Everything you need to know to enjoy the long weekend in an Alberta park

From the Province of Alberta

Get ready to long weekend

It’s time to kick off the summer camping season and for Albertans to get out and explore provincial attractions or simply travel to visit family and friends.

Camping in Alberta Parks campgrounds is one of many options for Albertans this May long weekend.

“Whatever it is Albertans choose to do this long weekend, our province has a wealth of unique experiences that support our economy, including camping in our provincial parks. Wherever the destination, government hopes people will have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable May long weekend.”
Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks

Below are a few tips and information to support a safe and enjoyable long weekend.

Camping

We all share a responsibility to be courteous campers, which ensures campgrounds are enjoyable and safe for everybody.
General etiquette rules are:
- Avoid excessive noise so that everyone can enjoy the peace and tranquility of parks.
- Quiet hours are between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Still looking for a campsite or a picnic area? Check out AlbertaParks.ca.

Liquor in provincial parks

The previous liquor ban in select provincial parks is lifted; however, rules and regulations around campground quiet hours, excessive noise and appropriate behaviour continue to be in place and will be enforced.
Liquor consumption is restricted to registered campsites only.

Fire bans

At this time, a fire ban is in effect throughout most of northern Alberta, prohibiting campfires, unauthorized burning and restricting the use of off-highway vehicles on public lands.
Fire bans outside of Alberta provincial parks are posted on AlbertaFireBans.ca Download the Fire Bans app before you head out.
Provincial parks-related fire bans, restrictions and associated advisories are posted on AlbertaParks.ca Fire Bans.

Safety on the road

More collisions and fatalities take place on Alberta’s roads on long weekends than other weekends. To help travellers get home safely, traffic enforcement measures will be ramped up this May long weekend.
Alberta sheriffs will be working in integrated traffic units with RCMP to patrol provincial highways to target impaired drivers, aggressive and careless drivers, distracted drivers and speeders.
Drive for the conditions of the road (check 511 Alberta for latest highway conditions).

Fish and wildlife

Increased enforcement on our highways, waterways, public lands and in our parks will help responsible Albertans enjoy the long weekend safely.
In addition to protecting fish and wildlife and managing human/wildlife conflicts, fish and wildlife officers will be protecting the landscape and waterbodies, including monitoring random camping, boating and off-highway vehicle use.
Ensure you know the fishing regulations and the hunting regulations.

Bear safety

Albertans can do their part to avoid human-bear conflict. Be bear and cougar smart. Carry bear spray and know how to use it.
When travelling in bear country, keep dogs on a leash, travel in groups and make noise whenever possible.

Impaired driving

Arrive alive! Any form of impaired driving is unacceptable and dangerous, and puts everyone on Alberta roads at risk.
Impaired driving from alcohol, drugs, fatigue or distraction injures or kills thousands of Albertans every year.

Museum and historic sites

Alberta’s historic sites, museums and archives are open for the summer with new programs and experiences.
People can purchase an Experience Alberta’s History Annual Pass and get unlimited access to all provincial historic sites and museums for one year from date of purchase.

Recreation on public land

Conditions on the May long weekend are typically very wet due to spring rains, melting snow and frost, making the land more susceptible to significant damage from recreational activities.
Be aware of regulations around motorized recreation and non-motorized recreation on trails and in waterways. Wheeled and tracked vehicles are not permitted to be operated or parked on the bed, shore and/or in the water of Alberta’s streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Damage or loss to public land (i.e., dumping of garbage, abandoned vehicles, sign removal, gate removal) needs to be reported to the Report A Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.
Camping is limited to a 14-day stay on public land.
Respect the land and know the rules and regulations around random camping on public lands.

Related Topics:Alberta Parks Camping feature May Long Weekend

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‘Even if no one is watching:’ Parade marshal named for cancelled Stampede

Published on June 3, 2020

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — Filipe Masetti Leite has spent a lot of alone time in the saddle criss-crossing countries on horseback over the last eight years.

The latest journey for the long rider — from Anchorage, Alaska, to Calgary — will be bittersweet when he completes it in one month.

But he’ll have a new title.

Masetti Leite has been named the 2020 Calgary Stampede’s parade marshal, even though the event has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Masetti Leite was asked to take the job while still on his trek and before the health crisis shut down most of the world.

“To be named the Calgary Stampede parade marshal is the biggest honour of my life. I can’t wait to ride into Calgary on July 3, even if no one is watching,” Masetti Leite said in a news release.

“I’m finishing where I started. It’s a dream.”

Masetti Leite, 33, immigrated to Canada from Brazil when he was a teenager. In 2012, he began his first journey from Calgary and spent two years riding his two horses through 10 countries in North, Central and South America.

He covered about 16,000 kilometres before reaching his final destination: his home in Espirito Santo do Pinhal, Sao Paulo.

Masetti Leite, who has a journalism degree from Ryerson University in Toronto, began a second trip in 2016, which spanned 7,350 kilometres over 15 months and took him from Brazil to Patagonia.

His latest 3,500-kilometre trek from Alaska has him arriving in Calgary next month on the same day the Stampede was scheduled to begin.

Masetti Leite said he’s dedicating the remaining part of his ride to health-care workers around the world, who have worked tirelessly during the pandemic.

Despite the cancellation of this year’s edition of what is called the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” Stampede president Dana Peers said Masetti Leite was selected long before the world changed.

“The choice of Filipe Masetti Leite for the Calgary Stampede parade marshal has been many years in the making,” Peers said.

“He is proof Stampede parade marshals don’t just lead a parade; they exemplify western heritage, values and culture.”

A long rider is someone who has ridden more than 1,600 continuous kilometres on a single equestrian journey.

The inspiration for Masetti Leite came from a similar quest in 1925 by the original long rider, Aime Tschiffely, a Swiss school teacher, who rode 16,000 kilometres alone from Buenos Aires to New York City and wrote about his experiences.

Masetti Leite has documented his travels and written the book “Long Ride Home: Guts and Guns and Grizzlies, 800 Days Through the Americas in a Saddle.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2020

— Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Alberta

Calgary couple stranded in India by COVID-19 pandemic killed: family

Published on June 3, 2020

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — Family members say a Calgary couple stranded in India because of the COVID-19 pandemic were killed last weekend.

Kirpal Minhas, who was 67, and his wife Davinder, who was 65, were supposed to return the first week of April but their flight was cancelled.

Loved ones say the permanent residents were days from catching another flight to Canada when they were attacked in their home in the Punjab region on Saturday.

The couple’s son-in-law says local authorities told him three people overpowered the husband and stabbed him to death and that the wife was strangled.

Family say police have told them the caretaker of the home was arrested along with two other men, and that the motive was to get the couple’s money.

Global Affairs says it’s aware of the deaths, but cannot disclose any further information for privacy reasons. (CTV Calgary)

This report by The Canadian press was first published June 3, 2020

The Canadian Press