Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai'pi

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park has been a place of incredible spiritual and cultural significance to the indigenous people of Canada since time immemorial and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Writing-on-Stone is one of the oldest standing cultural sites of the Indigenous people in all of Canada. Walk among towering hoodoos and discover beautiful rock drawings to get a glimpse into the past of the Indigenous people of Canada.

Visitor Centre

The Writing-on-Stone Visitor Centre features informational resources with descriptions of the hoodoos and the ecology. Guests can visit the centre to learn more about the UNESCO World Heritage site and ask the staff of the centre, questions about the site. The centre also offers public bathrooms, Wi-Fi, and a gift shop. Publications featuring maps of the site and are available in the centre.

Hiking and Hoodoos

While the main attraction is the hoodoos, we should also mention the hiking trails. The area surrounding the site has just under 5 Km of hiking trails to choose from.

If the trails aren’t your style, there is also Backcountry Hiking. The landscape of the backcountry hiking features rolling grasslands, Hoodoo fields and narrow sandstone canyons over a 930-hectare backcountry hiking zone.

Archeological Preserve Guided Tour

One of the things Writing-on-Stone is known for is the tours they offer. Join park interpreters on tours through the Archaeological Preserve at Writing-on-Stone/ Áísínai’pi. The cultural landscape of Writing-on-Stone UNESCO World Heritage Site integrates the natural environment, cultural features, human experiences and spiritual perceptions into one.

Programs

The evening brings programming delivered by park interpreters; expect storytelling, games, theatrical reenactments and informative wildlife and cultural presentations.

Naató’si’s Path

Naató'si (the sun) gives light and life to Na'a (Mother Earth) and her inhabitants. Join a park interpreter for a guided tour that looks at Blackfoot ways of life at Áísínai'pi/Writing-on-Stone and the importance of Naató'si in Blackfoot storytelling. It also explores the sun theme in the rock art.

Rock Art of Áísínai’pi

Join a Park Interprete for a guided walking tour in the Archaeological Preserve where the history, stories and the language of the Niitisippi (Blackfoot) people are woven together to provide insight into the meaning of the carvings (petroglyphs) and paintings (pictographs).

Learn about the other three UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are just a day trip away on our UNESCO page!