Beating the heat at the North Saskatchewan River

The road heading down to the campsite rolls, winds and finishes with a steep downhill. For you cyclists looking to make the trip from Drayton Valley the ups and downs will not disappoint. The road meandering the campground’s treed campsites open up to a large activity field and playground at the heart of the camp. This is a fantastic place to play but in the heat of summer it can be quite hot. 

Following the boat launch signs you will find a large parking lot with a gravel beach and a rocky river bank. The current slows close at the water’s edge but get out too far you may find yourself going on a ride down the river. 

Play in the river

There is a row of Adirondack chairs on the upper bank but many locals opt to bring their own lawn chairs and sit in the shallows, cooling their heels and sipping a pop. Kids splash and play among the rocks at the boat launch. With such hard underfoot conditions, bringing along a pair of water shoes or sandals is a great idea. Sand toys such as buckets and shovels are also great. There is one picnic table at the boat launch.  

With such beautiful scenery it is important to remember that the water can be dangerous. Often the water’s surface masks the turbulent activity below. If you look to the bend just south of the boat launch below the surface there are some powerful undertows and have taken more than one life in recent years. Although the North Saskatchewan River is a class 5 river, being cautious, using life jackets, and keeping a watchful eye is always a great idea. 

As part of Canada’s broader trapper and fur trade history the North Saskatchewan River was once a vast trade route. By 1776, the North West Company had begun to travel up the North Saskatchewan to give competition to the Hudson’s Bay Company. South along the North Saskatchewan River Boggy (or Bogey) Hall is one refuge stop the famed David Thompson stopped at during his time with the North West Company. This clearing can be accessed from the Powerhouse Road near Lodgepole through a network of lease roads. Fast forward a century and industry and modernization came to the area. 

In 1913, upstream from Rocky Rapids, Edmonton Hydro-Electric Power planned to build a dam; but it was funded by a British syndicate and all funding stopped with the outbreak of WWI. The great flood of 1915 wiped out all evidence of dam building. In the 1930’s coal in the seams in the riverbanks sold for $2.50/ton.

Pan for Gold

If coal isn’t a mineral that interests you, maybe you’d like to spend your time panning for gold. 

Although gold rush fever never took hold of west central Alberta like it did the Yukon panning for gold is still a fun activity you can do at the river’s edge. I have yet to know anyone who struck it rich doing this but even just finding a few flakes here and there can feel like you won the lottery. 

Hiking the trails

Hiking from the Willey West boat launch is also an activity for the to do list.  If you head south along the river edge on a sandy hiking trail the curves along give you a view of the new Drayton Valley River Bridge. The original two-lane bridge structure was built in 1956. It replaced a ferry crossing further upstream. The ferry crossing brought its own set of challenges. Eleanor Pickup, the namesake for the local arts centre, re-lived her experience with the old ferry crossing in the Drayton Valley Historical Society book “Trappers, Loggers, Homesteaders and Oilmen.”  

“…I am first on. “What’s happening? The car made the ferry bob around like a rubber ball. The front of the ferry was higher than the back, “Oh NO!” I thought. Then the back was higher than the front.” 

Mrs. Pickup managed to navigate her car on and off the ferry but in a time before backup cams, and big car fronts the task wasn’t for the faint of heart. 

 In 2010 construction broke ground on a new two-lane bridge that you see today with completion being reached in 2016.