High Prairie is the hub to 26,957 hectares of park and protected natural assets that offer a variety of outdoor activities for locals and visitors alike.
ACTIVITIES FOR LAND-LOVERS:
Cycling, Hiking, Cross Country Skiing, Snowshoeing, Birding, Camping, Mountain Biking, Hunting, OHV Riding, Horseback Riding, Golfing.
ACTIVITIES FOR LAKE-LOVERS:
Swimming, Fishing & Ice Fishing, Sailing, Canoeing/Kayaking, Power Boating, Water Skiing, Wind Surfing, Paddle Boarding.
Recreation Facilities
- Enilda Bowling Alley
- 1-780-523-4211
- 1-780-523-4211
- · Ec Bar Ranch Adventures Inc.
- 1-780-523-0242
- High Prairie Regional Aquatic Centre
- 1-780-523-4224
- Sports Palace/ Gordon Buchanan Centre
- 2 indoor arenas, curling rink & a state of the art Performing Arts Auditorium
- 1-780-523-4044
Golf Courses
- Swan Hills Golf & Country Club
- 1-780-333-4539
- 1-780-333-4539
- High Prairie & District Golf Club
- 1-780-523-2696
NOTABLE PARKS & NATURAL ASSETS:
Lesser Slave Lake & Wildland:
Lesser Slave Lake is the third largest lake in Alberta, covering 1,160km2 and measuring over 100km long and 15km at its widest point. The Lesser Slave Lake Wildland, located on the north shore of Lesser Slave Lake, contains important fish spawning and rearing habitat, key waterfowl staging and production areas, moose habitat and critical moose winter range, as well as bald eagle and osprey nesting areas.
Grouard-Peace River Trail:
Connecting the western end of Lesser Slave Lake to the Peace River, the Grouard-Peace River Trail was originally used by Aboriginal peoples and later became well-trodden with missionaries, gold-seekers, traders, and homesteaders. The trail is currently rebuilt around Hilliard's Bay Provincial Park through to Police Point Natural Area with extensions east and northwest planned.
Winagami Lake Provincial Park & Wildland:
Winagami Lake is a provincial park and wildland located approximately 30km northwest of High Prairie.
Hilliard’s Bay Provincial Park:
Hilliard’s Bay is a provincial park located 40km from High Prairie, on the northwest shore of Lesser Slave Lake.
Trails
- Grouard Peace River Trail
- Website - http://www.albertatrailnet.com/
- The Golden Triangle Snowmobile Trail
- Website - https://thegoldentriangle.ca/
- Winagami Lake Provincial Park Trail
Park & Natural Assets | Area (Ha) |
Lesser Slave Lake Wildland | 3,581 |
Grouard- Peace River Trail | 3,397 |
Winagami Lake PP & Wildland | 17,655 |
Total | 26,957 |
Source: Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, 2013 |
MARINAS AND BOAT LAUNCHES:
Boasting Alberta’s largest inland marina and many other marinas, Big Lakes County is a freshwater playground. Marinas are located along Lesser Slave Lake, Winagami, and Snipe Lake.
- Bay Shore Resort – 1 launch/40 slip marina
- Reel In Resort – 1 boat launch
- Cattail Cabins & RV Park – 1 launch/30 slip marina
- Shadow Creek Resort – 400 boat slips
- Hill & Hollow Campground – 1 launch/35 slip marina
- Shaw’s Point Park – 5 launchs/75 slip 2 marina
- Hilliard’s Bay Provincial Park – 1 boat launch
- Snipe Lake Southshore Resort – 1 boat launch
- Ladyhawk Cabins – 1 launch/35 slip marina
- Spruce Point Park – 1 launch/100 stall marina
- Lakeshore Campground – 1 launch/35 slip marina
- Winagami Lake Provincial Park – 1 boat launch
Resorts and campgrounds located in Big Lakes County:
- Bayshore Resort (Faust)
- Cattail Cabins and RV Park (Faust)
- Elks RV Parks (High Prairie)
- Hill & Hollow Campground
- Hilliard’s Bay Provincial Park
- Ladyhawk Cabins
- Lakeshore Campground (Joussard)
- Reel In Resort
- Shadow Creek Resort (Joussard)
- Shaw’s Point Resort
- Snipe Lake RV Resort
- Spruce Point Park Campground and Marina (Kinuso)
- Strawberry Fields Campground
- Wheel Inn RV (Enilda)
- White Sands Campground (Joussard)
- Winagami Lake Provincial Park
Hotels, B&B, and Air BnB
Hotels are located in towns of High Prairie and Swan Hills, and in the hamlet of Kinuso. There is also a B & B in the hamlet of Joussard, along Lesser Slave Lake.
