How Elk Island National Park is dealing with an influx of visitors this summer

Emily Rae Pasiuk · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 06, 2025 5:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Staff astatine Elk Island National Park, conscionable eastbound of Edmonton, are bracing for different bustling summer, especially after the national authorities introduced the Canada Strong pass.

The pass, which launched past month and ends Sept. 2, includes escaped admittance for each visitors to nationalist historical sites, parks and marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada. It besides includes a 25 per cent discount connected camping fees.

Elk Island saw a batch of visitors this spring, but adjacent much radical person been entering the parkland since the Canada Strong Pass was introduced, said parkland superintendent Dale Kirkland. So finding a equilibrium betwixt information and enjoyment of the parkland is paramount. 

"It's been large that this escaped introduction has enabled radical to ease access into Elk Island and link with the fantastic quality here," Kirkland told CBC News Saturday. 

"But astatine the aforesaid time, we're seeing adjacent a stronger summation successful visitation, which we're having to manage."

A engaged play past twelvemonth led to immoderate collisions that killed respective bison.

The parkland is reporting accrued visitation during the evening and nighttime, bringing an accrued hazard of wildlife collisions and mortality, Kirkland said.

To amended mitigate those issues, parkland unit is proactively closing the gross to the park in the evenings, and limiting the fig of vehicles allowed wrong astatine 1 time.

Despite the restrictions, unit and visitors said the parkland is engaged arsenic ever.

WATCH | How Edmonton's nearest nationalist parkland is handling summer:

Oleksander Koshchieiev, a parkland visitor, said a enactment to get successful had already formed erstwhile helium arrived astatine 10:30 a.m. MT Saturday.

"It [will] promote radical to question locally much … People similar to question determination to Costco, oregon possibly to West Edmonton Mall, [which] is truly unusual erstwhile we person specified a beauteous parkland here," said Koshchieiev, who visits Elk Island each 2 months.

"Why not walk your play during specified bully upwind outside?"

Kirkland said park unit are encouraging locals and tourists to effort to acquisition the parkland during weekdays, arsenic it fills up accelerated during weekends.