A well-liked provincial park situated south of Edmonton is set for a significant expansion as part of Alberta’s initiative to introduce 900 additional campsites in the coming decade. Alberta Parks has recently finalized plans for one of its initial major expansions, which will see the addition of 50 sites to Pigeon Lake Provincial Park. The design phase is currently in progress, with construction scheduled for completion by fall 2027.
Jodi Reade, the senior manager for project management and delivery at Alberta Parks, highlighted the park’s popularity, ranking it among the top five campgrounds in the province during the recent camping season. The aim is to strategically place these new campsites for optimal utilization. Pigeon Lake currently offers 250 campsites, with slightly over half equipped with electrical hook-ups for RVs. However, the existing capacity falls short of meeting the demand, prompting the inclusion of power connections for all new campsites.
Meagan Lacoste, the visitor experience team lead for the David Thompson management area of Alberta Parks, emphasized how the additional campsites will help alleviate overcrowding issues during peak weekends. The new sites at Pigeon Lake will be situated within the park’s current boundaries in a wooded area with existing pathways.
The surge in Alberta’s population is the driving force behind campground expansions and renovations across the province. Pigeon Lake Provincial Park has been a fixture since the late 1960s, alongside several other parks and provincial recreation areas established in subsequent decades.
Under the guidance of Todd Loewen, Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks, the province aims to complete the 900 campsites, comprising both new developments and upgrades, by 2033. The government plans to engage stakeholders in potential expansions at three provincial parks and two provincial recreation areas, including Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Castle Provincial Park, Fish Lake Provincial Recreation Area, and Waterton Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area.
Loewen stressed that the expansion efforts are not exclusive to popular or mountainous areas but are intended to offer camping opportunities throughout the province. Reade affirmed that Alberta Parks is on target to achieve its goal of establishing 300 new sites by 2028, with most projects following a three-year timeline from planning to construction.