William A. Switzer Provincial Park

William A. Switzer Provincial Park
Highway 40 bisecting William A. Switzer Provincial Park
Location of William A. Switzer Provincial Park in Alberta
Location	Yellowhead County,  Alberta  Canada
Nearest city	Hinton
Coordinates	53°30′N 117°48′W / 53.500°N 117.800°W / 53.500; -117.800Coordinates: 53°30′N 117°48′W / 53.500°N 117.800°W / 53.500; -117.800
Area	93 km2 (36 sq mi)
Established	December 22, 1958
Governing body	Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation

William A. Switzer Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada.

It is located on both sides of the Bighorn Highway, between Grande Cache and Hinton. Various campgrounds are maintained on the shores of Gregg Lake, Cache Lake, Blue Lake and Jarvis Lake.

The park is situated in the Canadian Rockies foothills, at an elevation of 1,150 m (3,770 ft) to 1,300 m (4,300 ft) and has a surface of 93 km² (36 sq mi). It was established on December 22, 1958 and is maintained by Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation. The park is named after former provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly William Switzer.

Activities

The following activities are available in the park:^[1]

• Beach activities, swimming
• Birdwatching (loons, grebes, ospreys, bald eagles, great grey owls, snipes and northern saw-whet owls)
• Camping
• Canoeing and kayaking (including an interpretative canoe route)
• Cross-country skiing (58 km (36 mi) groomed trails, with 33 km (21 mi) at Athabasca Lookout Nordic Centre
• Fishing and ice fishing (brown trout and rainbow trout)
• Front country hiking (at Athabasca Lookout and Beaver Ranch, around Blue Lake, Gregg Lake, Jarvis Lake, Kelley's Bathtub, Kettle and Winter Creek)
• Mountain biking (Gregg Lake trail, Jarvis Lake trail)
• Power boating, sailing, water-skiing, windsurfing
• Snowmobiling (on lakes only)
• Tobogganing (at Athabasca Lookout Nordic Centre)
• Wildlife viewing (white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk,moose, bear, coyote, wood frog, gray wolf, beaver, mink, muskrat and caribou)

See also

• List of Alberta provincial parks
• List of Canadian provincial parks
• List of National Parks of Canada

References

External links

• Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation & Culture. "William A. Switzer Provincial Park". Retrieved 2007-07-20.  CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)

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