Picnic area · Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
A practical picnic break on the Smith-Dorrien drive.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Peter Lougheed Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Peter Lougheed audio tourRecorded for this place
Black Prince Day Use: A Picnic Break“Black Prince Day Use Area is ahead, a practical place to pause for a picnic on the Smith-Dorrien drive. I'd stop here if you've brought lunch and want a break from the road.”
Plays as you drive up to Black Prince Day Use Area in the Parkwolf Peter Lougheed Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Black Prince Day Use Area is a year-round picnic area on Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Road in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. It’s a practical place to stop for lunch or a washroom break, with an unpaved parking lot and pit/vault toilets.
There’s no food service listed here, so plan to bring your meal. Vehicles parked in Kananaskis Country need a Kananaskis Conservation Pass. Picnic-table availability may feel tight on a busy day.
The Black Prince Cirque Interpretive Trail starts at the day-use area and climbs through forest and open terrain toward a seasonally variable cirque lake. It’s a separate 4.2 km outing with about 90 m of elevation gain; check current trail access before you set off.
Wildlife
132 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
17 sightingsCanada LynxMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
30 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
69 sightingsMooseMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
176 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
19 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Peter Lougheed. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingWarspite Ridge Trail10 km · 4.5 hr · At the trailheadA steep, hands-on climb to the ridge above Warspite Lake.
EasyBlack Shale Suspension Bridge Trail6.8 km · 2 hr · At the trailheadA forest walk builds to a 73 m suspension bridge.
ChallengingBlack Prince Lakes Trail9.8 km · 5 hr · At the trailheadCairns lead beyond Warspite Lake to an unsigned alpine cirque.
ChallengingBlacksmith Ridge Trail via Smith-Dorrien Creek6.8 km · 4 hr · 1.4 km awayA steep climb with a hidden fork and an open ridge.
ChallengingKent Ridge South Trail7 km · 4 hr · 1.9 km awayTwo south-ridge summits, a tough climb, and lakes below.
ChallengingGypsum Ridge Trail5.1 km · 3 hr · 2 km awayA steep, unsigned ridge climb to wide views over the Kananaskis Lakes.
ChallengingSouth Lawson Peak Trail7.8 km · 5.5 hr · 4.5 km awayA steep forest climb opens onto a rocky ridge above two lakes.
ModerateLower Lake Trail7 km · 1.8 hr · 5 km awayA shoreline walk with Spray Range views across Lower Kananaskis Lake.
Sight · 1.9 km awayBlackshale Creek Suspension BridgeA 73-metre span makes a creek crossing the payoff.
Picnic area · 4.3 km awayPeninsula Day Use AreaA lakeside picnic stop with a short Lower Kananaskis Lake viewpoint walk.Picnic area · 5 km awayCanyon Day Use AreaLake access and picnic tables under a rugged mountain wall.
Campground · 5.5 km awayCanyon CampgroundA first-come, 50-site base for lake-area hikes and paved cycling.
Picnic area · 5.7 km awaySawmill Day Use AreaA useful break for views of Mount Murray and Kent Ridge.
Campground · 5.9 km awayTurbine Canyon Backcountry CampgroundA 15-site forest camp reached by a long Kananaskis hike.
Sight · 6 km awayPocaterra Warming HutA heated hut beside several cross-country ski trail starts.
Visitor center · 6.3 km awayPeter Lougheed Park Discovery & Information CentreA compact wildlife museum with a chance of meadow bears.Parkwolf’s Peter Lougheed ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
