Willmore Wilderness Park, located in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, Canada, is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

adjacent to

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...

. It is lesser known and less visited than Jasper National Park. There are no public roads, bridges or buildings. There are, however, several ranger cabins in the park that are available as a courtesy to visitors. Other parks surround this wilderness reserve:

Kakwa Wildlands Park Kakwa Wildland Park is a provincial park in the Rocky Mountain Foothills just east of the northern Canadian Rockies, in Alberta, Canada, immediately east of the border with British Columbia at the 120th meridian west. The park is home to Albert ...

to the north,

Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area is a 170,890 ha provincial park in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The park preserves the southernmost portion of the Hart Ranges and the northernmost portion of the Continental Ranges. The park ...

to the west, Rock Lake Provincial Park to the south-west, Sulphur Gates Provincial Recreation Area to the east. Kakwa Wildlands Park, Kakwa Provincial Park and Willmore Wilderness Park comprise the first interprovincial park shared between Alberta and British Columbia. Access to the park is via Highway 40, through the hamlet of

Grande Cache Grande Cache is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within and administered by the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16. It is located on Highway 40 approximately northwest of Hinton and west of Edmonton. Grande Cache overlooks the Sm ...

, and the four staging areas: Sulphur Gates, Cowlick Creek, Berland River and Rock Lake. Motorized vehicles are not allowed in the park; transportation is done by foot, horse, mountain bike or ski. Another

staging area A staging area (otherwise staging point, staging base, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to: * In construction, a designated area in which vehicles, ...

is found south-east of the park, in the town of Hinton.

History

In terms of local governance, those lands within Willmore Wilderness Park were split between the Improvement District (ID) No. 14 and ID No. 16 prior to 1994. Those lands within Willmore Wilderness Park were incorporated as ID No. 25 on January 2, 1994. The park was named on April 12, 1965 after

Norman Willmore Norman Alfred Willmore (February 13, 1909 – February 2, 1965) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1944 until his death in 1965 as a member of the Social Credit caucus in government. He ...

of Edson, a provincial cabinet minister and member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from si ...

who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in February 1965. It was previously known as Wilderness Provincial Park, established in 1959 through a bill introduced by Willmore.

Conservation

Willmore Wilderness Park is managed by Alberta Community Development as a wilderness park. Conservation-based research within the park includes: * Willmore Biodiversity Monitoring Project * Alberta Experimental Wolverine Monitoring Project The park protects a large population of

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

s and

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...

(20% of the total population in Alberta). Other mammals commonly found here include

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations: * Boreal woodland caribou * Migratory woodland caribou See also * Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a provi ...

, elk,

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

s and timber wolves.Alberta Parks
- Willmore Wilderness Park

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

and black bears are also present in the sub-alpine region, while

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, ...

s, rock pika, ptarmigan and

Rocky Mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs a ...

s can be found in the higher alpine areas. The sub-alpine environment contains

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

and aspen poplar. Several

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

burial sites are located at Big Grave Flats, as well as some early coal mining, forestry and trapper cabins.

Activities

Recreational activities in the park include

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

and some

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

for

bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate speci ...

is allowed only in a catch-and-release fashion ( bull trout have been caught on the upper part of the Jackpine River).

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other act ...

and

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

can be done on the

Smoky River The Smoky River is a river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River. The descriptive name refers to the presence of "smouldering beds of coal in the riverbank" noted by the Cree Indians. It drains an area of . Fr ...

. Motorized vehicles are prohibited within the park. Open pit fires are allowed. Potential dangers while travelling through the park are changing weather (which can make rising waters dangerous to ford), lost and water-logged trails and the abundant bear population. Several trails cross the park (Indian Trail, Pope Thoreau Trail,

Great Divide Trail The Great Divide Trail (GDT) is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia, crossing the divide more than 30 times. Its southern terminus is in Waterton La ...

), and horseback riding can be done along rivers and passes (Sulphur River, West Sulphur River, Rocky Pass, Jackknife Pass, Casket Pass, Forget-Me-Not Pass, Fetherstonhaugh Pass and Morkill Pass). Rock Lake staging area allows easy access to north of Jasper park through Willow Creek trail. The 14 km trail joins the north boundary trail at about 49 km (from snake Indian River staging).

References

External links

Photographs of Willmore Wilderness Park

Willmore Wilderness Foundation
{{Authority control Parks in Alberta Parks in the Canadian Rockies