List of protected areas of Alberta

This is a list of protected areas of Alberta. Protected areas are managed by the Government of Canada or the Government of Alberta. The provincial government owns 60% of Alberta's landmass but most of this has not been formally protected. The total protected area throughout Alberta including federal and provincial protected areas is approximately.

WWW albertaparks.ca

International recognition

Six of Canada's 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are entirely or partially located in Alberta:

Alberta also contains the following UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

Federally protected areas

Five National Parks of Canada, managed by Parks Canada are located in the province. Several former national parks formerly existed in Alberta, but were delisted in 1947.
There are several National Historic Sites of Canada in Alberta, but only two are operated by Parks Canada: Rocky Mountain House, which features an indoor interpretation centre and year-round in-person interpretation, and Frog Lake which has only outdoor interpretive panels to mark the site.
Alberta is also home to Suffield National Wildlife Area, a protected area within the military reserve at CFB Suffield.

Provincially protected areas

There are several different departments and agencies that deal with land use in Alberta, however Alberta's provincial parks are managed by Alberta Parks, which since 2022 is part of the Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism whose mandate is to protect the province's natural landscapes in Alberta, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas. Seven categories of protection exist, provincial parks being one. These categories are:
, the province of Alberta managed 76 provincial parks, 32 wildland provincial parks, 208 provincial recreation areas, 15 ecological reserves, 3 wilderness areas, 139 natural areas and 2 heritage rangeland. Although these areas are the responsibility of the Alberta government, private companies have been contracted to handle various aspects of the operation of many parks.

List of wilderness areas

Wilderness areas have the strictest level of protection, no development of any kind is permitted, and travel is only permitted by foot.

List of provincial parks

Park	Nearest community	Established	Coordinates	website
Antelope Hill Provincial Park	Hanna	2014, 4 December
Aspen Beach Provincial Park	Bentley	1932, 21 November
Beauvais Lake Provincial Park	Pincher Creek	1954, 1 February
Big Hill Springs Provincial Park	Cochrane	1957, 22 November
Big Island Provincial Park	Edmonton	2023, February
Big Knife Provincial Park	Forestburg	1962, 2 October
Bow Valley Provincial Park	Canmore	1959, 27 July
Bragg Creek Provincial Park	Bragg Creek	1960, 19 January
Brown-Lowery Provincial Park	Turner Valley	1992, 29 October
Calling Lake Provincial Park	Athabasca	1971, 20 July
Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park	Canmore	1988
Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park	Whitecourt	1982, 19 May
Castle Provincial Park	Crowsnest Pass	2017, 17 February
Chain Lakes Provincial Park	Nanton	1969, 23 December
Cold Lake Provincial Park	Cold Lake	1976, 18 August
Crimson Lake Provincial Park	Rocky Mountain House	1955, 22 November
Cross Lake Provincial Park	Athabasca	1955, 22 November
Crow Lake Provincial Park	Fort McMurray
