LAKELAND - Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail is billed as ‘A Legacy to Discover’. It’s a legacy that began in 1999 when communities across the Lakeland came together to preserve the historic route that once was the CNR rail line that brought passengers and freight to the northeastern communities
It’s a project that started when the rail line from Heinsburg to Elk Point shut down and the County of St. Paul obtained the abandoned rail line along with the gravel pit that was the original focus of the purchase. Area residents came together to urge the county to make the line into a recreational trail and were successful in convincing the county to declare it a ‘linear park.’
When additional rail lines, from Elk Point and St. Paul to Ashmont and from Waskatenau to Cold Lake were also shut down, a massive new opportunity arose, to expand that 35 km linear park to a 300 km trail that is now part of both the Trans Canada Trail from Waskatenau to Heinsburg and the Great Canadian Snowmobile Trail from Smoky Lake to Cold Lake.
Ten municipalities joined to create Northeast Muni-Corr in 1999 and negotiated to obtain the rail right-of-way as a way to enhance tourism in the area, while volunteers from across the area formed the Riverland Recreational Trail Society in 2000, a group that has developed, enhanced, maintained and operated the trail over more than two decades.
The trail is open to ATVs, hikers, bicycles, horseback riders and wagon outfits and in the winter, it is groomed for snowmobiles. It goes through the heart of ten communities, each with access routes allowing trail users to get to services such as restaurants, fuel and accommodation as well as attractions.
All three branches of the trail provide unique features.
Travelling the westernmost branch, from Waskatenau to Abilene Junction southeast of Ashmont, you will pass through Smoky Lake, noted for its restored CNR train station, its nearby Pumpkin Park and of course, for its Great White Northern Pumpkin Fair in early October.
Continuing east, you reach the Bellis North Natural Area - a jackpine dominated sand dune landscape with a sandy play area for trail users. You’re also in blueberry country; so take the time to search for these tasty morsels. Bellis itself has the Heritage Corner Shoppe, a great place to find a souvenir of your journey.
Then there’s Vilna, with the World’s Largest Mushrooms in its Mushroom Park, and Alberta’s oldest operating pool hall on Main Street. If you’re there Aug. 18 to 20, you’re sure to enjoy Boomtown Days, with its parade, bench fair and old-time country fair atmosphere. Passing Spedden, you’ll come to Ashmont, which had a tremendous car show, complete with a burnout competition, just a month ago.
There are 19 wooden trestles between Waskatenau and the ends of the easternmost branches, but there would have been one more, east of Ashmont, if it hadn’t been declared unsafe back in 1930 and filled in with gravel. Watch for a big yellow sign on the south side of the trail and read all about Ashmont’s buried trestle.
Then it’s Abilene Junction, where the Iron Horse Trail splits into two, one northeast to Mallaig, Glendon, Bonnyville and Cold Lake, and one southeast to St. Paul, Elk Point and Heinsburg.
The northeast trail takes you to Mallaig, where the Haying in the 30s weekend is coming up Aug. 5 and 6, with a parade, demonstrations and displays portraying farm life in the 1930s, with free admission and free food, and donations toward helping cancer patients from across the area and beyond are welcomed.
East past Therien is Glendon, with the World’s Largest Pyrogy in Pyrogy Park. Glendon’s parade, derby and mud bogs are on Aug. 12, and their 30th annual Pyrogy Festival and Cruise Night on Sept. 9.
East of Glendon a few miles is the westernmost end of Moose Lake and the hamlet of Franchere, which also celebrates its Fall Fair in mid-September. You’ll glimpse more of Moose Lake on your way to Bonnyville, where both a statue of explorer Angus Shaw and the late Ray Croteau’s chuckwagon are in the grounds of the Bonnyville and District Museum right beside the trail.
Fort Kent and Ardmore are next along the route before you reach the crown jewel of the trail – the Beaver River trestle, 60 metres above the valley floor and 450 metres in length. A parking lot on the south side allows access on foot. A short hike and you are there even if you don’t come via the trail but wish to see this Lakeland treasure. There is also a paved path to the trestle for anyone with mobility issues. Then it’s on to the trail’s northeast terminus in Cold Lake.
Heading southeast from Abilene Junction, the trail leads through farmland to St. Paul, with its UFO Landing Pad a few blocks off the trail, but everything from food and fuel to accommodation less than a block away, and even a trout pond nearby. Southeast of St. Paul are a series of wetlands offering a glimpse into the busy life of the beavers and lots of waterfowl and other bird varieties to sing you along your way to a deep valley at Edouardville, where there was once a grain elevator, then through Armistice, before you reach Elk Point with its 100-foot historical mural and Peter Fidler statue.
East of town, you’ll pass the massive gravel pit that gave the area the opportunity for the first part of the trail, and was instrumental in the rail line’s original construction in the 1920s, before you come to Lindbergh and the now closed Canadian Salt plant. From there, you’ll follow the North Saskatchewan River past Middle Creek and all the way to the community of Heinsburg, which has another vintage station, one of the very few remaining railroad water towers from the days of steam locomotives, and a pleasant campground right beside the trail, with the river whispering in the background.