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ADVENTURE LOG / DAY HIKING / FIELD NOTES

HIKE AMISK WUCHE TRAIL & LIVING WATERS BOARDWALK | ELK ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

I respectfully acknowledge that the land in and around Elk Island National Park is located within the Treaty 6 Territory, the ancestral and traditional territories of the Niitsítpiis-stahkoii ᖹᐟᒧᐧᐨᑯᐧ ᓴᐦᖾᐟ (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ), ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐊᐢᑭᕀ Nêhiyaw-Askiy (Plains Cree), Michif Piyii (Métis), Cree people. Source: native-land.ca

AMISK WUCHE TRAIL

The Amisk Wuche Trail in Elk Island National Park is a relatively easy (there are a couple steep uphill sections) hour long hike that takes you on a 2.5 km loop featuring a diverse trail of marsh, boardwalks across small lakes and beaver ponds, and forest winding through aspen, birch and spruce. This was the first hike that we completed in the park, setting out to eventually complete all eleven trails at Elk Island NP. We actually knocked two off the list on this day! (The easy ones!)

Hiking the trail mid-summer was wonderful! The greenery was lush, the flowers were blooming, and we saw countless frogs hopping along the trail with us. However, the mosquitos were thick as we were also hiking in between rainstorms. (Which was also a benefit to a quiet hiking trail – we were the only ones out there!)

ASTOTIN LAKE


We stopped at Astotin Lake before heading down to the Living Waters Boardwalk to watch the clouds to see what they were doing as they looked fairly ominous. The wind had just picked up, and the waves were crashing on the deck of the dock. (Soaking Josh seconds after I took his photo and turned around – damn! Would have loved to have caught that on camera!) It looked like we had just enough time to do the Living Waters Boardwalk so without any more delay, off we went!

LIVING WATERS BOARDWALK


The Living Waters Boardwalk is a short, 300 meter marshland trail that loops onto Astotin Lake. There are interpretive plaques that educate about plant and marine life in the area.  We watched a floating island make its way towards the boardwalk due to the heavy winds (and getting stuck on it for a while) We also saw a family of American Coots and stopped to watch the babies frolic around – so cute!

We made our way back to the Jeep, got in, closed the doors and the rain started to POUR! What perfect timing!

Until next time, chase the stoke!
– Tracey

Chase the Stoke Mountains

INFORMATION

  • You will need a Parks Canada Pass or daily admission to enter into Elk Island National Park.
  • More trail and park information can be found on the Amisk Wuche Trail and Living Waters Boardwalk pages on the Parks Canada website.
  • When photographing wildlife, please keep your distance. Parks Canada recommends 30 meters from large animals and 100 meters from bears. Never bait, call, crowd, chase, or capture an animal to take a photo.

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