Monday, January 16, 2017

My Runaway Fave

On a bleak day in early January, I asked people on Facebook for their favourite nature-y spots. There was a twister of suggestions and counter-suggestions that continued over the next several days.

In the end, I compiled a list of all their suggestions because I wanted to remember them but also because I thought some of you might also need nature-y suggestions.

From Clearwater Lake Provincial Park, July 2016.
So here goes:
From Riding Mountain National Park, July 2015.

MANITOBA

William Lake Provincial Park in southwestern Manitoba.—writer Julie Kentner

Have you spent time in Whiteshell PP? It has lots of hiking and biking trails, and accessible canoe routes. The tunnels on Caddy Lake canoe route are worth the trip. —writer Donna Besel


SASKATCHEWAN

Camp Shekinah outside Waldheim, SK (north and a bit west of Saskatoon) is my favourite place in the world. It's also very close to Batoche and Duck Lake, so you could immerse yourself in the Riel Rebellion history. —writer Lynne Pieper Martin

Crooked Lake Provincial Park in the Qu'Appelle Valley is sweet. And the back roads are wonderful —poet Bernadette Wagner

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park and Area

You can drive down from Cypress Hills to Havre, Montana, on the Milk River. I think there are more badlands along the Milk. Also, just south of Havre are the Bearpaw Mountains, where Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce finally ended their 1500 mile flight to Canada from eastern Washington. —novelist Bob Armstrong

You can also hit Grasslands National Park on the way to Cypress. It's a complete "wilderness" park for the prairies (no development; no camping within sight of any road (but you can camp there), pack in everything you need and pack it out again, some incredible landscapes and tons of archaeological features to see right on the surface. And lots of snakes. —archaeologist Jordi Malasiuk

Cypress hills in S Sakatchewan is amazing...and you can go to Eastend, SK, to see the TRex museum at the same time. And apply to write at the Stegner house while you're at it! Nearby is The Old Man On His Back tall grass prairie reserve which used to be the Butala ranch. Would love to see that as well.—novelist Erna Buffie

I've been to Cypress Hills. Went for an amazing horse ride.—poet Ashlyn Haglund

Cypress Hills is great, and especially the road between the two provinces, if it isn't muddy. You go by a couple of historic battle sites.—scholar Jason Wiens


ALBERTA


Waterton Lakes National Park in SW Alberta. You can take the International Peace Boat across Waterton Lake to the US side, without a passport, even! It's my favourite place in the world (on a non-windy day!). You could do Cypress Hills and Elkwater for a few days, then zip across to Waterton within a couple of hours! And between the two is Sweet Grass, MT, which is an special eco-system and spiritual site. —writer Lori D. Roadhouse Haney

Yes, Waterton! Especially in that period of the Wildflower Festival.—poet Alice Major


REST OF CANADA/US

How about Yukon! Tombstone Territorial Park… —Poet Joanna Lilley

Yukon. Just for the midnight sun.—artist Grant Guy

Cape Breton Highlands Nat'l Park. —editor Jill Wilson

Gros Morne. Like Iceland in Newfoundland.—textile artist Cara Hehir Winsor

Gros Morne rules. Best geological tours in Canada too!—Julie Rak

Also, the small amount of Ontario’s Silvia Grinnell I got to see is, well, a whole different landscape.—union organizer Craig Saunders

Silvia Grinnell is southwest of Sudbury—it's on my to-do list too, it was a favourite Group of Seven location.—Bob Armstrong

Parc Forillon in Gaspésie (sea and hills, seals and bears).—poet Bertrand Nayet

Yoho if you haven't. It's my runaway fave.—Julie Rak

Kootenay or Yoho for mountains/glaciers/waterfalls. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota) for badlands and grasslands— they have a 100 mile mountain biking trail connecting the north and south units of the park travelling through national grasslands. West coast rainforests on Vancouver Island for big honkin' trees. (Check out Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew at the southern end of the West Coast Trail). Pukaskwa National Park or Sleeping Giant Provincial Park for the rugged coast of Lake Superior. Forgot to mention Mount Robson and Mount Assiniboine—the two most beautiful big mountains I've ever hiked to. Each is a long backpack in with multiple day hiking areas once you're at the basecamp at the mountain.—Bob Armstrong

You could go to Yellowstone before it blows up, too.—Lori D. Roadhouse Haney

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