Visitors to Kananaskis Country near Canmore, Alberta are facing a wave of new bear warnings and closures after a series of concerning encounters over the past two days. Alberta Parks expanded its wildlife advisories on June 24 and 25, 2026, adding a parking area closure, campground restrictions, and trail warnings across Spray Valley and Peter Lougheed provincial parks. The heightened alert comes as officials report a 15 per cent jump in bear sightings this year compared to the five-year average.
On June 25, a bear closure took effect at Tryst Lake Parking Area in Spray Valley Provincial Park due to active bears in the area. The same day, a trail warning was issued for high elevation zones in the Spray, Kananaskis, and Highwood valleys, asking hikers to be extra cautious.
Campers at Lower Lake and Boulton campgrounds in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park must now use hard-sided units only, such as trailers or motorhomes, until at least July 6. The restriction came after a family of grizzly bears wandered through Lower Lake Campground on June 25, ripped a tent, and was met with bear spray before moving on. Soft-sided campers and roof-top tents are not allowed under the order.
A separate warning was posted for Mount Shark Road, Mount Engadine Lodge, and the Rummel Lake Trail on June 24, after a grizzly bear approached a hiker who was walking a dog. Black bears, including a mother with cubs-of-the-year, have been roaming trails in the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park since early June, keeping an existing bear warning in place. The nearby Grassi Lakes area remains off-limits for a different reason: heavy rain has loosened large rocks, making the area unsafe.
Wildlife officials are urging anyone heading into the backcountry to travel in groups of four or more, make noise, keep dogs on a leash, and carry bear spray where it can be reached quickly. All vehicles parked in Kananaskis Country and the Bow Valley need a Kananaskis Conservation Pass, which helps fund efforts to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife. Full details on current advisories are posted on the Alberta Parks website.
