Trail Conditions

This page on Trail Conditions provides important updates to information in the current (8th) edition of The Waskahegan Trail Guide Book, and so this web page (as well as the Trail Guide) should be consulted before going on or planning any hike on the trail.

For easy reference, this list of trail notes follows the order of the Trail Guide; page numbers point to the pertinent Trail Guide map. In addition, the colour of note headings indicates the nature of the note:

  • Green – Go head! Good news on a recovered problem with the trail.
  • Blue – Go ahead, but take heed of noted hike challenges.
  • Purple – Restrictions must be honoured before hiking.
  • Red – Do not hike due to lost trail sections. Plans to adapt are also sometimes noted.

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Last Updated: February 3, 2024
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Page 71 North Miquelon along Currie Pasture
The landowner is refencing the property in the area around Currie pasture, as a result brush has been piled up along the fence line. The trail can still be traversed but extra care needs to be taken to bypass the brush . (Updated February 2024)

Page 37 South Coal Lake from ‘A46’ (Pumping Station) south past the Water Treatment Plant
The County of Wetaskiwinl has designated the land as an Environmental Reserve and as per the Municipal Government Act, Environmental Reserves must remain in their natural state with no trails created or maintained.

While they have not rescinded access but we can no longer maintain that section of the trail. Maintenance was last done in June 2023 and over time could become quite rough. (Updated November 2023)

Page 027. Kopp Lake – A34 towards A35
Reroute complete, stile relocated further down the fence line & signage updated. (May 2021) Landowner in middle section along Kopp Lake has rescinded access. Rerouting is still TBD, please do not use. (January 2021)

Pages 049-043. Fort Ethier, Bigstone Creek & Pipestone Creek from “A48” to “A50”
Pages 52-53 East Battle River from “Rest and be Thankful Hill” to “A67”
Pages 104-105 Ross Creek from ‘A1109’ to ‘A111’
Please note that these sections of the trail (“A48” to “A50”, “Rest and be Thankful Hill” to “A67” and “A109 to “A111”) are CLOSED during hunting season (September 1st to November 30th). (Updated August 2022)

Pages 048-051 Middle Battle River & West Battle River at “A60”
If starting from “A60” (‘South Bittern Lake Road’ on Township Road 462A) please park before the row of trees (~200m from the bridge) without blocking the farm road, to allow vehicles to make it through the turn safely. (September 2019)

Page 029. Mix-Cloverlawn Mix Stopover – A36 towards A38
Landowner in middle section along Mud Lake has rescinded access. Rerouting is still TBD, please do not use. (May 2014, Updated April 2018)

Page 037. Coal Lake South
The trail has grown in fine now and boardwalks are in place. (Updated April 2018)
There is a washout between Heggerud hill and the pump house at A46 (~25 min from the pump house). The washout is short and has ribbons to guide over the clay, and new growth is covering it making the footing better, which needs to stay as it is holding the ground together. No maintenance required at this time. However later during the regular maintenance before the September hike there will be a need for two sections of boardwalk build shortly after Hughston stopover going south & another just after Heggerud Hill where its washed out with a creek running through. You can get around it carefully but boardwalk would be better (May 2014)

Page 043, Pipestone Creek A53 to A50
Due to slope erosion during the past few seasons this trail is particularly challenging. Specifically, the section between A53 and the mid-point between A52/A51 – there are several sections between A53 and A52 where the trail is very narrow and slanted near the top of a steep hill, the switchback at ‘E’ is tricky due to erosion and the alternate route uphill at the midway point between A52/A51 has gotten very steep due to erosion. (June 2014)

Trail Maintenance rebuilt the switchback, rerouting around the landslide has been started (an ~10m along the creek is still a bit tricky and needs a bit more work to finish), repairing a bridge and removing several years of deadfall was completed on this section for a successful September 2019 group hike. (Updated September 2019)

Page 049. Battle River West A57 to A60
The bridge at Low’s Crossing has been removed for safety reasons, so follow the alternate route given in the Trail Guide using A58 instead. (Updated April 2018)

A landowner advises parking away from the trailhead at A60. Instead, park a bit north of it, on the west side of Range Road 221, closer to the bridge but still south of the Battle River near the sign that says “Keep Right, Curves”. (Updated September 2019.)

