Wood Bison Trail (Elk Island)

We are going to take advantage this summers “Canada Strong Pass ” which gives everyone free access the the NationalParks, including Elk Island, from June 19th to September 7th.

We will meet at the Wood Bison parking lot (south of the Yellowhead & the road along the fence for ~½km, not through the main park entrance) at 9:45 a.m., with the hike leaving at 10:00. We’ll then follow the “Wood Bison Trail ” (trail 11) with lunch along the trail and continuing to the parking lot. The hike is a bit on the longer side (~16km) but relatively flat.  Pictures from August 20th, 2017.

Fun bison facts –

• Elk Island represents the southern extent of the historic range of Wood Bison and the northern extent of the Plains bison range. So, this is an area where the two subspecies naturally co-existed.
• Wood bison are the largest land animals in North America, weighing ~900 Kg or ~1 ton. They are bigger than plains bison because they consume a lower quality diet that is composed of plants that are not easy to digest. The larger amount allows for a larger digestive tract to allow the wood bison to get the most out of these poor food sources.
• During the calving period so keep your eyes out for little red calves. Also, don’t be alarmed if the females look skinny and sickly. They are recovering from the winter and giving birth.
• If the bison are be shedding (contributing to their sickly appearances) – keep your eyes out for clumps of fur, sometimes they even shed in “mats” which can be 1-m long. If you find some it is very soft.
• Bison are classically thought of as grazers (eating just grasses and sedges), but during the spring they take advantage of the highly nutritious and easily digestible new growth on shrubs, trees, and herbs. So, if you see the bison pay attention to what they’re eating.
• If you want to challenge yourselves, it’s possible to tell the difference between winter and spring/summer dung paddies –
  • Summer dung is in a large wet mound or completely flattened
  • Winter dung is rounder like a loaf of bread and may come apart in sections
    The difference arises from the bison eating fresh, wet plant material in the spring/summer but eat dead grasses and sedges in the winter. The dried bison dung paddies are great fire starters and smell amazing. 

If you are new to WTA hikes, then you should visit the Guided Hikes webpage for essential information. For further information specific to this hike, refer to The Waskahegan Trail Guide Book, pages 94-95, or contact the Hike Leader Johanna F. by email or call 780-298-4119.

Here are the stories of previous hikes:

• August 2017
• May 2019