Goal: $800

Minimum donation per participant: $40

All donations to AWA are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.

This is a unique opportunity to access and see a remote, rarely visited Provincial Natural Area, with beautiful rock formations. A trip to Medicine Hat in the fall, probably with an over night stay, is an extra bonus.

This is a medium-difficulty hike, through a rough coulee, about 8 km with approx. 200 m elevation loss and gain, and there’s some light scrambling at one spot.

• Binoculars and camera
• Proper sturdy footwear for hiking as well as clothing suitable for variable weather. This includes proper head cover, sunglasses, light breathable clothing, light jacket and rain gear.
• Food, snacks and drinks for the day; including plenty of water.
• Sunscreen, insect repellent, personal items, etc.
• Hiking poles (optional).

Some more resources regarding wildflowers, wildlife and other sights in Alberta’s Grasslands, the South Saskatchewan River, and the White Rock Coulee area:

• The Grasslands Naturalists’ website has lots of resources on trails, wildflowers, butterflies, as well as their newsletter. They are a good organization that would appreciate your support: grasslands-naturalists.org.
• An excellent wildflower guide for the Medicine Hat area, courtesy of John Slater: hatwildflowers.weebly.com.
• Useful tourist info for the Medicine Hat area: tourismmedicinehat.com.
• You can see photos and the writeup from the June hike to White Rock Coulee in the A4W photo gallery: Hiking White Rock Coulee to the South Saskatchewan River (June 25, 2022).

This an opportunity for AWA members SE Alberta to join an adventure but hopefully Calgary and area members will make the trip. Hotels start at $50 to 60, the historic downtown is pretty, the Medalta Museum is really interesting and worth a visit, and there’s the Red Rock Coulee nearby. If some people don’t want to overnight, we’ll start the hike mid-morning so folks from Calgary could drive out in the morning and still get back later in the evening. It would make a long day, though, so an overnight in Medicine Hat is advised.

On the morning of the hike, we’ll meet north and east of Medicine Hat, and drive to the coulee entrance over 50 km of decent gravel road.