Page 051. Closure of a portion of the Middle Battle Section to all but guided hikes with advance permission
A landowner along this section of the Trail has rescinded access as of 1 January 2017. However, permission for guided hikes only may be granted by phoning ahead of time. For the time being, if you plan a guided hike, contact WTA member Terry Elrod (terryelrod762 AT gmail.com or 780-432-3557) about this and he will contact the landowner on your behalf. Otherwise, through-hikes between the Trautman Family bequeath to the Nature Conservacy (A61) and the Duhamel Campground (A62) are no longer possible. The portion of the Trail now closed is a quarter-mile wide, with its eastern edge having the same longitude as Range Road 214. The exact location of the lost portion of the Trail is between longitudes (in decimal degrees) –113.009674 to the west and –113.003597 to the east. Signs of trail closure have been posted at these locations on the trail, and warnings of trail closure ahead have been posted near the trail access points leading to this property: from A61 at the western end and from A62 at the eastern end. (Updated April 2018)

Page 053. Battle River East
Trail in good condition this season. (Updated April 2018)
Unusual amount of spring flooding starting at A62 (Duhamel Campground) and along the river but anticipate it subsiding as the season progresses. (April 2014)

Page 079. Hastings Lake East (A91-A92)
Issue has been resolved & trail is usable. (Updated April 2018)
Landowner put in a new fence starting at the stile at A91, continuing past the Two Stones and forces you through several wet/marshy areas. (June 2013)

Page 079. Hastings Lake East – A93 towards A94
Reroute has been completed and the trail is open. (Updated March 2019)
Landowner in middle section between the A93 (Wye Road/Range Road 203) & Mottet Hill section rescinded access. Rerouting is still TBD, please do not use. (June 2018).

Page 079. Allen Nature Trail by Hastings Lake
No physical issues with the trail but the landowner has expressed some concern about recent inappropriate activity on the trail.

WTA members should telephone when planning to hike this section of the trail (Jeff & Marja at 780 462-3991 or Jeff’s cell 587-589-3719). (Updated April 2018)

Page 085. Wanison Lake Boardwalk
Both boardwalks have been replaced & trail is usable. (Updated April 2018)
The first boardwalk was repaired as part of the July 2014 train maintenance. The second boardwalk needs work.

Page 101. Trappers Lake starting at A104
Landowner has rescinded access from A104 (Range Road 211) to the fence at the midpoint of Trappers Lake; do not use. We are exploring alternate access. (Updated October 2019)

Awaiting permission from Elk Island to do maintenance from the fence to Oster Lake, so it is very overgrown and the trail is not apparent. (Updated April 2018)

Beaver damage between the fence into Elk Island National Park and the Old Road to Oster Lake. We rebuilt the bridge that was flooded but still some swampy/marshy spots. (May 2014)

Page 101. East Branch Ross Creek – A104 towards A105
Landowner has rescinded access; do not use. (April 2014)

Page 105. Ross Creek A109 to A110 to A111
Trail is badly flooded and overgrown. Trail Maintenance will try to repair. (August 2014)

There are still too may issues for maintenance to get trail ready for the 2017 season

  • there is a couple of slough areas caused by beaver activity that are impassable
  • at A111 a new landowner seeded a crop not present before and going around it would be awkward hikers
  • we need to move the stile and bridge over the creek later in the year

Getting Ross Creek back to hiking condition will be possible, but will take time. Meanwhile hikers should avoid the area. (Updated June 2017)

Trail Maintenance has been provided with additional funds for construction materials for Ross Creek, in case recovery of  this area in the 2019 season is possible. (Updated March 2019)

Trail Maintenance will not be completed during the 2019 season, possibly 2020, the group hike scheduled for late October will be replaced. (Updated July 2019)

Page 105. Partridge Hill Section – A111 towards A112
Trail is closed in the section from A111 going towards A112; the landowner has rescinded access. Rerouting is still TBD. Do notuse. (July 2015)