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park	Medicine Hat
Dillberry Lake Provincial Park	Provost	1957, 8 January
Dinosaur Provincial Park	Brooks	1955, 27 June
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park	Trochu	1970, 15 December
Dunvegan Provincial Park	Fairview	1992, 21 May
Eagle Point Provincial Park	Drayton Valley	2007, 29 August
Fish Creek Provincial Park	Calgary	1975, 10 June
Garner Lake Provincial Park	Vilna	1953, 14 July
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park	Calgary Cochrane	2008, 17 April
Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park	Consort	1932, 21 November
Greene Valley Provincial Park	Peace River	2000, 6 June
Gregoire Lake Provincial Park	Fort McMurray	1969, 21 October
Hilliard's Bay Provincial Park	High Prairie	1978, 24 October
Jarvis Bay Provincial Park	Sylvan Lake	1965, 8 July
Kinbrook Island Provincial Park	Brooks	1951, 14 November
Lakeland Provincial Park	Lac La Biche	1992, 16 January
Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park	Slave Lake
Little Bow Provincial Park	Champion	1954, 20 January
Little Fish Lake Provincial Park	Drumheller	1957, 8 April
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park	Edmonton St. Albert	2005, 19 April
Long Lake Provincial Park	Boyle	1957, 25 March
Midland Provincial Park	Drumheller	1979, 5 June
Miquelon Lake Provincial Park	Hay Lakes	1958, 20 May
Moonshine Lake Provincial Park	Rycroft	1959, 21 April
Moose Lake Provincial Park	Bonnyville	1967, 19 April
Notikewin Provincial Park	Manning	1979, 20 November
Obed Lake Provincial Park	Edson
O'Brien Provincial Park	Grande Prairie	1954, 29 June
Park Lake Provincial Park	Lethbridge	1932, 21 November
Pembina River Provincial Park	Entwistle	1953, 21 September
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park	Kananaskis	1977, 7 October
Pierre Grey's Lakes Provincial Park	Grande Cache
Pigeon Lake Provincial Park	Wetaskiwin	1967, 26 May
Police Outpost Provincial Park	Cardston	1970, 21 April
Queen Elizabeth Provincial Park	Grimshaw	1956, 1 March
Ram Falls Provincial Park	Nordegg
Red Lodge Provincial Park	Bowden	1951, 7 May
Rochon Sands Provincial Park	Stettler	1957, 8 January
Rock Lake Provincial Park	Hinton
Saskatoon Island Provincial Park	Wembley	1932, 21 November
Sheep River Provincial Park	Turner Valley
Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park	Lac La Biche	1952, 29 September
Spray Valley Provincial Park	Kananaskis	2000, 1 December
Strathcona Science Provincial Park	Edmonton Sherwood Park	1979, 12 December
Sundance Provincial Park	Edson	1999, 28 April
Sylvan Lake Provincial Park	Sylvan Lake	1980, 16 January
Thunder Lake Provincial Park	Barrhead	1958, 28 January
Tillebrook Provincial Park	Tilley	1965, 20 July
Two Lakes Provincial Park	Grande Prairie
Vermilion Provincial Park	Vermilion	1953, 29 May
Wabamun Lake Provincial Park	Wabamun
Whitney Lakes Provincial Park	Elk Point	1982, 23 June
William A. Switzer Provincial Park	Hinton	1958, 22 December
Williamson Provincial Park	Valleyview	1960, 7 November
Willow Creek Provincial Park	Stavely	1957, 10 December
Winagami Lake Provincial Park	Donnelly	1956, 13 November
Woolford Provincial Park	Cardston
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park	Coutts	1957, 8 January
Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park	Strathmore	1979, 2 May
Young's Point Provincial Park	Valleyview	1971, 3 August

