Castle parks to get a 'thrilling' new adventure
 

Yep, we are getting a $700K+ boost to the castle with three new beautiful huts. One more step in the utopian regulation of the Castle area.

I would venture to guess that if you don't book at those cabins, you won't be random back-country camping anywhere near them either!




https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?x...F1D995ACB531AC

Castle parks to get a thrilling new adventure
Alberta Parks is developing a world-class, backcountry hut-to-hut system in Castle Wildland Provincial Park in partnership with the Alpine Club of Canada.

Castle Wildland Provincial Park
Artist's rendering of a backcountry hut in Castle Wildland Provincial Park.

This investment is part of the Government of Alberta’s ongoing commitment to diversify and modernize Alberta’s provincial parks system. Total funding for the project is $700,000 over two years.

“Albertans love parks. Camping allows us to spend quality time with our families while also reconnecting with nature. These backcountry huts will expand the recreation opportunities available in the Castle region, attract new visitors and meet the growing demand for backcountry experiences in Alberta. We’re so pleased to be able to partner with the Alpine Club of Canada to bring this thrilling backcountry experience to the Castle area.”

Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) runs the largest network of backcountry huts in North America and has the required expertise to manage the hut system in Castle Wildland Provincial Park. The ACC will be responsible for the operations, maintenance and administration of the backcountry huts.

“The Alpine Club of Canada is excited to partner with the province of Alberta in bringing affordable backcountry accommodation to the public. This new recreational offering in Castle Wildland Provincial Park will be a draw for many Canadians who wish to experience the best of what Alberta’s natural landscape provides.”

Lawrence White, executive director, Alpine Club of Canada
The backcountry huts system will be comprised of three modern, sustainable huts in key locations – two in the south Castle area and one near Bovin Lake. Outhouse facilities will also be constructed at the sites.

One of the huts will be designed, constructed and located to be as fully accessible as possible for users with limited mobility, helping further break down barriers to parks access.

It will be the first accessible backcountry hut in Alberta’s provincial parks.

Construction and installation of the first backcountry hut will begin this spring, with a target opening date of fall 2018.

Quick facts
The 103,000-hectare Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park were established in January 2017.
More than $20 million in funding over four years has been designated for access routes, inclusion projects, camping, signage, picnic areas and hiking trails in the Castle parks.
Over 180 refurbished campsites opened in July 2017.
Amenities include improved and expanded campsites, an improved day-use area at Butcher’s Lake and four new comfort cabins at Beaver Mines Lake.
Other projects include new day-use shelters, an equestrian staging area, enlarged and improved staging areas at Syncline and Carbondale and improvements to Table Mountain Trail, Grizzly Trail and Barnaby Lakes Trail.

If you look at the photos for PARKS official flicker account, there's not one photo of hunting in the Castle. Plenty of other uses though!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/albert...46474111/page1

Even see a few dogs off leash! Oh the horror!!

Thanks this is what I was asking about back in March.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=341801

I want to book it for Sep, Oct, Nov and provide free camping for all who want to use for hunting, up to the person limit per day.

That would be awesome! :sHa_shakeshout:

I smell a firearms ban. After all we can't have you guys carrying guns and scaring the crap out of the weenies

I'm a little confused, I don't see the damage the ATV crowd has done in these pictures :confused:

I work with a woman who rides her horses in the backcountry. She was telling me how scary it was the time she saw 2 men walking around with rifles. I asked why it was scary. She said she didn't know what they were doing. I asked if they were shooting at all. She said no, but it was still scary, who knows what they were doing? She couldn't clarify why it was scary. Just seeing guns was enough I guess.

We were once hunting on moose mountain. Some hikers walked by on the trail. This was in the 80s. They looked at us as if we were weird hunting on their trail. I thought they were weird dressed as they were in October with snow on the ground, especially the guy wearing golf shoes, spikes and all. Weird.

