David Thompson Country and the Bighorn

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David Thompson Country (Nordegg / Abraham Lake) — Alberta Parks

• Reservable — Fish Lake / Shunda Lake recreation area (book via Alberta Parks); Crescent Falls (also has FCFS sites)
• Hostels — HI Nordegg / Shunda Creek, the only one in this region
• Huts — the Alpine Club of Canada has none here; the nearest are the Wapta huts off the Icefields Parkway

Public land camping

More of this region is public land than park, and random camping is the normal way to sleep here — see how it works for the pass and the rules.

• Rustic camping areas are marked on the province's own Bighorn Backcountry PLUZ brochure (a large PDF — the map is on the reverse). Preacher's Point North and Preacher's Point South on Abraham Lake are the two people name; Allstones Rustic Campsite and the Bighorn Dam Camping Area are on the same map, and Hoodoo Creek is a staging area nearby. The brochure's own definition is worth reading before you rely on one: rustic camping areas sit outside designated campgrounds, are often remote with gravel-road access, offer no services, and are first come, first served. Nothing at the highway announces them. The Public Lands Camping Pass still applies. Expect wind: this is the lake that is famous for it.
• The Bighorn Backcountry behind the highway is divided into four public land use zones — Job/Cline, Kiska/Willson, Blackstone/Wapiabi, and Upper Clearwater/Ram. Random camping is permitted in all four, but campsites must be 100 m back from any lakeshore, which is the rule that catches people out — and the reason to use the marked rustic areas above rather than pitching anywhere along the water that looks flat. Access is by unpaved road and no permanent structures are allowed.
• Serviced alternatives nearby — Two O'Clock Creek in the Kootenay Plains PRA and Thompson Creek further west, for when you want an outhouse and a numbered site.

Check the province's Interactive Recreation Map for the zone boundaries and the pass area, and public land closures before driving out.

Highway 11 meets the Icefields Parkway at Saskatchewan River Crossing, which puts the Parkway campgrounds within reach from here.