Red Lodge Provincial Park
RV Guide

During the summer, the Little Red Deer River is the place to be if you enjoy river recreation. Popular activities include canoeing, kayaking, and floating. If you don’t have a boat or tube, there are opportunities to rent canoes and other watercraft from local outfitters in some of the neighboring cities. If you want to float or boat, but you don’t want to try the sports alone, then sign up for a guided float tour and let a seasoned guide navigate the river for you. Whatever water adventure you choose, you will be sure to have a fun time while exploring some of Alberta’s scenic wilderness.

Alberta provincial parks encourages everyone, regardless of age, to get outside and explore. The Family Discovery Packs program takes exploration to the next level and strives to get kids involved by providing rentable packs that teach kids about insects, birds, and astronomy while walking around the park. If you are interested in renting a pack, stop by the Park Office. There is a nominal fee for renting packs, and all renters leave a deposit which is refundable once returning the packs. Be prepared to leave a small deposit, such as a driver’s license or a set of keys.

When it’s hot outside, the best way to cool off at Red Lodge Provincial Park is to head to the river for a swim. The Little Red Deer River is warmest during late summer and early fall, but people swim during most of the park’s peak operating months because the need to cool down isn’t isolated to a month or two. The park has a few small sandy shorelines where swimmers can wade into the river. There aren’t any supervised swimming areas, and all swimmers should adhere to safe water levels before going for a swim. Before you swim, you can ask a member of the park staff where the best swimming areas are within the park, as well as talk to the park staff about safe water levels.

If river fishing is something you’d like to try, then the Little Red Deer River is the ideal place to cast your reel. Anglers may fish between April and the end of October, and fishing is permitted from the headwaters downstream to Cottonwood Road as well as in the tributaries. The Dogpound Creek tributary is not open for fishing. The Little Red Deer River has trout, mountain whitefish, and Northern pike, and depending on the time of the year, there may be limitations on fishing and limits.

Alberta Provincial Parks are excellent places to visit if you are a geocacher. Geocaching, a hand-held GPS scavenger hunt, is a family-friendly activity that is suitable for people of most ages. Red Lodge Provincial Park is one of many Alberta parks that permits hidden caches within its boundaries. Becoming a geocacher is simple. Before heading to the park, purchase a suitable GPS unit and visit the world geocaching website for information on cache locations, gaming rules, and other bits of information you will need to be a successful geocacher.

Are you interested in becoming a birdwatcher, or are you an experienced birder? Red Lodge Provincial Park has numerous places along the shore where birds, especially migratory birds, rest. Although the birdwatching opportunities are good within the park, the best place to see migratory birds during the spring and the fall is the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, located about an hour from the park. The Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary is Alberta’s first Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and it is the place to visit to see a variety of bird species. There are hiking trails and various landscapes such as wetland, grassland, and forest for guests to view birds. Bring your bird guides, your binoculars, and your cameras and add the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary to your itinerary!