Police Outpost Provincial Park

Really enjoyed our time at Police Outpost, had the campground almost exclusively to ourselves. Lots of hiking and wildlife during our visit. The lake is excellent for bird watching and the kids got a kick out of crossing the US/CAN border. Playground: Group camping area has a nice well maintained park for the kids. Restrooms: Outhouses were kept in good clean condition, still plenty of odor. Dog-friendliness: People were walking dogs, would recommend a leash as bears and golden eagles have a presence in this location. Picnic area: Lots of picnic locations by the lake.

Day trip to Kayakwe drove south from Lethbridge for about 90 minutes to reach this park. It is a very picturesque area with prairie, rolling hills, Police Lake and the iconic Chief mountain all providing picture after picture opportunities. It is a very quiet, anti out of the way place. There are pit toilets which were tidy, a substantial boat launch and dock and lots of individuals enjoying the fishing. We paddled around the lake which has trails that lead to the water but a very reedy shore line, paddles under the foot bridge and around the central island where we pulled up and explored some of the hiking trails then paddled back to enjoy a picnic at a table near the boat launch. It’s a very serene setting.

The campground was small but lovely. As said on the website the toilets do not have water but thankfully there were generous amount of hand sanitizers available. The lake was frozen but super beautiful mid march. It would be great if we could buy fire woods by card but it was not a deal breaker. My phone did not have any tele-coverage koodo but my partner's a french line had 3G connection.

Police Outpost Provincial Park is a great location to enjoy the lake for canoeing, kayaking, or fishing Note: there is a speed limit on the lake; day hiking; picnicing; or camping. There are 46 camping sites as well as an overflow and a group camping site. The sites in the campground are level and gravelled. There are no services including cell reception in the park. Washrooms are clean and basic. Potable water is available using a tap in the campground. All campsites must be reserved through the Alberta Parks reservation system. There are two trails in the area; both can be accessed from the campground. One trail leads along the lake, past a day-use area, to a boardwalk out to an island. On the island are several benches with great views. The other trail travels along fescue grassland with amazing views to wetlands and mountains. This remote park is a real gem!

Very scenic area to hike around. Plenty of birds and views to take pictures of. From the lake area, there's a good view of Chief Mountain just across the border in Montana.

Very pretty. Nice trails for kids. Most campers seem to be over 50 and ready for fishing. Bathrooms ok. No firewood and no one selling it, luckily someone had left our site 3 logs. No cell or wifi. Better set up for the trailer crowd, as the sites had coarse rock you can't step on and I had to put the tent on it. The walk to the border is quick and easy. There was always a few spots open if you're worried about that part, and someone was on the overflow lot with their super gigantic camper, so you will probably find a spot too.

Lovely clean, large campsites. No hook ups, must be self contained. Very quiet. No cell service or wi fi. Good gravel hiking/biking trails. Lake is stocked with rainbow trout. Good bird watching opportunities. Wonderful scenery.

We were disappointed with this park. It is well off the main roads, ending with 12 km of gravel road with no services nearby, no pay phone, no cell coverage and no park hosts. There is also nothing remaining of the original outpost expect the name of the lake and park – Police Outpost. There was a map of the interpretive trails, but no distances were provided. The woods were dense and there was a lot of undergrowth with the bear warnings and the isolation of this park we did not feel safe walking the trails here. The playground is modern with a gravel base, but it was in the group camping area not the main campground. There is a good boat launch with docks and fish cleaning station. There is no beach available. Park website says the tap water is for putting out fires only, but the tabs have signs that the water is treated. It was odd that the park operator had their own signage about senior discounts and seasonal discounts that are not consistent with the park website. This might be a good fishing lake but we did not feel safe at this park.

Relatively small campground. Less busy than many other provincial campgrounds. Nice fishing lake.

Day hike here is surely worth the drive. Take a walk to the trail on the left of the day use area and take the foot bridge over to the island. Oh 1/2 way across the bridge look back and Chief Mountain will hit you square in the face. Camping is definitely in bear country so have your pepper spray handi. I happened to find a old brass bell and used it for a little while and then left it on a tree limb with a good size rock to bang it with for the next travellers. Pics later.