List of wildland provincial parks

Other provincial lands

Approximately 60% of land in Alberta is public land owned by the Alberta government. For administrative purposes, the province is divided into two broad land use areas: the Green Area and the White Area. The Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve was created by the Forest Reserves Act of 1964. There are also 32 provincial grazing reserves located throughout Alberta. They are administered by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. Kananaskis Country is not a park but a provincially run tract of land containing several parks.

List of heritage rangelands

Beaverhill Lake Heritage Rangeland
Black Creek Heritage Rangeland
Killarney-Reflex Lakes Heritage Rangeland
OH Ranch Heritage Rangeland
Onefour Heritage Rangeland
Ribstone Creek Heritage Rangeland
Tolman Badlands Heritage Rangeland
Twin River Heritage Rangeland

List of provincial recreation areas

Aylmer PRA
Beaver Lake PRA
Beaverdam PRA
Big Berland PRA
Big Mountain Creek PRA
Bigelow Reservoir PRA
Blackstone PRA
Blue Rapids PRA
Bow Valley PRA
Brazeau Reservoir PRA
Brazeau River PRA
Brown Creek PRA
Buck Lake PRA
Buffalo Lake PRA
Buffalo Tower PRA
Bullshead Reservoir PRA
Burnt Timber PRA
Calhoun Bay PRA
Cartier Creek PRA
Cat Creek PRA
Cataract Creek PRA
Chain Lakes PRA
Chambers Creek PRA
Chambers Creek Group Camp PRA
Chin Coulee PRA
Chinook PRA
Chrystina Lake PRA
Coal Lake North PRA
Cobble Flats PRA
Cooking Lake-Blackfoot PRA
Crescent Falls PRA
Dawson PRA
Deer Creek PRA
Demmitt PRA
Dutch Creek PRA
Dry Haven PRA
Edith Lake PRA
Elbow Falls PRA
Elbow River PRA
Elbow River Launch PRA
Elk Creek PRA
Elk Creek Fish Pond PRA
Elk River PRA
English Bay PRA
Engstrom Lake PRA
Etherington Creek PRA
Evan-Thomas PRA
Fairfax Lake PRA
Fallen Timber PRA
Fallen Timber South PRA
Fawcett Lake PRA
Fickle Lake PRA
Figure Eight Lake PRA
Fish Lake PRA
Fisher Creek PRA
Fitzsimmons Creek PRA
Franchere Bay PRA
Freeman River PRA
French Bay PRA
Ghost Airstrip PRA
Ghost Reservoir PRA
Gleniffer Reservoir PRA
Goldeye Lake PRA
Gooseberry PRA
Greenford PRA
Hangingstone PRA
Harlech PRA
Heart Creek PRA
Heart River Dam PRA
Highwood PRA
Highwood Compound PRA
Highwood Junction PRA
Honeymoon Creek PRA
Horburg PRA
Hornbeck Creek PRA
Indian Graves PRA
Ing's Mine PRA
Iosegun Lake PRA
Island Lake PRA
Jackfish Lake PRA
Jackson Lake Trail Staging PRA
James-Wilson PRA
Jensen Reservoir PRA
Jumpingpound Creek PRA
Kakwa River PRA
Kehiwin PRA
Lake McGregor PRA
Lakeland PRA
Lantern Creek PRA
Lawrence Lake PRA
Lineham PRA
Little Bow Reservoir PRA
Little Elbow PRA
Little Sundance Creek PRA
Livingstone Falls PRA
Lovett River PRA
Lundbreck Falls PRA
Lusk Creek PRA
Machesis Lake PRA
Mallaig PRA
Maqua Lake PRA
Maycroft PRA
McLean Creek PRA
McLeod River PRA
Medicine Lake PRA
Mesa Butte PRA
Michelle Reservoir PRA
Minnow Lake PRA
Mist Creek PRA
Mitchell Lake PRA
Moose Mountain Trailhead PRA
Musreau Lake PRA
Nojack PRA
North Bruderheim PRA
North Buck Lake PRA
North Fork PRA
Old Baldy Pass Trail PRA
Oldman Dam PRA
Oldman River PRA
Oldman River North PRA
Ole's Lake PRA
Paddle River Dam PRA
Payne Lake PRA
Peaceful Valley PRA
Pembina Forks PRA
Peppers Lake PRA
Peppers Lake Staging Area PRA
Phyllis Lake PRA
Picklejar PRA
Pine Grove PRA
Pines PRA
Pinetop PRA
Poachers' Landing PRA
Prairie Creek PRA
Prairie Creek Group Camp PRA
Racehorse PRA
Red Deer River PRA
Redwater PRA
Running Lake PRA
St. Mary Reservoir PRA
Saskatoon Mountain PRA
Saunders PRA
Sentinel PRA
Seven Mile PRA
Sheep Creek PRA
Shunda Viewpoint PRA
Shuttler Flats PRA
Sibbald Lake PRA
Sibbald Meadows Pond PRA
Sibbald Viewpoint PRA
Simonette River PRA
Smoke Lake PRA
Smoky River South PRA
Snow Creek PRA
South Ghost PRA
Southview PRA
Stoney Creek PRA
Stoney Lake PRA
Strachan PRA
Strawberry PRA
Sulphur Gates PRA
Sulphur Lake PRA
Swan Lake PRA
Tay River PRA
The Narrows PRA
Thompson Creek PRA
Trapper Lea's Cabin PRA
Travers Reservoir PRA
Trout Pond PRA
Waiparous Creek PRA
Waiparous Creek Group Camp PRA
Waiparous Valley Viewpoint PRA
Wapiabi PRA
Ware Creek PRA
Waskahigan River PRA
Waterton Reservoir PRA
Watson Creek PRA
Weald PRA
West Bragg Creek PRA
Whitehorse Creek PRA
Wildhay PRA
Wild Horse PRA
Wildhorse PRA
Wildhorse Lake PRA
Wilson Creek PRA
Wolf Creek PRA
Wolf Lake PRA
Wolf Lake West PRA