Town of High Prairie Hotels/Motels
- Days Inn
- 1-780-523-5450
- Peavine Inn & Suites
- 1-780-523-2398
- Raven Motor Inn
- 1-780-523-3350
- Royal Star Motor Inn
- 1-780-523-5011
- Key Inn Motel
- 1-780-523-4581
- Town of Swan Hills Hotels/Motels
- 1-780-775-3562
- Joussard B&B
- Sunstone Inn Bed and Breakfast
- The Sunstone Inn Bed and Breakfast is located in the rural Hamlet of Joussard. This serene and open view overlooking Lesser Slave Lake makes this B&B the perfect Lakeshore Gathering Place! With 6 individual suites, you are sure to find your place of comfort and relaxation. Sunstone Inn offers a large open concept common areas both inside and out.
- Website https://www.sunstoneinn.com/
- 1-780-523-8858
- sunstonebb@gmail.com sunstonebb@gmail.com
- Kinuso Hotel
- Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/KinusoHotel/
- 1-780-775-3562
Buy Your Own Lot or Cabin
Contact a real estate agent and make that dream come true! There are many options along our lakes to meet your desired lifestyle.
- Royal LePage PVR Realty Inc
5004 53 Ave, High Prairie
1-780-523-4001
- Century 21 Sunnyside Realty
4901 52 Ave, High Prairie
1-780-536-0021
- Re Max High Prairie Realty
5119 48 St, High Prairie
1-780-523-4488
1-833-477-6687
Arts & Culture
Grouard Native Cultural Arts Museum:
The Native Cultural Arts Museum provides learning experiences to the public by respectfully portraying the history, cultures, and languages of northern Alberta. The Museum’s collection celebrates various aspects of Aboriginal cultures, with a special focus on Métis peoples and the Woodland Cree of northern Alberta. The Museum’s historical and contemporary collections serve to educate the public by depicting Aboriginal lifestyles through exhibits of art, music, hunting, regalia, clothing, and more.
High Prairie & District Museum:
The High Prairie and District Museum is located in the town of High Prairie as the Gateway to the Peace. The Museum's exhibits tell the history of the Town and Big Lakes County; from pre-contact, with exhibits of locally collected stone tools and fossils, to current community themes.
Kinosayo Museum:
The Kinosayo Museum, provides visitors with an inviting glimpse into what life was like in the days of pioneerism and allows visitors to experience the beauty of Northern Alberta’s wildlife with one of the most developed wildlife exhibits in Alberta.
Pioneer Threshermans Association:
Pioneer Threshermans is located 15km east of High Prairie in the Triangle District within Big Lakes County. The museum has a large collection of agricultural machinery (tractors, combines, balers, and threshers) and historic buildings (sawmill, blacksmith shop, log house, church and flour mill).
