Looking for a place to enjoy the great outdoors without the crowd? This stunning Alberta park is nestled away in the Rockies and offers everything you could want in an alpine escape.
Compared to some of Alberta’s notable spots like Peter Lougheed or Dinosaur Provincial Park, William A. Switzer Provincial Park makes for a quieter retreat. But don’t worry, it still delivers. From stunning vistas to gorgeous lakes and more hiking trails than you could ever hope to conquer — not that it’ll stop you from trying!
Here’s everything you should know before visiting this hidden gem in the Rockies.
What To Do
William A. Switzer Provincial Park is a fantastic, uncrowded alternative to other Rocky Mountain parks in Alberta. The landscape at Switzer Park is diverse, with foothills, meadows, and wetlands alongside stunning vistas of the Rockies.
The park is also home to five lakes: Blue Lake, Cache Lake, Graveyard Lake, Gregg Lake, and Jarvis Lake.
Throughout the park, you’ll find over 65 km of trails for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. There’s also plenty of wildlife (stay alert out there!) along with summer interpretative programs and year-round camping at several different campgrounds.
Popular Trails
Athabasca Lookout Trail
This trail has the reputation for being one of the most spectacular day hikes in the Northern Rockies.
Distance: 10.6 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Beaver Ranch Trail
This trail ends in a viewpoint that showcases the surrounding wetlands.
Distance: 1.6 km
Difficulty: Easy
Blue Lake Trail
Explore the eskers, kettles and Jarvis Creek wetlands between Blue and Cache Lakes.
Distance: 2.7 km
Difficulty: Easy
Gregg Lake Trail
This hilly 2.5 km trail passes moose, elk, and deer territory and takes you through mixed forest from Gregg Lake Day Use Area to Gregg Lake Campground.
Distance: 2.5 km
Difficulty: Easy
Jarvis Lake Trail
Wander along meandering streams, meadows, aspen, and spruce groves. There are 13.5 km of connecting trails, including Meadow Run, Sunburst, Rolling and Jarvis Lake, so choose your adventure!
Distance: 2.5 to 13.5 km
Difficulty: Easy
Camping Spots
William A. Switzer Provincial Park has five campgrounds along the five aforementioned lakes, surrounded by tall forests of pine, spruce, and aspen. The park is open year-round with activities ranging from relaxing on the beach, paddle boarding on the lakes, canoeing Jarvis Creek, water skiing, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
During the summer months, you can check out the visitor centre for maps, brochures, and exhibits on the region, as well as a gift shop. Make sure to keep an eye out whenever you’re exploring, as Switzer Park is home to ample wildlife, including grizzly and black bears, wolves, cougars, moose, beavers, deer, eagles, and loons.
The campgrounds range from rustic secluded sites to power hookups, showers, and flush toilets.
Gregg Lake
This is the largest campground with 163 sites, ranging from powered to basic. Amenities include a campground booth, firewood sales, a playground, an amphitheatre, potable water, showers, a dumping station, and a boat launch.
Jarvis Lake Campground
This campground offers 25 powered sites located on popular Jarvis Lake, along with a small beach, playground, vault toilets, dock and hand launch. You can get to the beach and large day-use area from the campground by a hiking trail.
Cache Campground
Here, you’ll find 14 rustic forested sites with tent pads, pump water (not treated), a camp shelter with a wood stove, vault toilets and a playground.
The Halfway and Graveyard campgrounds are first come, first served campgrounds and offer 12 rustic campsites in a small meadow near Kettle Lakes and Jarvis Creek.
Getting There
William A. Switzer Provincial Park is roughly 1 hour from Jasper on Highway 40.
Regardless of whether you’re coming from Calgary or Edmonton, it’s a journey that might require a few stops. But trust us when we say the views along the way are totally worth it.
As always, make sure you check the Alberta Parks website before setting out for the most up-to-date conditions and advisories.
The world is your playground, have fun out there!
Distance from Edmonton: 307 km
Distance from Calgary: 497 km
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