Castle Park no longer 'hidden secret' after government improvements

In Pincher Creek and surrounding communities, the effects of the government's changes and continued investments into the Castle Provincial Park and Wildland project aren't going unnoticed.

"It was kind of a hidden secret that nobody wanted to share for a long time," said Jeff McLarty, the Beaver Mines General Store manager. "It's great to see that the secret's out and now new people are coming down to see all that we have to offer them in Castle."

The general store is on the outskirts of the Castle wilderness, an area that the province moved to protect a couple of years ago — in a process many are seeing played out in the Bighorn Country plan.

The plans for Castle Wildland Provincial Park and Castle Provincial Park were first announced in 2015. In early 2017, the province announced the final boundaries for the pair of protected areas in southwest Alberta, and then set out to implement changes and improvements.

At the time of the announcement, there was pushback on the proposed changes, especially the announcement that off-highway vehicles were in line to be completely phased out in the area.

Then, in 2018 the government began implementing the plans, and announced $3 million in funding for the area that May.

Money to improve services

Money was set to go into new campsites, warm-up huts, cabins, water crossings, signage, road paving and other trail improvements throughout the parks.

In the summer of 2018 money also went into a campaign led by Travel Alberta to increase visitation to both the Castle and Waterton park regions.

The campaign was designed to help businesses affected by the wildfires in the region and raise the profile of the area, according to the government. It cost $400,000 and locals noticed, despite fires and smoke, a new group of people were coming through to visit the parks.

According to the province's stats In 2017, total camper nights were 5,058 and in 2018 the total number of camper nights were 9,015 — an 80 per cent increase.

But, those numbers also reflect issues with the 2017 season after forest fires swept through the Waterton area.

Still, that increase is being felt in the surrounding communities.

In Pincher Creek, Mayor Don Anderberg says tourism in the area is as strong as it's ever been, but it's different now.

"There was a lot of people who didn't use that resource out there simply because they didn't want to put up with the dust and the noise and all the rest of the stuff around that," he said. "That element's kind of moved on."

Anderberg is talking about the OHV visitors, users that would come to the area where they used and maintained trailway systems.

He said before the government came in folks would do off-road camping, people weren't using the designated campgrounds. But now, when he visits, the designated campsites are full.

He said that's one of the things his council wanted, along with online campsite booking systems.

"You're able to actually book sites out there, it used to be first come first served," he said. "Generally the province has listened to people from the area here and put in some of the things that were necessary."

He said this has also cut back on people coming in, planting recreational vehicles and keeping their spot all summer long.

Town wants to build a destination

And even though it's early to tell, he believes Pincher Creek will see more traffic coming through as people make their way to the park to camp. He says he can see an opportunity in the park, where, like in Kananaskis, people visit, put on their backpacks and explore trails.

And for those new visitors, he says, the town wants to become a destination.

McLarty says his shop is the first and last sign of civilization as folks head in and out of the park.

"Especially in the summer, there's not much for services aside from what we have here," he said.

The store is licensed to sell alcohol, and has a sit-down bistro-styled eatery with tables.

Opposite to the seated eating area are all the fixings for a woodsy adventure, including snacks and other last-minute supplies — fulfilling its general store vibe.

'We'll take the good with the bad'

"We've seen lots of new people that haven't been down to the castle before, which is always great to see people exploring the area," he said. "Some people who had been here before have chosen to find other places to visit."

He said there has been a decrease in the shoulder seasons — the time when the skiing stops, but it's too cold to camp and after camping season in September until it's skiing time again.

"On the whole, we've seen kind of an increase in traffic through the summer," he said. "We'll take the good with the bad and move forward."