Museums
Kinuso Museum
Website - https://www.kinosayomuseum.ca/
Pioneer Thresherman’s Museum
Website - https://www.trianglehall.com/museum-grounds/
Native Cultural Arts Museum
Website - https://www.northernlakescollege.ca/about-us/native-cultural-arts-museum
Activities For Culture-Lovers
- Zabava Celebration (High Prairie Ukrainian Cultural Society) – March
- High Prairie Traditional Pow Wow – May
- Aboriginal Day (High Prairie Native Friendship) – June 21st
- Driftpile Cree Nation Pow Wow – June
- Driftpile Astral Harvest – June
Featured Events
March
- Swancicle Days Swan Hills
- Joussard Ice Fishing Derby
April
- Gun & Sportsman Show (High Prairie Fish & Game Association)
- Spring Amateur Rodeo (High Prairie Agricultural Society)
May
- High Prairie Traditional Pow Wow
June
- Pioneer Thresherman’s Demolition Derby & Mud Bog Racing
- North Country Fair
- Swan River Annual Rodeo
- East Prairie Métis Settlement Quad Rally
- Winagami Lake Children’s Fishing Derby
- Driftpile Pow Wow
July
- Pioneer Thresherman’s Canada Day Celebration
- Pioneer Thresherman’s Annual Hoedown Jamboree
- August
- High Prairie Elks Pro Rodeo
- Spruce Point Park Bash’n at the Beach Demolition Derby
September
- Golden Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament at Shaw’s Point Resort
- High Prairie Tradeshow
November
- High Prairies & District Children’s Resource Council Auction
- December
- Christmas Santa Claus Parade & Light Up in High Prairie and Swan Hills
Health Care
The High Prairie Health Complex:
The High Prairie Health Complex is a state-of-the-art health facility located in the town of High Prairie that brings the majority of health services for the town and surrounding area under one roof. The facility opened its doors to the public in April 2017 after eight years of work and a construction budget of $228-million. Located at 4620 53 Ave, High Prairie AB T0G 1E0, phone 780-523-6440.
The facility includes:
- an emergency department;
- an acute care clinical building;
- a continuing care centre;
- a community health and wellness clinic;
With 67 continuing care beds, the new facility nearly doubles the number of continuing care spaces in the community and creates approximately 16 new fulltime health care positions. The new centre also includes space to develop a labour and delivery unit, surgical services, and a dialysis unit.
Contact Information:
Big Lakes County Administration Office
Box 239, 5305-56 Street
HIgh Prairie, AB T0G 1E0
Phone: 780-523-5955
Fax: 780-523-4227
Email: biglakes@biglakescounty.ca
Town of High Prairie Administration Office
Box 179, 4806-53 Avenue
High Prairie, AB T0G 1E0
Phone: 780-523-3388
Fax: 780-523-5930
Email: Reception@Highprairie.ca
Location & Transportation:
Big Lakes County is a transportation corridor between the north and the south. It’s located in North Central Alberta in Census Division 17 around Lesser Slave Lake. It is a major gateway to northern communities in the province, the territories, and the Peace Oil Sands. Below are the major transportation services and routes located in the County.
Roads:
Primary highways #2 and #33, which run directly through Big Lakes County, are trade routes that connect major cities the north to central Alberta and beyond. In addition, the county is served by secondary highways #679, #747, #749 (access to High Prairie Airport), and #750 (access to Grouard, Gift Lake, and Highway 88). Big Lakes County also has access to the south-east portion of the Peace Oil Sands through the Seal Lake Road connector.
Rail:
Canadian National Railway (CN) has a main line that travels through Big Lakes County, parallel to Highway 2. There are CN stations in the Big Lakes communities of: Kinuso, Faust, Driftpile, Joussard, Enilda, and High Prairie.
Air:
There are two airports in Big Lakes County – High Prairie Airport and Swan Hills Airport.
The High Prairie Airport is approximately 5 kilometres south of the town of High Prairie on Highway #749. It is approximately 320 acres of land with an all-weather asphalt runway that measures 3933 feet long by 75 feet wide. It is capable of handling light aircraft including helicopters and small jets. The airport is mostly used by private planes flown by residents of the county and neighbouring towns, by waterbombers for wildfires, and by crop dusting aircrafts for applying pesticides to farms.
In terms of amenities, the High Prairie airport has a recently renovated terminal building as well as a new fueling station that supplies Jet A fuel and 100-low lead fuel.
The Swan Hills Airport is approximately 1km south of the town of Swan Hills on Highway #33. The airport is 442 acres of land with an all-weather asphalt runway that is 4500 feet long by 100 feet wide. It is capable of handling light aircraft including helicopters and small jets.
Additional Resources:
Additional Resources such as businesses that have signed up for the business directory can be found by visiting the following link:
https://www.gobiglakes.ca/business-resources-and-directory/business-directory