Miquelon Lake Provincial Park is located approximately 60 km East of Edmonton Alberta and features 20 km of hiking trails. 3.7 km are paved trails around the campground and shoreline. The rest of the park is considered backcountry trails consisting of dirt grass and some low lying muddy sections. The park has a full service campground, day use area with playground and a small shallow lake. Note that the lake is not swimmable and only allows for paddle friendly watercraft.
Today however we are here to talk about the hiking trails throughout the park. These trails are also Dog friendly but dogs must be kept on a leash. The trails are available to hike year around and day entry into the provincial park is free so enjoy. We love to hike these trails in fall or spring as the bugs aren't bad and with less foliage on the trees we always see deer and moose. The trails are also never busy in the off season which is a huge bonus!
Grebe Pond is a short interpretive trail with boardwalk a great place to birdwatch and take the little ones to see all the water life. This trail is located right of the main park road opposite from the Campground entrance.
DID YOU KNOW: THE PARK IS LOCATED IN UNESCO BIOSPHERE
BEAVER HILLS DARK SKY PRESERVE.
Holdsworth Trail is located on the same side as Grebe Pond; you can park in the day use area to access this trail head. The trail is a 3.5km loop that features the Historic Landmark of the Holdworth Family Homestead. The trails is the park are part of the mixed Boreal Forest and mostly have Aspen, Poplar and white spruce trees with mixed ground shrubs.
We have never completed this trail in the summer months but have enjoyed the sights in winter. The trail was snow packed and we saw plenty of wildlife and even a moose!
The other trails are located by the overflow and group area camping. There are several loops interconnecting to create several km of hiking to enjoy. The Backcountry system consists of Moose Trail (1.5 km one way), Beaver Hills Loop (1.7km), Chickadee Loop (1.4km), Deer Loop (1.3km), Ermine Loop (1km), Fox Loop (0.9km) and Grouse Loop (3.7km).
These trails can get muddy in areas but are easy to moderate hiking. There are some small hills through the beautiful boreal forest. Grouse Loop is the hardest part of the trail but is beautiful so don't miss it.
You will even stumble across and old abandoned homestead along the Grouse Loop about halfway. (Remember always leave things how you found it) We sat and enjoyed the spot where the Abandoned House Stood as this once was someone's life and land; What a view they had! The House was built in the early 1900's, it's hard to imagine what life was like of them back then.
