Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

Near the Alberta/Montana border and just 44 km east of the small town of Milk River is Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park.

The park boasts having over 50 petroglyphs created by the Blackfoot Native Americans, which date as far back as 7000 B.C. The park was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This park is a sacred landscape that has special spiritual significance for the Blackfoot people who hunted & traveled the Great Plains for generations. The traditional culture of the Blackfoot is based on a long & intimate relationship with the land and this landscape is still part of that tradition.

The First Nations petroglyphs (carvings) & pictographs (paintings) that cover the park’s sheer sandstone cliffs are protected here as a legacy to this spiritual connection. The park’s archaeological preserve was established in 1977 to ensure protection of one of the largest concentrations of rock art on the North American Plains.

The park covers a vast territory, and its remote location makes accessibility possible only by vehicle. The park also has many hoodoos and arches that make for an interesting hike along its trails. The park also has a strong wildlife; sightings of bears, cougars, and rattle-snakes are common.

Defamation of the petroglyphs will cost you $50,000 in fines and up to one-year in jail, so be sure to look but not touch.