 Located around 50km east from the city of Edmonton, Elk Island National Park in the Canadian province of Alberta is an ideal destination for a day trip out into nature, which is where RBOF ventured to on the last weekend of April. With various picnic sites, hiking and biking tails, a kid’s playground and apparently droves of bison to see, we packed some snacks and drinks, checked the weather forecast (warm, sunny with some clouds) and off we went on our first Canadian RBOF day-trip. From our brief online research about Elk Island National Park (EINP) we knew that we weren’t in for any heavy (or even light) offroading, there would be no desolate, rustic picnic spots and we wouldn’t really need to be on constant look out for dangerous wildlife around us. And the four of us (yes, the National Park is pet-friendly so we took our pet dog, Minny, with us as well) were content with this scenario, as our first family-orientated Canadian nature trip. We left Edmonton at around noon on Sunday afternoon, took the Yellowhead Highway east and by 1pm we had passed the large, welcoming sign into the National Park and were paying our park fees at the visitor’s information centre. We paid CAD$ 17.50 for two adult (pets and children under 17 are free), but if you purchase an annual, family/group Parks Canada pass for around CAD$150, then entrance to this and many other National Parks in Canada is free.  The main entrance into the National Park The visitor centre is very welcoming and has information aplenty about the park itself, the bison that everyone comes to see and has a wide array of branded gifts, from caps and hoodies to stuffed animals, key rings and obligatory fridge magnets (which we obviously bought one of). There’s even a small fridge with some drinks and snacks available for purchase and washrooms and baby-changing rooms as well for you to use before heading into the park.  Informative and interactive display in the Visitor Information Centre. Having given the little doggo time and a chance to do her business, we set off into the park, keeping our receipt on the front of the dash, so that the park attendant at the south gate could see that we paid our park entry fee. Our aim was to drive north to Astotin lake, a mere 16 minute drive, where our “research” showed that there are picnic sites, open grassy areas, a kids playground and all connected by walking paths. As luck would have it, after just a couple of minutes of driving along the smooth, paved road, we came across our first bison sighting (not just of the day, but ever…as there are no bison in Botswana)! As luck would not have it, the two we saw weren’t all that near and had their backsides turned to us.  The first bison sighting. A sign of things to come... We continued on, admiring the forests around us and the various bodies of water that were by the roadside. We reached Astotin lake in the allocated 15 minutes and parked in the second, and larger, visitor parking lot. The parking is separated from the lake by a large green field where people were having picnics, throwing frisbees, chasing their dogs (and vice versa) and just generally enjoying the surprisingly warm April day. A small pier leads you from the beach out about 20 metres into the lake for a great view of the surrounding area. Our little traveller, Viktor grabbed his balance bike and drove it along the paved pathway that connects all the picnic sites, bbq areas, public restrooms together and leads you to the Astotin theatre, passing the kids playground, with more picnic benches and tables dotted around it, where we stopped and sat down.  The pier, leading out onto Astotin lake. Aside from the kids playing in the playground, there were other families and couples, some with pets, some without, others on bikes and some jogging, all of whome were making the most of the warm, yet not overly sunny day by the lake. The smell of meat on the grill was in the air, we had our snacks and drinks, the little guy was alternating between riding his bike and going down the slide for the twentieth time and we spent the afternoon there.  Decently sized playground for the kiddos. At around 5pm, while there were still loads of people around, we decided to slowly make our way back to the car, hit the restrooms on the way and head back to the south gate with the aim and hopes of seeing a lot more bison and much closer than earlier. Not ten minutes later, we saw a couple of vehicles ahead, pulled over to the side of the road and sure enough to our left was a small but impressive herd of bison, munching on the grass in the warm, late afternoon glow. We pulled over as well and admired these “fluffy cows” as they grazed, crossed over to our side of the road and made their way off to a small lake nearby.  We noticed a few of these large beasts off in the distance, near the small lake, and we could actually get a little closer, by turning off the road into a gravel ‘parking lot’ of sorts, which gave a nice view of the lake and the bison heading towards it. We got out to stretch our legs a little, watched the animals, grazing in silence, and then headed back to the car.
As we joined the main road again, we saw a gravel road heading off to the left and I’m a sucker for getting my SUV dirty and turning on the AWD (all-wheel drive) system any chance I get, so left we went! While the gravel road could be driven in a low-riding Corolla, it was not much of a challenge (or rather, at all) for our V6 Santa Fe, we were pleasantly greeted by the sight of not just one, but two large herds of bison just over the hillside. The first herd being on the left and the second on the right, gave my wife and I ample opportunity to take some great photos and videos (albeit with our phones, as I had to part with all my camera gear when we made the move from Botswana to Canada).  Even the backseat passenger got a close-up view of the bison. Having recalled seeing the words “bison loop trail” on the map we were given at the visitor centre, we assumed this to be it, as did everyone else making their way to the south gate, as it got a tad crowded with all the vehicles stopping to admire the herds. Having had our fill of bison-watching for the afternoon, we decided to part with them and the crowds of cars and joined the main road back to the south gate, passing the visitor centre and joining the highway back home. In the distance we could see gloomy rain clouds looming over Edmonton. “Let it rain” we thought, as we had already had our great first trip to the Canadian outdoors, thoroughly enjoyed it and have now been inspired to get out more, to #GoTravelExplore! Watch Our Short Video of the Trip Below:Find Out MoreTo find out more about the Elk Island National Park and all of it's activites, trails and camping options, you can visit their website (click here), send them an email (click here) or call them on: 1-780- 922-5790 1-888-773-8888 (toll free) RBOF Rating |
