Flying in Canada’s National Parks
There are a few National Parks where flying is now permitted. This is the result of many years of discussions between Parks Canada and HPAC. It is a treasured partnership which requires ongoing stewardship and responsible behaviour by pilots.
The requirements for flying in each park have some things in common:
- A minimum Intermediate or better rating, and currency in flying high mountain sites is highly recommended
- Leave nothing behind
- Avoid launching, flying, or landing near wildlife
- Like other back-country users, notify someone of your flight plan
- Carefully research the park, the area you will fly, and the closed areas
- Absolutely avoid all areas that are closed to other users of the park
- LOG your flight: pilot participation in logging flights helps build a database that can be used for future discussions for access to other National Parks across Canada
- Paramotoring is prohibited in all National Parks
Planning XC flights and accessing more detail about the park
Here is a helpful guide on how to use Google Earth to map your flight plan in any given park, courtesy of the Alberta Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.
Approved Parks
Discussions for access to other National Parks across Canada are in progress with Parks Canada but unless they are specifically named below, ALL other National Parks remain closed to our sport at this time.
Below are the links to the Parks Canada pages that outline the requirements for flying in each park, whose Superintendent has to date signed off to allow our sport.
NEW! Banff National Park (Alberta)
https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/parapente-paragliding
Please fill out this form to log your flights in Banff:
https://pq3ivecn4rb.typeform.com/to/b96ncP0y
Banff National Park is now open to paragliders and hang gliders! As of May 2025 certain areas of the Banff National Park are now permitted for launching and landing. Pilots are required to be familiar with which areas are prohibited, and any pilot who launches or lands inside the park must log their trip using the form provided by HPAC (link below). The map is provided by Parks Canada and can be found on their website. The project to open up the park for pilots has taken close to 20 years, and is currently still a trial program. Any pilot making use of the park should behave as an ambassador of the sport, and follow every rule and requirement listed on the Parks Canada website. Special thanks to pilots Will Gadd and Brandon Hopkins for the marathon efforts they put into this project.
Jasper National Park (Alberta)
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/activ-experience/ete-summer/parapente-paragliding
Kootenay National Park (British Columbia)
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/kootenay/activ/parapente-paragliding
Yoho National Park (British Columbia)
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/yoho/activ/parapente-paragliding