The Kananaskis region stretches from east of Calgary to the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Nine provincial parks and over 50 recreation, wilderness and natural areas provide outdoor adventures and protected wildlife habitat. At the western edge of the region, farms and ranchlands give way to craggy peaks in the mountain paradise known as Kananaskis Country. Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Kananaskis Country about 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Calgary, along the Kananaskis Trail.
The park is named after Peter Lougheed who served as premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985. The park was originally named Kananaskis Provincial Park. Key people in creating the park were Bill Milne, a Calgary architect and environmentalist and Alberta Highways Minister and area MLA Clarence Copithorne. Legend says Premier Lougheed created the park in 1977 after a single helicopter flight over the area arranged by Milne and Copithorne. The park was dedicated on September 22, 1977. It is one of the largest provincial parks in Alberta, encompassing 304 square kilometres (117 sq mi) around the Kananaskis Lakes. The park provides amenities for camping and fishing along with trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. A variety of wildlife can also be found in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, such as grizzly bears, black bears, elk, deer, moose, bighorn sheep, cougars, lynx, wolves and the occasional mountain goat. Some of the most popular backpacking trips in Kananaskis are found in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The Northover Ridge is a three to four-day backpacking trip, as is the North and South Kananaskis Pass.
