Cooking Lake Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area

There is a huge network of cross country ski trails that can also be used for mountain biking and hiking. During the winter, the park is the location of the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival, which is a huge cross country ski festival. Trails range from short to much longer, and various trails can easily be connected to suit the amount of time you have available. The park web site, http://gateway.cd.gov.ab.ca/siteinformation.aspx?id=23 has seasonal maps of the trails and the park.

The trails are mostly flat, with nothing too scary. There are TONS of bugs during the summer, due to the low lying and marshy land. There are also fire pits at each of the trailheads... a great way to finish the day.

Directions:

There are 3 different trail heads, each accessible off the Yellowhead Highway east of Edmonton. Turn south off the highway, directly opposite the entrance to Elk Island Park (Elk Island is north of the highway) about 40 km's east of Edmonton. Be sure to check the seasonal maps so you know what access you are allowed on each trail.