Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park is an Alberta Parks provincial park in the Central region, adjacent to Edmonton, St. Albert, Sturgeon County, and Parkland County. The official page lists one day-use area.
Alberta Parks says access is north of the Yellowhead Highway, Highway 16.
Lois Hole Centennial protects one of the largest wetlands in Alberta's Central Parkland Natural Subregion. Alberta Parks says the park is internationally recognized as an Important Bird Area because of abundant and diverse bird populations, and that it offers nature-based education and stewardship opportunities within a busy urban landscape.
Big Lake is the dominant feature, making up about 59 percent of the park's total area. The lake is eight kilometres long and three kilometres wide at its widest point. The former Big Lake Natural Area is part of the park, and the site is globally significant for waterfowl and shorebirds.
Activities include birding, wildlife viewing, geocaching, and interpretive hiking. Ducks Unlimited Canada built interpretive boardwalks about the ecological significance of the John E. Poole Wetland along the east shore of Big Lake.
The wildlife viewing platform on the eastern shore at the mouth of the Sturgeon River can be accessed off Riel Drive in St. Albert or from the Red Willow Trail System. Paddlers need extra care: there is no direct water access within the park, and Alberta Parks does not encourage paddling in signed special protection zones or wetlands.
Plan around birding, wildlife viewing, interpretive boardwalks, Big Lake views, the Riel Drive platform, Red Willow Trail access, geocaching, and wetland education.
Confirm fire bans, trail maps, special protection zones, paddling cautions, dog rules, wildlife viewing access, advisories, weather, and Alberta Parks updates.
