… Rocky Mountain history, culture, heritage, culture and traditions
Alberta Rockies Adventures
Experience the Rockies through story, tradition, and the people who live in the mountains .
Alberta Rockies Adventures is a Willmore Wilderness Foundation program that connects visitors with locally rooted experiences in the eastern Canadian Rockies. Explore the landscapes and history surrounding Willmore Wilderness Park with participating guides and outfitters offering horseback travel, backcountry trips, heritage lodging, and other mountain adventures.
Start at the Grande Cache Tourism Centre for local information and help planning your visit. For a place to stay and gather, the Mountain Métis Hide-A-Way Camp near Pierre Grey Lakes offers cabins, a lodge, and a welcoming base for exploring the region.
The Willmore Wilderness Foundation shares the area’s stories through historical research, books, films, and educational programs. Together, local tourism partners invite you to discover the traditions, culture, and wild beauty of Alberta’s eastern slopes.
A Mountain Story
Long before Willmore Wilderness Park had a name, families travelled the mountain trails by canoe, horseback, and on foot. Fur trade workers, Iroquois voyageurs, Métis families, and other Indigenous and mountain families made their lives across the eastern slopes. They hunted, trapped, guided travellers, cared for horses, and carried stories from one generation to the next.
When Jasper National Park was created in 1910, many Métis families were displaced from the Athabasca Valley and moved to Grande Cache and nearby communities. Their descendants remain connected to this region and its mountain traditions.
In the 1950s, local guides, outfitters, and trappers helped persuade Norman Willmore to protect this wilderness from motorized development. The Willmore Wilderness Act was passed in 1959, preserving a place for wild landscapes and traditional ways of life.
Today, the Willmore Wilderness Foundation shares these stories and supports the skills and traditions that keep this mountain history alive.
Photo by Arthur Vietch
A Living Landscape
North of Jasper National Park, Willmore Wilderness Park protects approximately 4,600 square kilometres of rugged forests, alpine meadows, clear rivers, and mountain peaks. Its historic trails lead through a remote landscape shaped by both nature and generations of people.
A Mountain Homeland
The eastern slopes were part of a wider homeland and working landscape for Iroquois, Métis, Indigenous, and other mountain families. From the late 1700s onward, voyageurs, horsemen, packers, hunters, trappers, and guides travelled through the Athabasca, Smoky River, and Grande Cache regions.
Among the families connected to this mountain country were the Wanyandies, Karakunties, Findlays, Loyers, Delormes, and Moberlys. Their journeys and work linked communities, trading routes, and mountain passes across the region that includes today’s Willmore Wilderness Park. The Park’s trails are part of this wider history of travel, family, and life in the mountains.
When Jasper National Park was created in 1910, many Métis families were displaced from the Athabasca Valley and moved to Grande Cache and nearby communities. Their descendants continue to maintain connections to the land and the traditions of the eastern slopes.
Wilderness to Explore
Willmore offers a quieter, more remote experience than many Rocky Mountain destinations. Visitors may see mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, caribou, wolves, bears, and other wildlife. In summer, wildflowers brighten the alpine meadows, while dinosaur tracks near Grande Cache reveal a much older chapter of the region’s story.
Historic routes lead to mountain passes, lakes, and rivers, including Ptarmigan Lake and the Smoky, Wildhay, Sulphur, and Muskeg rivers. Visitors travel by foot, horseback, or bicycle; motorized recreation is not permitted. The terrain is remote and challenging, so backcountry visitors should be experienced, well prepared, or accompanied by a skilled guide or outfitter.
Four main staging areas—Sulphur Gates, Cowlick Creek, Berland River, and Rock Lake—provide access to the Park. Corrals are available at staging areas for horseback travellers.
The Willmore Wilderness Foundation helps keep the Park’s trails, history, and mountain traditions alive through trail work, research, publications, films, and educational programs.
Rocky Mountain Host
Alberta Rockies Adventures connects you with locally owned businesses offering memorable ways to experience Willmore Wilderness Park and the surrounding region. Choose a cozy ranch stay, a horseback ride, a guided pack trip, or an aerial tour of the mountains. Browse our Rocky Mountain Hosts to find the experience that’s right for you. Select a business to learn more and plan your visit.
Black Cat Guest Ranch
Enjoy a welcoming guest ranch stay, with horseback riding and a cozy place to unwind after a day in the Rockies.
Entrance Ranch and Log Cabins
Relax at a peaceful ranch with views of the Rocky Mountain front ranges and the nearby Athabasca River. Walk local trails or explore William A. Switzer Provincial Park, where five small lakes offer opportunities for hiking and canoeing.
Visit Entrance Ranch and Log Cabins ·
Explore William A. Switzer Provincial Park
High Country Vacations Ltd.
Discover backcountry experiences shaped by years of local knowledge. High Country Vacations offers guided adventures, specialty camps, trail clearing, and campsite restoration.
Horseback Adventures Ltd.
Ride into the backcountry on a trail ride or pack trip, or enjoy a horseback cabin vacation with experienced guides.
Indian Trail Adventures
Explore the mountains on a summer pack trip or horseback ride, or ask about resident hunting adventures.
Visit Indian Trail Adventures
Larry’s Riding Stables
Experience the backcountry with a local outfitter offering horseback adventures, guiding, and hunting trips.
Lazy VU Rocky Mountain Pack Trips Ltd.
For more than 30 years, this family-owned business has shared the Rockies through guided horseback adventures and pack trips.
Visit Lazy VU Rocky Mountain Pack Trips
Mountain Métis Hide Away Camp
Stay near Pierre Grey Lakes Recreation Area at this group camp, where history, culture, and outdoor adventure meet. The camp is about 34 kilometres south of Grande Cache and 110 kilometres north of Hinton along Highway 40.
Visit Mountain Métis Hide-A-Way Camp
Sherwood Outfitters
Head into the Rockies for summer pack trips and guided hunting adventures.
Willmore Wilderness Foundation
Connect with the history and traditions of Alberta’s eastern slopes through books, films, horsemanship courses, and wilderness skills training. The Foundation also supports trail restoration, Park stewardship, and responsible tourism.
Visit the Willmore Wilderness Foundation
Find your way into the Rockies
From peaceful stays to horseback journeys and guided wilderness trips, our hosts can help you experience the region’s landscapes, stories, and mountain traditions.
Your Alberta Rockies adventure awaits.
Black Cat Ranch
View at Entrance Ranch
High Country Vacations
Horseback Adventures Ltd
Hide Away Camp
Indian Trail Adventures
Larry’s Riding Stables
Sherwood Outfitters
Willmore Wilderness Park