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By Sarah Jones

Kananaskis Country imposes new annual fee for visitors

Apr 27, 2021 | 3:26 PM

KANANASKIS COUNTRY, AB– From hiking and biking to camping, skiing, and golfing, Kananaskis hosts endless opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors.

The Alberta Government has announced this afternoon that 11.5 million dollars will be invested into the conservation of the land. This money will be used for new amenities, facilities, trails, day-use areas, and the grooming of backcountry skiing.

Albertans wanting to head out to Kananaskis this summer will be needing a vehicle pass to do so. Starting June 1, 2021 visitors will have to pay 15 dollars a day or pay a 90 dollar annual fee for the entire year to enter the park.

MLA for the Banff and Kananaskis area, Miranda Rosin announced that the Kananaskis Conservation Pass is great news for the community.

“100 per cent of proceeds from this conservation pass will be directly invested into the region to hire new armed conservation officers for the area, re-open our visitation centre’s because we all know how difficult it is to try and find your trailhead without cell service. Expanding the protected landmass of Kananaskis region, and investing millions into other critical infrastructure for the region.”

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Kananaskis Country is located just west of Calgary and was flooded with visitors in the past year, with over five million people flocking to enjoy the area.

K-Country ended up beating Banff in visitation by one million people last year.

As much as the increased visitation has been welcomed it has led to an increase in traffic jams, illegal parking, strain on infrastructure capacity, and more emergency calls than Banff, Jasper, Waterton, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks combined.

Public safety teams in Kananaskis responded to 428 calls for help in 2020, a 51 per cent increase in one year.

Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon, says that the increase in visitation has put a strain on facilities, services, and resources that are needed to maintain K-Country.

“We’re fast approaching another extremely busy summer recreation season, and action is needed now to make sure we can keep Kananaskis beautiful and safe, now and into the future.” Nixon went on to say “The conservation pass will help manage visitor demand and support investments in Kananaskis that ensure this world-class mountain destination remains beautiful, accessible and protected for generations to come.”

Anticipated revenue from the pass is estimated to create $15 million annually.

The pass will be available at alberta.ca/ConservationPass and at Kananaskis visitor information centres during operating hours.