Wood Buffalo National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada’s largest national park, and one of the largest parks in the world. This remote wilderness area straddles the Alberta - Northwest Territories border, protecting a stunning example of Canada’s northern boreal plains. The park’s vast mosaic of boreal forest and muskeg is home to bears, wolves and moose, as well as the free-roaming bison herds for which the park is named.

Wood Buffalo encompasses karst topography, unique Salt Plains, and one of the largest inland freshwater deltas in the world. These natural features, together with the free-roaming bison herds, and the only remaining nesting ground of the endangered whooping crane, led to the park being named a World Heritage Site in 1983.

Wood Buffalo protects two wetland areas of international significance — the Peace-Athabasca Delta and the whooping crane nesting area. These areas were designated Ramsar sites in 1982, providingf critical habitat for migratory birds.

The park offers a variety of visitor experiences — from short strolls on secluded forested trails, to rugged backcountry canoe trips on wide, meandering rivers. Day use areas offer picnicking and hiking and there's a campground at Pine Lake.

Aboriginal people have inhabited the Wood Buffalo region for more than 8000 years. Subsistence hunting, fishing and trapping still occur in Wood Buffalo National Park, and commercial trapping continues as a legacy of the fur trade.

The park and its visitor reception centre are open year-round with all-weather road access via Fort Smith. Some park interpretive programs are available.

Contact:
Wood Buffalo National Park
Box 750
Fort Smith, NT Canada X0E 0P0
Phone: (867) 872-7960