsites 6 Visitor Centre Alberta WOOD 4 Sa l t W R that sit amid the trees and feature fire pits, firewood, JM WH Salt Plains . h (! FORT FITZGERALD 2 tent pads and picnic tables. No hookups or showers. r i Breathe in the beauty of the 370 km Salt Plains from e t 7 e v i Water available for boiling. Self-registration camping. Washroom s 5 Salt River the viewpoint or hike down a moderate 500-metre a R BUFFALO switchback trail to explore saline springs, salt mounds, Visitor Centre n o • The 3.1 km (one way) Lakeside Trail is an easy stroll ? d l R a i f Pine salt-tolerant vegetation and animal tracks on this unique v f along the shores of Pine Lake and ends at the Kettle (!35 W Wheelchair Accessible e u Lake r B salt-encrusted landscape. Accessed from a side road Point Group Camp. (! Day Use / Picnic Area 8 • M Hay Camp 9 off Highway 5. NATIONAL K Front Country Camping S l 9. Kettle Point Group Camp M KW a v 5. Parson’s Lake Road J k Back Country Camping e a Located by the lake, this group camp is for a minimum c R s i a This 57-km single-lane dirt bush road leads to Parson’s of eight people. It has a large log shelter, tenting area, P Group Camping v b CARIBOU J PARK 10 e a Tower viewpoint deep in the boreal forest and bison beach, fire circle, firewood, picnic tables, outhouses Boat Launch ac Peace Point r h W k t MOUNTAINS f territory. Not recommended for large vehicles is A and a playground. Reservations required. ! Beach h R e and impassible when wet. iv r e Carlsons Landing k Margaret r • The 6.5 km (one way) Lane Lake Trail is a moderate, H Hiking • a e Lake 6. Fort Smith Visitor Centre ? W v L rugged hike deep into the heart of the boreal forest. J Viewpoint i R Sweetgrass Enjoy an exhibit about the park, watch DVDs and get the FORT l It starts on Kettle Point Road 1 km past the Pine Lake Indian Reserve ze r (! CHIPEWYAN latest information from staff. Open daily throughout the t e access road and follows a chain of small sinkhole lakes n GARDEN RIVER v e ! i ( R 11 summer, Monday to Friday the rest of the year. e Peace- to Lane Lake. W c ea Lake P Athabasca Mamawi (! HIGH LEVEL Claire Delta Lake 7. Salt River Day Use Area M WH 10. Peace Point Reserve W W This popular spot overlooking the Salt River i n Home to Mikisew Cree First Nation, this spot t e (! r is the trailhead for five hikes: R provides boat and canoe access to the Peace River. FORT VERMILION R i o W r c a e d iv h • The Karstland Loop Trail through active karst terrain a R irch a b B r 11. Fort Chipewyan Visitor Centre ?W d is an easy, 780-metre interpretive trail past active a k s s r ee o Gateway to the Peace-Athabasca Delta. Located e r sinkholes and the most northerly red-sided garter c r C n a v e i p R r on Mackenzie Avenue in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, R R snake hibernaculum. a r i H e v i a v the centre offers visitor information and backcountry v i er w e R r k r • The Salt River Meadows Trail starts on the east side of o registration services, a small exhibit area, and audio k Iv Mc i r Pine Lake Road. It’s an easy 1.3-km hike that meanders e M visual presentations about the park. Open Monday v through meadows and along a saline stream. i R to Friday year-round. a • The 7 km Salt Pan Lake Trail is a moderate hike that c s BIRCH a climbs gently to the top of an escarpment, passing b MOUNTAINS a h sinkholes, the Keg River geological formation, fossil t A outcrops and a scenic view of Salt Pan Lake. .