The Craftiest Workshop

Returning to Grande Prairie from a visit to Edmonton or Fort McMurray, we often notice the sign off Hwy 43 that says Kleskun Hills. It is kind of a reminder that we are close to home.

We were invited to meet my brother in-law and his family there for a hike last weekend. It is roughly a 15 minute drive from our place.

I was surprised to see how much there was there. When you first drive in you see a bunch of historical buildings representative of the early 1900’s. While the buildings are locked, you can look through the windows to see them nicely set up inside. It reminded me of Cumberland Village east of Ottawa or Heritage Village in Fort McMurray. From what I understand, you can request a tour ahead of time for a donation.

Check out this website for more photos of the town.

http://www.discoverthepeacecountry.com/htmlpages/kleskunhills.html

Just past the town, is day use parking and a playground. Nine treed in campsites run along the road with a washroom/shower building. The campsites have no electrical hook up and there is no potable water. Camping is $27/night plus $5 fire permit fee and is offered from May-Oct. It would be an ideal spot to stop overnight if someone were taking the highway to Alaska.

The highlight of this area is the mud hills which are known to have had dinosaur bones discovered in them. They have been called the Badlands of the north. There are walking paths and these mud hills both to the left and right sides of the campground.

We climbed to the top to take some photographs.

To walk around both sides would probably take three hours. It is hard to avoid having to climb and then descend the hills so it is a bit of a workout that way. I found it a bit bothersome on my ankle.

It is a natural area of plants native to the area. Some cacti, short bush saskatoons, wild onion and these lone lovely lilies scattered all along the walk.

There is also a burial ground where one of the last battles between the Cree and the Beaver tribes is said to have taken place.

We definitely enjoyed the day and it is a spot that we would share with any family or friends that might come visit us in the future.
It is open year round for hiking so we may even try going there to snowshoe next winter.