Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve is an Alberta Parks ecological reserve in Kananaskis, approximately 56 kilometres west of Nanton in the Livingstone Range of the Rocky Mountains. Alberta Parks lists no developed day-use area count.
The official page says a Kananaskis Conservation Pass is required to park in Kananaskis and the Bow Valley.
Plateau Mountain is a highly sensitive ecological reserve for foot-only backcountry hiking and scientific-style landscape awareness. Alberta Parks says overnight camping and open fires are prohibited in ecological reserves and that there are no facilities on this site.
Access is tightly limited. Public access in the reserve is restricted to foot only. There are no public roads in the reserve, and the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil, with access controlled by a locked gate to prevent vandalism to natural gas facilities and lessen impacts on natural features.
The reserve protects a nearly flat high-elevation plateau with unique features. Alberta Parks notes an internationally recognized ice cave with extremely fragile ice crystals, curls, sheets, and pillars. It also identifies periglacial patterned ground, including active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps, and frost boils.
Plateau Mountain also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep, so visitors should keep travel conservative and low impact.
Plan around foot-only backcountry hiking, ecological reserve awareness, no-fire compliance, ice cave sensitivity, patterned-ground research, bighorn sheep habitat awareness, and map review.
Confirm Conservation Pass requirements, fire bans, foot-only access, no-camping rules, no-road access, maps, weather, wildlife safety, and Alberta Parks updates.
