Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park

Alberta Provincial Park On The Third Largest Lake In The Province, Home Of The Boreal Centre For Bird Conservation And The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, On One Of North America'S Great Migratory Funnels · Slave Lake, Alberta

Northern Alberta is largely boreal forest and muskeg, and the map of it is close to empty. Lesser Slave Lake is the exception: the third-largest lake in the province, a hundred kilometres long, with a genuine sand beach on its eastern shore and a provincial park around it. THE REASON IT MATTERS BEYOND ALBERTA IS THE BIRDS. The lake sits across one of the great migratory funnels of North America - boreal songbirds heading north in spring are squeezed along the shoreline, and on a good morning in May the woods hold warblers in numbers that people travel across the continent for. The BOREAL CENTRE FOR BIRD CONSERVATION, opened in 2005, and the bird observatory that bands here have made this one of the better-known migration stations in Canada. Behind the beach, MARTEN MOUNTAIN rises above the lake with a viewpoint and a set of falls, and in winter the whole park is quiet in a way few accessible places manage.

Highway 88, north of Slave Lake, northern Alberta, Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada

THE PARK IS OPEN YEAR-ROUND and there is no gate fee for day use, though CAMPING IS CHARGED and reservable through Alberta Parks. FACILITIES ARE SEASONAL: the campgrounds, beach services and maintained washrooms run roughly MID-MAY TO EARLY SEPTEMBER. THE BOREAL CENTRE FOR BIRD CONSERVATION keeps its own hours, generally daily through the summer and reduced in the shoulder seasons - confirm before travelling. THE BIRD OBSERVATORY BANDS IN SPRING AND AUTUMN MIGRATION and visitors can often watch, but it operates early in the morning and on its own schedule. SPRING MIGRATION PEAKS IN MAY and that is the single best reason to come. Highway 88 and the access roads are paved and maintained year-round; the town of Slave Lake is minutes away with full services.

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