It’s never too early to start planning your next adventure in the Canadian Rockies.  For an untouched gem that provides plenty of activity and beautiful surroundings, look no further than Willmore Wilderness Park.

Depending on when you time your visit, chances are you might not see anyone else during your adventure in the Rocky Mountains.  At more than 4,600 square kilometers (1,840 square miles), there’s plenty of room to explore Willmore Wilderness Park in privacy. In this remote backcountry, motorized vehicles are prohibited, so your tranquility is assured.

Though it wasn’t established as an official wilderness area until 1959, dinosaur tracks found in the park attest to the fact that life existed there 100 million years ago.  More recently, it was home to the Rocky Mountain Cree, and the indigenous people displaced by development in Jasper National Park.

Located just south of Grande Cache and on the border of Jasper National Park, Willmore is a five hour (300 km, 180 mi) drive from Edmonton – taking Highway 16 east to Hinton, and then heading north on Highway 40, with the last stretch a 20-minute easterly trip on a gravel road. 

It’s a 500 km (300 mi) trek from Calgary, taking Highway 1 east to Banff, then Highway 93 north to Jasper, where you’ll head west on Highway 16 until it connects with Highway 40, which goes north to Willmore. The most common access points to the park itself are Rock Lake, Big Berland and Sulphur Gates.

Travel Back In Time

 “Willmore is untouched – it’s a wilderness from back in time 100 years ago,” says Sue Feddema-Leonard, an area outfitter and member of the Willmore Wilderness Preservation and Historical Foundation. Funded entirely by donations, the Foundation helps clear pathways in the park (assisted by the outfitters who clear trails for their horses), in addition to education and preservation work.

Make no bones about it – Willmore is rugged backcountry, so it demands some experience and respect from its guests. 

The weather changes quite frequently, so it’s important to be prepared for conditions to shift during your visit.

“It’s incredibly beautiful, but it can be cruel if you don’t know what you are doing,” Sue says. Just to be safe, experts recommend you register with the local forest office in Hinton or Grande Cache before you embark on your adventure through the Rocky Mountains.

Nature on Parade

What makes Willmore Wilderness Park different from other destinations in the Canadian Rockies?  Its location, for one thing, has left it relatively unspoiled.

You’ll see wildlife at Willmore Wilderness Park that’s hard to find elsewhere.  After all, 20 per cent of the province’s population of big horn sheep and mountain goats call this wilderness park home, in addition to grizzly bears, wolves, cougars and mountain caribou. 

The adventures you can pursue in Willmore are as diverse as you choose to make them. 

Hiking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting and camping are the park’s most popular spring, summer and fall pursuits. In the winter, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are among the many possibilities.

The park has no developed camping facilities, though there are campsites scattered throughout that have been used by hunters, trappers, hikers and campers over the past 50-100 years.  They are regularly reused, which helps minimize damage to the environment.

Guided Adventures in the Canadian Rockies

One of the most popular ways to enjoy this part of the Canadian Rockies is to hire an outfitter who’ll get you where you want to go, safely.

Sue and her husband Bazil Leonard have been providing guiding and outfitting services in the area for more than 45 years with High Country Vacations. The company offers guided trips of the park, stretching from five to 21 days or more, depending on what the client wants.  In addition to seeing incredible scenery and breathtaking Rocky Mountain passes, you’ll get first-hand views of Indian cabins, historic gravesites and gorgeous wildflowers – not to mention the apple pie baked on the woodstove at the end of the day.

There are raft and ride packages, plus opportunities to incorporate hiking, canoeing, fishing and kayaking in your adventure in the Rocky Mountains.  You can even make a helicopter flight part of the tour, if that suits your fancy.
 
Wall tents, heater stoves and foam mattresses help keep clients comfortable, though the experience is like being transported to a different generation.  “It’s like going back in time,” Sue says.  “Everything slows down.”

Celebrate Nature

The Willmore Wilderness Preservation and Historical Foundation offers an annual Mountain Solstice each June for visitors to connect with nature and celebrate the traditions of the past.  This five-day workshop helps people tune into the unique wildlife and fauna in the Canadian Rockies, as well as participating in talking circles, a cleansing sweat, instruction on edible/medicinal plants and yoga workshops.

Companies like Horseback Adventures offer regular trail rides and pack trips in the Willmore area. Taste of Wilderness Tours offers hiking tours of Willmore, from three-hour interpretive nature walks up to week-long backpack trips.  Pacific Western Helicopters can help fulfill your desire to heli-hike, heli-jetboat or heli snowshoe in the Rocky Mountains from their base in Grande Cache.  And Wild Blue Yonder offers rafting adventures in the Smoky River, Sheep River and Sulphur River Canyon. 

Nearby Grande Cache offers reasonably priced accommodation, and plenty of restaurants to choose from. The town is also home to the annual Death Race each August, the 125-kilometre Rocky Mountains extreme racing adventure which draws visitors from across Canada and the United States.

Though June-August is the busiest season, the park is a great destination much of the year. “People use the park in the winter months, but it’s contingent on weather,” Sue says.  Hunting season attracts visitors during September and October. 

“Willmore is one of the only parks left in Northern Alberta where people can still hunt and trap,” Sue adds.  “It’s not over-hunted, because people have to work to get out here.”

Resources

High Country Vacations
Death Race
Willmore Wilderness Park
Willmore Wilderness Preservation and Historic Foundation