Driving

The Eco-Tour

The West Block of Grasslands National Park has a single drivable gravel road. That road traverses the current holdings of the park from Highway 18 in the north and returns to Val Marie via some other gravel roads.

A very crude map of the road is available from the Val Marie visitor's centre. A short interpretation guide for $2.00 is also available from the Visitor's Centre. Help support the park and buy the guide.

Always drive with a full-tank of gas. The eco-tour is entered from a well-marked access road just east of Val Marie on Highway 18. The road then proceeds through the park with roadside pull-outs throughout the park. The pull-outs correspond to the articles in the Eco-tour guide. You are free to stop anywhere along the road and walk around. A number of day hikes featured in the Guide to the Hiking Routes of Grasslands National Park have their trailheads starting from this road. Even if you don't want to walk a full day, take some time to walk across the grasslands and feel yourself swallowed up by the immense and overwhelming scenery. But don't be so overwhelmed that you forget to take a bottle of water on your walk. Stop #2 has a bison rubbing stone and some teepee rings a short, easy, 100 m walk from the road.

Just across the Frenchman River, Belza's ranch offers the only vehicle campsite within the west block. Here you can park your RV or tent trailer for the night after making arrangements at the visitor's centre. For camping rules in the park, visit the park's web site or my camping recommendations. Farther on are the only Black-tail Prairie Dog colonies in Canada and the rare Burrowing Owl. What Canadians usually call Prairie Dogs are really Richardson Ground Squirrels or Gophers. Here is about the only place where you can find the real thing.

The map lists a number of other "Bladed trails", "Prairie Trails", and Private Access roads. Don't attempt these with anything less than a mid-sized car. There are large rocks with will play tag with your oil pan. There is also a road on the map that extends eastward from Highway #18 as the highway curves north and should cut across the north side of the park. This road just doesn't exist. We tried to take it back from Gillespie's ranch and the Molestead coulee. It just headed north across a rock-laden, dirt path and through about 8 different cattle fences until we found a rancher who invited us to follow him to Mankota.

Back to the Grasslands National Park Visit

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