Whether you’re planning to ride all 300 kilometres of the abandoned Canadian National rail line along Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail or take a shorter trip from town to town, part of the charm of the trail is the historic towns and villages it passes through and the points of interest along the way.
According to Iron Horse Trail administrative co-ordinator Marianne Price, the first highlight on the Iron Horse Trail is the staging area at Smoky Lake and Pumpkin Park.
Smoky Lake staging area and Pumpkin Park
“The town of Smoky Lake is home to the Great White North Pumpkin Weigh-Off in October each year and has celebrated 25 years of hosting this event,” said Price. “The giant pumpkins at the heart of the staging area are a testament to this fun event, where everything and anything pumpkin reigns.”
The staging area has a Trans-Canada Trail kiosk. As you travel east from Smoky Lake to Heinsburg, you are travelling on the Trans-Canada Trail.
“Another jewel worth checking out is the restored CN station,” said Price. “It is open in the summer as a visitor information centre, but also houses lots of artifacts from the railway era. You’ll want to spend a bit of time checking it out. There is plenty of parking, a loading ramp, and it is close to downtown where you can get a fresh baked cinnamon bun or do some shopping.”
Pine forest and sand dunes
Continuing on from the Smoky Lake staging area, a second highlight riders will reach is the pine forest near the hamlet of Bellis.
“As you travel the Iron Horse Trail, you pass through different ecological zones, from boreal forest to parkland to agricultural land to marshlands,” said Price. “The Bellis pine forest is another zone completely.”
While Price said the land on either side of the trail is protected as a conservation area, she said riders are still able to experience the uniqueness of the pine trees that are growing in sand.
“There is even an area for the adventurous to get off the trail and test their limits in the dunes,” she said.
If you venture off the trail, be wary of camouflaged bog areas, though, as Price reported that more than one ATVer has ended up stuck.
Vilna Pool Hall
Forty kilometres from Smoky Lake riders will come to a third highlight: the Vilna Pool Hall, the oldest operating pool hall in Alberta.
“Vilna is an old boom town with wooden sidewalks and some neat shops to explore,” said Price, adding that at the pool hall you can play on tables that over 100 years old.
Vilna's Mushroom Park has a quirky statue of three giant mushrooms of the tricholoma uspale variety that grows wild in the area.
“Don’t miss the chance to see the giant mushrooms,” Price said. “Mushroom picking is an art form in itself for the people around this community, and while everyone is willing to share their fungi knowledge, not everyone is willing to tell you where their secret ‘shroom picking place is.”
For more information on the Iron Horse Trail, visit www.ironhorsetrail.ca
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