List of natural areas

Alexo Natural Area
Alsike Bat Lake Natural Area
Anderson Creek Natural Area
Antler Lake Island Natural Area
Aurora Natural Area
Battle Lake Natural Area
Bear Lake Natural Area
Bearberry Prairie Natural Area
Beaverhill Lake Natural Area
Beehive Natural Area
Bellis Lake Natural Area
Bellis North Natural Area
Bentz Lake Natural Area
Bigoray Natural Area
Bilby Natural Area
Bridge Lake Natural Area
Buck Lake Natural Area
Buck Lake Creek Natural Area
Burtonsville Island Natural Area
Butcher Creek Natural Area
Caribou River Natural Area
Carnwood Modeste Natural Area
Centre of Alberta Natural Area
Chedderville Natural Area
Child Lake Meadows Natural Area
Clear Lake Natural Area
Clearwater Ricinus Natural Area
Clifford E. Lee Natural Area
Cow Lake Natural Area
Coyote Lake Natural Area
Crippsdale Natural Area
Douglas Fir Natural Area
Dussault Lake Natural Area
Easyford Creek Natural Area
Edgar T. Jones Natural Area
Emerson Creek Natural Area
Gadsby Lake Natural Area
Garner Orchid Fen Natural Area
Genesee Natural Area
George Lake Natural Area
Halfmoon Lake Natural Area
Halfway Lake Natural Area
Hargrave Coulees Natural Area
Harper Creek Natural Area
Hastings Lake Islands Natural Area
Heatburg Natural Area
Highway Natural Area
Highwood River Natural Area
Hoadley Natural Area
Hondo Natural Area
Horseshoe Creek Natural Area
Innisfail Natural Area
Isle Lake Natural Area
J.J. Collett Natural Area
Kakina Lake Natural Area
Kleskun Hill Natural Area
La Saline Natural Area
Lac La Nonne Natural Area
Lily Lake Natural Area
Lloyd Creek Natural Area
Magee Lake Natural Area
Majeau Lake Natural Area
Markerville Natural Area
Matthews Crossing Natural Area
Medicine Lodge Hills Natural Area
Milk River Natural Area
Mill Island Natural Area
Modeste Creek Natural Area
Modeste Saskatchewan Natural Area
Mount Butte Natural Area
Mt. Livingstone Natural Area
Mystery Lake Natural Area
Newton Lake Natural Area
Noel Lake Natural Area
North Cooking Lake Natural Area
Northwest of Bruderheim Natural Area
O'Chiese Natural Area
Ole Buck Mountain Natural Area
Opal Natural Area
Open Creek Natural Area
Otauwau Natural Area
Outpost Wetlands Natural Area
Paddle River Natural Area
Park Court Natural Area
Parkland Natural Area
Pembina River Natural Area
Pembina River Moon Lake Natural Area
Pinto Creek Canyon Natural Area
Police Point Natural Area
Poplar Creek Natural Area
Prefontaine Brock Lakes Natural Area
Red Rock Coulee Natural Area
Redwater River Natural Area
Riverlot 56 Natural Area
Rocky Rapids Natural Area
Roselea Natural Area
Ross Lake Natural Area
Round Valley Natural Area
Rumsey Natural Area
St. Francis Natural Area
Sand Lake Natural Area
Saulteaux Natural Area
Scalp Creek Natural Area
Schrader Creek-Red Deer River Natural Area
Sheep Creek Natural Area
Sherwood Park Natural Area
Snakes Head Natural Area
Spruce Island Lake Natural Area
Sturgeon Lake Natural Area
Sundance Natural Area
Sundre Natural Area
Sundre North Natural Area
Sundre Red Deer Natural Area
Sylvan Lake Natural Area
Tawatinaw Natural Area
Taylor Lake Natural Area
Thorsby Natural Area
Threepoint Creek Natural Area
Town Creek Natural Area
Upper Mann Lake Natural Area
Vega Natural Area
Victoria Settlement Natural Area
Wagner Natural Area
Washout Creek Natural Area
Welch Creek Natural Area
White Earth Valley Natural Area
Whitecourt Mountain Natural Area
Wildcat Island Natural Area
Wildhay Glacier Cascades Natural Area
Yates Natural Area

List of ecological reserves

Athabasca Dunes Ecological Reserve
Goose Mountain Ecological Reserve
Hand Hills Ecological Reserve
Holmes Crossing Sandhills Ecological Reserve
Marshybank Ecological Reserve
Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve
Kennedy Coulee Ecological Reserve
Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve
Rumsey Ecological Reserve
Silver Valley Ecological Reserve
Wainwright Dunes Ecological Reserve
West Castle Wetlands Ecological Reserve