Big Knife Campground Alberta Provincial Park.

Big Knife Campground is located on the Battle River approximately 130km East of the City of Red Deer. The campground has 50 sites on a first come first serve basis. This campground offers campsites for both tents and larger RV's, public phone, dry toilets, water, fire wood available for sale, picnic tables, picnic area, wading pool, horseshoe pit, baseball diamond, sani dump and a boat launch. The Battle River offers good Northern Pike, Walleye and Perch fishing, you'll need a fishing license to try your luck. Boaters will find a well designed easy to use boat launch for smaller water craft. If you own a canoe or kayak the Battle River and the surrounding estuaries would make an excellent float. There are a few nicely groomed trails here that follow the river valley and provide good wildlife viewing. One trail leads down towards a wading pool where the surrounding Aspen forest turns to Spruce tress. This is somewhat unusual for the prairies and it adds a nice sense of wilderness to the campground. According to the Alberta Government this park, long ago, was the home of "One Eyed Nelson" and his moonshine operation. I have no idea who he was and cannot find any information on him. To bad he's not here now. The Electric Battle River Generating Plant is a few kms East of here and the Luscar Paintearth Coal Mine is located a few kms South of here. Both operations offer guided walks and tours. Another nearby point of interest is the Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site that is well worth the visit. You're kids and mechheads will love the big diggers on display there. There are also some petrified wood stumps a the Diplomat site that were taken from a local mine. Night skies here are good for star gazing, it ranks # 2-3 on the Bortle Scale. See the official web site link below for fees, opening and closing dates.