Does anyone know how many people per day these $700 000 huts will accommodate? Seems like a giant waste of money that will benefit a few yuppy tourists, and getting a booking will be like winning the 649.

They vary in size. Probably a dozen or so each.

https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/we...Huts/Home.aspx

Renderings here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/albert...57665835619317


Keep in mind that they are very close partners with Y2Y. I can have my huts to leave no trace, but you can't hunt or access the area with anything but self propelled methods.

https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/we...c-f5a6da12192c

"We affirm the intrinsic value of mountain regions and mountain sports to the human spirit. We advocate for self-propelled, low impact public access to wilderness areas and climbing locations when such access can be maintained without undue degradation of the alpine environment.

We strongly believe that access is best achieved through respectful collaboration and open dialogue. Through our 22 sections located across the country, we work in close collaboration with government, private landowners, and other user groups to develop access management plans and agreements that ensure responsible use of climbing and backcountry areas by our members. We ask all our members to set an example by respecting access agreements and by leaving no trace."

One fishing

People should submit hunting and fishing photos.

Announced at MEC in Calgary. Go figure.

Those Alpine Club huts target serious hikers and mountain climbers. Pretty Elitist stuff to most of us.

Grizz

Have looked for sheep many times in the Castle drainage. Hunted on the BC side.
Urbanization of wild places in Alberta and here in BC.

Cool

Room for an improved meat pole outside?

Amusing seeing the bikes going across the atv bridge. I wonder if the Quad Squad built that one :thinking-006:

Well be glad they showed someone using the bridge and not the the eroded creek crossing just a few yards to the left of that picture.

There is a pic of a snowmobile in there, whoops!

Love how they call all their properties "huts"

Some of those "huts" are full blown hotels. :thinking-006:

I'm curious as to which of the huts would be considered "full blown hotels"? Most are a pretty inexpensive way to stay in the back country if one can hike a few kilometers. I've been to some of the huts with new hikers and kids under the age of five. Others do take a bit more mountain knowledge and are situated on glacial terrain.

A great skinning shack too, a place to dry out and get a hot meal:sHa_shakeshout:

The lady riding horses was shocked when see saw couple hunters with guns in Castle. See would be alot more shocked if she had a major encounter with bear and no one was around to properly dispose of the threat.

The way our country is going we are going to be easy pickings for a country that wants to overrun us. If it happens in Europe it can happen here

Yes, Albertans love parks.

And the Alberta government loves finding ways to monetize them.

Can you post that picture since you’re so familiar with that exact location

X2. Lots around that you can access fairly easy and most I’ve seen are just platforms to put a sleeping bag on. Nothing special. A really good one in BC is Top of the World Provincial Park. About 3kms of easy hiking and a nice cabin for kids and such to sleep in. Some nice fishing too.

They do this throughout NZ. Walked into a cabin off the Hollyford Track and a guy was butchering a piece of tenderloin. Animal was hung outside but didn’t see it on the way in. Tasted terrific after a 14km hike in the rain. I’m sure a lot would love this.

What is the most efficient way to destroy a wilderness area?

Allow Alberta Parks to manage it.

Anyone remember Writing On Stone before Alberta Parks seized it?

That would be great. I can just imagine PARKS response though. They'd say it attracts bears or something like that.

No, unfortunately I was never there. What did they end up doing?

Before Alberta Parks expropriated the land.

Hoodoos were plentiful and intact, no graffiti on the petroglyphs.
Brush and grasses were strong. Very few people ever visited.
All the critters were prospering.

Now, the Hoodoos are all but destroyed, the petroglyphs have been placed behind a 12' steel cage. Human made paths everywhere have eliminated the plants. Snakes and lizards and frogs are gone, just the occasional deer or racoon now. People out the wazoo....

Want to destroy Nature, turn it into a Park.

Lady on the horse would be really confused with me. I carry a gun on my horse. I can see her now "he's on a horse so he's not scary, no wait he has a gun so he is scary" Oh I'm so confused, I need a safe place and a latte. :shark: