The Northern Leg

Caroline
This small but progressive community is surrounded by Alberta’s rolling foothills. The area is well known for its breath-taking landscape and untouched wilderness. For those looking to unplug, to enjoy peace and quiet, Caroline may be the perfect little getaway.

The Village of Caroline is located right on the Cowboy Trail, just 40 km north of Sundre, 41 km south of Rocky Mountain House, and 50 km east of Banff National Park.

Caroline is the hometown of Canada’s figure skating champion Kurt Browning. Figure skating fans will want to check out the memorabilia from his skating career housed in “Kurt’s Korner”, in the Kurt Browning Arena. To learn more about early western history, be sure to stop at the Caroline and District Museum.

Nordegg
Until recently, Nordegg has been a relatively well kept secret. Located 90 km west of Rocky Mountain House on the David Thompson Highway (Hwy #11), Nordegg is about half way to Saskatchewan Crossing and the Icefields Parkway.

In 1907, a colourful adventurer and entrepreneur named Martin Nordegg headed west with the backing of German investors. His sights were set on the rich coal seams, he was told existed on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The advice he’d received was true and by 1911 Nordegg had built the Brazeau Collieries. His efforts were key in the development of a major industry as immigrant miners arrived from Europe looking for work. By the late 1940s the Collieries were the second largest coal briquette maker in North America. You can learn more about the rich mining history in the region and the unique town Nordegg built visiting the Brazeau Collieries National Historic Site and the Nordegg Heritage Centre.

The Nordegg area is a big piece of rugged countryside. You can enjoy a wide range of summer activities, from bird watching and wildlife viewing to mountain biking and fly fishing. Lounge around the campfire in one of over 300 campsites. Swing a club at the 9-hole golf course, take a heli-tour of the vast glaciers, or live out your cowboy dreams on a horseback tour.

In the winter months experience the silence and serenity of cross country skiing, or bring out your inner adventurer with ice climbing or snowmobiling the miles of trails.

Rocky Mountain House
Fur traders put Rocky Mountain House on the map 200 years ago when the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company established trading post forts on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The two companies competed for the lucrative beaver pelt market that flourished in this region until their merger in 1821.

One famous resident of the fort was David Thompson, the greatest chronicler of his day of landscapes, peoples and nature. His famous map of the Province of Canada covered 4 million sq. km. (1/6) of the continent, with unprecedented accuracy.

The Rocky Mountain House trading post fort was eventually deserted in 1875, however it lives on today as a National Historic Site that commemorates the rich era of the fur traders and explorers of Western Canada. Stroll along the interpretive trails. The kids will love the pint-sized play fort and puppet theatre along with a chance to see the bison.

Rocky Mountain House is aptly tagged “where adventure begins” and there are hundreds of miles of wooded foothills and front-range mountains to explore. Here you can hook up  with well-established outfitters and ranches to try your hand at working cattle, backcountry trail riding, canoeing wilderness rivers, fishing spring fed trout streams, or maybe just relaxing. There’s no need to rough it at the end of the day, either. Expect everything from hearty home-cooked meals to luxurious log cabins complete with hot tubs – guaranteed to sooth those aching muscles! There are some fabulous lakes; Crimson, Cow and Sylvan close by with great beaches and camping. The Grandview Stage offers bluegrass music, camping, cabins and chef prepared meals at its resort.

Farther west on Hwy 11 and off the Forestry Trunk Road you will find the Land of the Falls: Siffluer, Crescent, Bighorn, Ram and Hummingbird to name just a few. At the west end of the Abraham Lake are the Kootenay Plains an important native heritage site with its unique grasslands where the North Saskatchewan River breaks out of the mountains.

The Town of Rocky Mountain House will be hosting many events such as the pro-rodeo, world professional chuckwagons, a demolition derby and many others. For more information visit rockymtnhouse.com.

You’re entering the North Country, home to boreal forests, rolling croplands and some of the best forage and pasture producing land in the province. Along the way don’t miss the chance to hunt wild boar in a natural setting. Consider an overnight stay in a spacious log cabin complete with all the comforts of home. Then tuck into a hearty country breakfast before you move on.

Expect to see herds of cattle, elk and bison grazing next to bobbing oil pump jacks. Oil and gas production is a big driver in the local economy. The giant West Pembina oilfield near Drayton Valley is Canada’s largest, but don’t be fooled. The cowboy way of life is alive and well along this northern leg of the Cowboy Trail.

Alder Flats to Drayton Valley
The hamlet of Alder Flats is located 71 km north of Rocky Mountain House, 49 km south of Drayton Valley.

Visit a western ghost town movie set at Em-Te Town. Sip a cool one in the Hog’s Breath Saloon. Check out the jailhouse, morgue, livery stable, and two-storey outhouse. Indulge in a hearty steak supper after your trail ride, before bunking down in a tipi.

There’s no shortage of things to do in the North Country, including playing a round of golf. Raven Meadows Golf Resort operates from May through October. It is an easy-towalk, mature, 18 hole, par 72 course with lush irrigated greens. This family run facility also features a pro shop, restaurant, RV campground and a year round hotel.

Combined, Em-Te Town and Raven Meadows may make this area the perfect venue for your Western Wedding!

Drayton Valley
Located along the picturesque North Saskatchewan River Valley, the Eagle Point – Blue Rapids Provincial Park System invites you to Get Active, Get Outdoors! Whether it’s a walk along the trails, a paddle down the river, a family vacation, a ride through the forest or a school field trip – adventure await you just outside of Drayton Valley. brazeautourism.ca

Partners of the Pembina
From Drayton Valley, follow the Trail to the villages of Entwistle and Evansburg, then on to “trails end” at Mayerthorpe. Stop for a picnic at the Pembina River Provincial Park

Try to find the official residence of the Town Grouch at #10 Frowning Street in Evansburg. Maybe you can spot Dippy the Chip Lake Monster, although you’re more likely to see the bald eagles, blue herons, pelicans or snow geese that frequent Chip Lake on their annual migrations.

Mayerthorpe
Denny and Rod Hay ranch outside of town but are Mayerthorpe’s favourite sons. With an Olympic gold medal and 11 Canadian saddle bronc championships between them, the two stand little chance of being bested anytime soon. Mayerthorpe is quite rightly proud of the boys, so they renamed a portion of the Trail as it runs through town. It is now officially known as Denny Hay Drive.

The town of Mayerthorpe, with its lone surviving grain elevator, took its name from “Mayer,” an engineer who homesteaded close by in 1908. Check out the Elevator Museum, the Ol’ Pembina River Ferry Crossing and the Rochfort Bridge – the longest wooden trestle bridge in the west.

Did You Know?
Can openers, rib wrenches, hooks, diggers, hell rousers and petmakers are all slang for a pair of spurs.
Entwistle started as a railway town to transport coal from mines located at nearby Evansburg. It’s hard to imagine that the hamlet was once called the “toughest town on the northwestern frontier” complete with its fair share of brothels and gambling joints. Life became considerably quieter once the coal industry petered out and large numbers of immigrants moved in from the prairies to try their hand at homesteading. Drayton Valley was originally called Power House, but when a proposed hydro project that inspired the name was eventually abandoned, the postmaster changed it to that of her English hometown.

Yellowhead County

Here, the active outdoors person has plenty of opportunity for touring, hiking, biking, camping, fishing, hunting, ATV’ing, white water rafting, caving, snowmobiling or skiing.

Stay in one of seven County campgrounds, or our numerous Provincial Parks or Wildland Parks. Swimming, boating, and some of the best fishing in the province abound. Hiking trails in our canyons and hoodoos offer a unique perspective.

Use the Towns of Edson or Hinton as a base to stage day long adventures into the County. Visitors can also stay in one of our many campgrounds, guest ranches, lodges or country bed and breakfasts as they explore all our region has to offer.

Pembina River Provincial Park is located at the junction of The Cowboy Trail and the Yellowhead Highway. It’s a great place to stop for a picnic and on a hot summer day the river offers a cool respite. With more than 130 campsites, this park makes for yet another great hub from which to explore The Yellowhead County and The Cowboy Trail.

The villages of Entwistle and Evansburg are located adjacent to the park and are together referred to as the Partners on the Pembina. Entwistle started as a railway town to transport coal from mines located at nearby Evansburg. It’s hard to imagine that the hamlet was once called the “toughest town on the northwestern frontier” complete with its fair share of brothels and gambling joints. Life became considerably quieter once the coal industry petered out and large numbers of immigrants moved in from the prairies to try their hand at homesteading.

Try to find the official residence of the Town Grouch at #10 Frowning Street in Evansburg. Maybe you can spot Dippy the Chip Lake Monster, although you’re more likely to see the bald eagles, blue herons, pelicans or snow geese that frequent Chip Lake on their annual migrations.