Blackfoot Dark Site
Clear Sky Clock for Blackfoot Darksite
The Blackfoot dark site is currently the one most utilized by Edmonton Centre members. It is part of the Blackfoot Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area. There is no fee to enter the park, and since it is crown land, the public is welcome so observers often share the area with others.
The site is accessed by following Highway 16 East of Edmonton for about 30 minutes to 4 km past Elk Island National Park entrance; go past the Ukrainian Heritage Village, then turn South on Range Road 195 and follow this road for another 4 km up to the park entrance (see map below). You'll reach another cattle guard, and the observing area is just another 500 m around the bend from here, so drive very slowly so as not to run over anyone or their telescope, and also to keep dust to a minimum (this is not much of a concern in winter - yes we are here in the middle of winter too!). The road splits in two with the right fork going to the north end of the parking lot and the left fork going to the south end.
For more information, visit the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area web page.
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