{"id":816263,"date":"2026-07-21T11:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816263\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:42:45","slug":"this-stunning-park-near-edmonton-is-a-critical-wildlife-habitat-daily-hive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816263\/","title":{"rendered":"This stunning park near Edmonton is a critical wildlife habitat | Daily Hive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just northwest of Edmonton, past the last rows of houses and big-box stores, is an incredible natural oasis that is considered one of Alberta\u2019s most important wildlife habitats.<\/p>\n

Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park spans more than 1,100 hectares of wetlands, walking trails, and some pretty unreal bird watching. It surrounds Big Lake, which, as the name suggests, is a rather large feature of the park. It\u2019s one of the most accessible places in the capital region to unwind and reconnect with nature.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name?<\/p>\n

The area was designated a provincial park on Earth Day in 2005, Alberta\u2019s centennial year, and named after the late Lois Hole, Alberta\u2019s beloved Lieutenant Governor and a champion of education, community, and, fittingly, the province\u2019s green spaces.<\/p>\n

Hole, who served from 2000 until her death in December 2005, was known as the \u201cQueen of Hugs,\u201d often breaking protocol to embrace pretty much anybody she met. She and her family also owned Hole\u2019s Greenhouses & Gardens in St. Albert, founded in 1952. Nearly 30 years later, it grew into one of Canada\u2019s largest independent garden centres before being rebranded as Enjoy Garden Centre<\/a>, under new ownership, located just minutes from the park.<\/p>\n

What you\u2019ll find in the park<\/p>\n

Well, Big Lake, for one. The shallow, 8 km lake makes up nearly 60 per cent of the park\u2019s area and is considered one of the 20 most important wildlife habitat areas in Alberta. More than 235 bird species have been recorded here, including Trumpeter Swans, Peregrine Falcons, owls, Bald Eagles, and massive fall gatherings of Tundra Swans and pelicans, where as many as 20,000 birds can stop here at once.<\/p>\n

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Amy Lutz\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The lake is also home to one of only three bird-foot deltas in Alberta. According to National Geographic<\/a>, a bird-foot delta has a few widely spaced distributaries, giving it the appearance of a bird\u2019s foot. The Mississippi River is one of the world\u2019s best-known examples.<\/p>\n

A network of trails connects from Rotary Park in Riel Recreation Park, winding along the Red Willow Trail System toward the lake and wetlands. There\u2019s also a wheelchair-accessible viewing platform, rebuilt in 2020<\/a> with helical piles, new decking, and a second set of binoculars.<\/p>\n

The surrounding wetlands are home to moose, deer, beaver, coyotes, and the occasional porcupine, while the lake itself is home to northern pike, walleye, goldeye, and white sucker.<\/p>\n

How to get there<\/p>\n

Access to the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park<\/a> parking lot is available at the intersection of Ray Gibbon Drive and LeClair Way.<\/p>\n

Parking is also available at Rotary Park in Riel Recreation Park, where you can walk or bike along the Red Willow Trail System to the lake and wetlands.<\/p>\n

What to bring<\/p>\n

It is a wetland, so bug spray is a must if you want to stay comfortable. A good pair of walking shoes is always a good idea, although the boardwalks and trails are mostly flat. Don\u2019t forget water to stay hydrated on a hot summer day and some sunscreen if you\u2019ll be out for a while.<\/p>\n

Have fun exploring!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just northwest of Edmonton, past the last rows of houses and big-box stores, is an incredible natural oasis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-816263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}