Initial portion of Castle Mountain upgrades now complete
CALGARY – The first portion of a four-year plan to improve recreation opportunities in the Castle parks region is now complete.
The list of new amenities includes 184 refurbished campsites, an improved day-use area at Butcher’s Lake and there is also a board walk and fishing platform at Bathing lake to accommodate those with limited mobility.
Environment Minister Shannon Phillips says that in August, four new comfort cabins will be installed at the Beaver Mines Lake campground.
“Those comfort cabins mean that many people of all backgrounds can book them and we see that people with limited mobility, or elderly people, really prefer those comfort cabins and I’m pleased that we’re able to offer that service at Beaver mines.”
Other projects underway include new day-use shelters and rustic camping sites that can be used by RV owners.
In March, the provincial government announced it was investing $20 million in the Castle Provincial Park area for a new paved highway and new water lines.
As part of the funding, $6 million will go to pave an 11-km section of Highway 774 from Beaver Mines to the Castle Mountain Resort. Another $9 million will go towards building a water line that ties Castle Mountain Resort to the Hamlet of Beaver Mines, and $4.7 million will go towards building another water line from Beaver Mines to the Village of Cowley.
However, Phillips has previously said the actual construction will take some time.
“The road piece, a lot of the design and planning work will happen this summer, and the paving itself will happen next summer. So, summer of ’18. On the water lines, there’s a lot of different pieces happening there. It’s a work in progress.”
Phillips says new engineering work has to be completed and there needs to still be a number of “conversations” between the MD of Pincher Creek, the Village of Cowley, and Alberta Transportation – which is responsible for water transportation infrastructure.
Brian Hammond, Reeve of the Municipal District of Pincher Creek, says the road paving project in particular is a long time coming.
“We’ve made numerous attempts to get the government to fund that paving. We have continuous pressure from our constituents and people who are at the ski resort. It’s a road that’s needed to be paved for a long time.”
Castle Mountain Resort General Manager Brad Brush expected the upgrades to encourage tourism.
“It will provide safe and consistent access for many, many visitors,” explains Brush. “Their experience on this route will also create lasting memories… I drive that road every day and it is truly an amazing drive. It will be so much better when it is paved all the way.”
Phillips added that when the water lines are completed, it will bring clean drinking water to the resort and to Castle Provincial Park, and the 100 or so people living in Beaver Mines won’t have to have water trucked in anymore.
Early in 2017, the province announced the establishment of the Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park, to protect 103,000-hectares of prime habitat on the eastern slopes.
The changes and the upgrades in the park have not come without controversy. When the province announced creation of two new parks in the Castle wilderness, it also confirmed the gradual phase out off-highway vehicle use there.
Off-highway users who were angry by the move, insist a plan can be worked out to allow motorized use while protecting the environment.
