Grasslands National Park, SK, Canada

Dark Skies & Prairie Flats

Nestled in the southwest of Saskatchewan and near the Montana (USA) border is a national park which is famous for two things: 

1. it's a 'dark sky' preserve, meaning, it has one of the best locations to star gaze in the whole country and 
2. it's roaming bison.

I visited Grasslands National Park (LINK) about a year ago and camped overnight there. I was able to enjoy hiking, buffalo watching and of course, star gazing. While not as famous as Banff or Jasper in Alberta, Grasslands is a unique experience and worth a visit. 

Enjoy some photos from my overnight stay...

The road in is all gravel and you'll pass by numerous prairie dogs and cattle guards (I think it's to keep the buffalo in, to be honest...)

Slight hills to the right...

I hiked 70 mile butte -- a butte is an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top (Wikipedia).

View from the butte

Another view from the top of the butte.

Prairie flower seen on the hike...I'm sorry I don't know the official name.

While out hiking, you have to be aware of the bison. They are in the park and can be found close to your camp site or on the hiking trails. The park staff provide information and guidance during your visit and while interacting the these animals. The basic rule is: stay far away and bring a zoom lens. 

A lone bison resting. 

To be honest, I was a bit scared of these guys because they are so massive. Bison used to be hunted on the Prairies and their fur and meat were valuable to Indigenous people. Today, there are a few bison farms in Western Canada and there has been a push to increase bison herds here. 

You can read more about bison farming in Canada HERE (Kremeniuk, 2015). 

Grasslands is the kind of place you go to get away from everything and unplug for a while. If you decide to camp overnight, a word of caution: it's extremely windy so come prepared with warmer and/or windbreaker clothes -- even in summer. 

Location & how to get there: (via Google Maps)

References: 

Kremeniuk, T. (2015, March 4). Bison farming. The Canadian Encyclopedia. URL. 

Parks Canada. (n.d.). Grasslands national park. The Government of Canada. URL. 

Salmon Arm, BC - Part 4

 Part 4 - Columbia-Shuswap Cycling

The main purpose of most of my travels these days has been to get outdoors and ride my bike. I love 'slow pace' sightseeing, and cycling has given me the opportunity to do just that. 

On two separate days during my trip to Salmon Arm, my boyfriend and I rode some hills and took in the sights. Both rides were recommended by riders on cycling blogs and Map My Ride. Here are highlights...

Route 1 - Carlin - White Lake - Balmoral - Carlin

We started by parking at the middle school in Carlin, just off the highway. Then, we cycled down the first big hill to the fork near the highway underpass, turning right, then immediately left, following the first of many hills up towards the farms. We saw a few cyclists out and so, you'll know you're heading in the right direction by just following your fellow riders. 

 Road conditions in some areas are a little rough, but generally look like the photo above.

 

We came across some wild berries along part of the route. 

We sampled; they were quite bitter!

Biking out to White Lake, there is a public park there with a loo and some picnic tables. We stopped for a short water break and to check out the view of the lake. As this route is predominately uphill, you'll get some nice views from the crest of the farm fields and valley, below:

 For the return, after reaching the valley, head east towards White Creek along the service road that parallels the major highway. You'll enjoy passing by some corn fields, over some ups and downs before making your way back to Carlin.

Sign post denoting direction back to Carlin (via White Creek).

Route 2 - Carlin - White Lake - Balmoral - Notch Hill - Sorrento - Carlin

On another day, we decided to give the first route another try, but continue from the valley towards Notch Hill and Sorrento, another popular resort town in the area. 

I forgot my phone on this ride, so I don't have personal photos to share, but Notch Hill is a pretty nice ride and it's a good place to stop and view the heritage buildings there. The community park has a public train viewing platform (see info HERE) where you can take a break and watch the CN rail cars pass by on the street opposite. 

My boyfriend did manage to get a photo of me looking pretty happy on my new Trek road bike (an Émonda SL 5 - view them HERE at Trek.ca) as we stopped at the end of the road next to White Lake:

In Sorrento, we stopped at a Subway to eat lunch before heading back to Carlin. The sandwich gave me the power I needed to get back to those hills and finish up this cycling trip. I highly recommend Salmon Arm for a short trip away!

Bonus: Views from Canoe Beach.

I did a few open water swims at the public beach here. The entrance is very Instagram-y:

The view from the beach is great too -- you can see the lake stretching out and cliffs on the opposite shore:

 

Despite sharing the water with boaters and jet skiers, the facilities here are really good. There is a sandy/muddy bottom, a floating dock off the shore by about 50 meters(?), a pathway from the grassy area to the shoreline, a playground for kids, some picnic tables and benches, outdoor showers (very cold!) and large change rooms; all facilities here are free! Best times to go are in the morning or the early evening, when there are less boaters and the lake is calmer.

Hope you can get a chance to visit Salmon Arm; it's beautiful! 

Next post: Cycling in Canmore & Banff, AB.

References:

Columbia Shuswap Regional District. (n.d.). Notch Hill community park. CSRD. URL. 

Trek.ca. (2020). Émonda SL 5. Trek Bicycle Corporation. URL.

Salmon Arm, BC - Part 3

 Part 3 - Hiking the Upper Canyon Trail

After completing the Margret Falls hike, I still felt up to another hike, so we took a longer, steeper trail within Herald Provincial Park. Here's a map for those interested: 

According to Hike Kamloops (LINK), this trail is a little more strenuous, is dog friendly and is about 4.1 kilometers long. It took us about an hour to complete the loop, starting from the lake overflow parking lot on the right side of the road. 

Here's a quick view of the beach front facing the lake. It's a beautiful spot with lots of picnic tables under large, shady trees:

The trail is very steep for the first kilometre or so with a number of switchbacks up the hill. According to my Garmin, the elevation gain was 178 meters. At the start, the trail is narrow and snakes through the forest, as you can see below:

Once you reach the top of the hill, you'll come across this scenic lookout. You can see the lake overflow parking area at the bottom of the photo:

Deep into the forest, you'll come across a trail marker directing you towards different routes. We went straight.

Map shows the entire loop. 

At the top of the loop, we found this wooden bridge which traverses the river. I dipped my hands in the water too because it looked so beautiful. I was surprised; it was not as cold as expected.

The loop back was very easy; for those who are not experienced hikers, I would recommend only hiking this part of the trail. It's wide, the underbrush is soft with few rocks and has a gradual slope.

Once we made it back, we entered through the gate to walk the trails that snaked their way through the park campground. That was really fun to be honest! We crossed some small rivers by just stepped over stone or logs placed in strategic places.

 The gate and trail markers showing you can cut through the campground to the parking area.

At larger crossings, the park staff had installed silver metal bridges, making those crossings much easier.

 

We completed our hike by eating lunch at a picnic table by the beach at the lake (see the first picture featured in this post). This park is really great! It's free for the day, there is a "dog beach" for pooches to play in the water, and has lots of picnic tables and hiking trails to enjoy the fine weather. Highly recommended!

Next post: Salmon Arm, BC - Part 4 Cycling the Shuswap Hills

References:

Bunny Luv [screen name]. (2020). Columbia-Shuswap upper canyon trail [map]. Garmin Connect. Used by permission.

Hike Kamloops. (2020). Margret falls upper canyon loop trail. URL. 

All photos by Cutenekko taken on a Huawei P10 Lite.