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Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi

Canada

Background

World Heritage since
2019
Type of site
Cultural
Of marks on the stone
4,500 years

On the northern edge of the semi-arid Great Plains, by the United States border, the Milk River valley is marked by a concentration of hoodoos, rock pillars sculpted by erosion. UNESCO says the Blackfoot Confederacy left engravings and paintings on the sandstone walls bearing messages from Sacred Beings, with dated remains from about 4,500 years ago to the time of contact; the landscape is sacred to the Blackfoot, whose ceremonies continue here.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park lies about 100 km south-east of Lethbridge and 44 km east of the town of Milk River, one of the largest protected areas of prairie in Alberta, with more than 50 petroglyph sites and thousands of individual works; Áísínai'pi means 'it is pictured'. A North-West Mounted Police outpost has been rebuilt on its original site. Wikivoyage says a little rock art can be seen from a public walkway, but most only on a guided tour, and warns of prairie rattlesnakes.

More on the UNESCO listing More on Wikipedia

  1. 9,000 years agoPeople are living in the Milk River valley
  2. 4,500 years agoThe earliest dated remains at the site
  3. 1918The Mounted Police outpost closes, later burned
  4. 2019Inscribed as World Heritage

Find Your Way Around

The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them

  1. 1
    The Rock Art
    Petroglyphs and pictographs on the sandstone, mostly seen with a guide.
  2. 2
    Hoodoo Trail
    2.2 km through hoodoos, cliffs, rock art and prairie.
  3. 3
    Battle Scene Trail
    A half-kilometre walk to a famous panel.
  4. 4
    NWMP Outpost
    The reconstructed police post on its original site.
  5. 5
    The Milk River
    Canoeing and kayaking through the valley.
  6. 6
    Visitor Centre
    Open July to September, with Wi-Fi and a shop.

Know Before You Go

From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides

From Lethbridge
Wikivoyage: Highway 4 south-east to Milk River, Highway 500 east, then Range Road 130A south.
Book a Guided Tour
Most of the rock art can only be seen with a guide.
Rattlesnakes
Keep out of long grass and from under ledges, and never put hands or feet into crevices.
Leave Everything
Damaging rock art carries a fine of up to $50,000 and a year in jail; leave any artefact where it lies.

Hoodoos and Pictures

Not yet in a GoGo guide

  1. 09:30
    Visitor Centre45 min
    Orientation and tour tickets.
  2. 10:30
    Guided Rock Art Tour2 hrs
    The panels in the restricted area.
  3. 14:00
    Hoodoo Trail90 min
    Through the pillars above the river.

Best Time to Visit

Best months: Jun–Sep. Freezing days in Nov–Feb.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Jun (74 mm), driest Feb (17 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER

Pair It With

Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance

WORTH A NIGHTDAY TRIPSAME DAYDistance not to scale · tap a site
Do These Together
Waterton is 161 km away, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 162 km and Dinosaur Provincial Park 188 km.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, listing 1597 · Wikipedia: Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park · Wikivoyage: Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (CC BY-SA 4.0) · UNESCO listing