Medicine Hat, Alta.
Heaven in Alberta
The Canadian blues-rock band Big Sugar immortalized Medicine Hat as “Heaven in Alberta” in their 2001 song “All Hell for a Basement,” and with good reason. Located in the South Saskatchewan River valley between Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains, the Hat (as it’s known to locals) provides a distinctive oasis in the middle of hundreds of kilometres of prairies. It gets 330 days of sunshine a year and offers some one-ofa-kind trails in a prehistoric-looking landscape.
Far before the town was settled, the area’s cotton-woodfilled valleys and connecting rivers enticed migrating bison and other animals, in turn drawing people from the Blackfoot Confederacy, Cree, Assiniboine, and other First Nations. Known for hot summers, cold winters and an amazing trail system, the area delivers views of the river and surrounding coulees – the steep gullies created by water erosion after the last glaciers retreated, about 11,700 years ago (from the French word couler, “to f low”). Running through the coulees and along the river on some of Medicine Hat’s 115 km of trails feels like stepping back in time.
Strathcona Park Loop
The city boasts some beautiful parks, many of them connected by the trail system. Beginning on the trails at the downtown ymca, runners can head out with the river on their left. A straight out-and-back loop offers athletes about 5 km, with minimal elevation. The sight of the jutting coulees at the turnaround point never fails to delight, and the park is especially glorious in the fall.
Echo Dale Park
A small oasis outside the city, Echo Dale Regional Park has a small lake (for a dip after that sweaty run) and some fabulous trails that include rolling hills and prairie and river vistas. From the Echo Dale parking lot, runners can take an easy 4-km jaunt, adding distance by continuing through the trail system. A popular annual half-marathon race, Conquer the Ridge, runs from Echo Dale Park to Gas City Campground and back, and the race route makes an excellent 21-km outing.
Mr. Burnside
Named by the 670 mountain biking collective, Mr. Burnside is an homage to Mr. Burns (from The Simpsons) and a nod to the name the city had designated in old development plans for the area where the trails now exist. While local road runners love the paved and shale trail system throughout the parks and viewpoints around Medicine Hat, trail runners thrive on this singletrack and doubletrack. A parking lot on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway is
an invitation to a fantastically rugged trail system, with parts originally built by the city to connect Medicine Hat trails to the neighbouring town of Redcliff (so named for its breathtaking sandstone hoodoo formations, which are reddish brown from oxidation). Only steps outside town, the open vistas and unique craggy rock formations of the Badlands are visible for kilometres. The trails go up and down the coulees, and Mr. Burnside offers a moderate out-and-back of around 11 km, with 233 m of elevation gain.
Medicine Hat to Redcliff Loop
(via Mr. Burnside, Slow Burn, Tequila Sunrise, Death Valley)
There is a seemingly endless array of well-marked trails just off and around Mr. Burnside. From this starter trail, one can run a challenging half-marathon loop toward Redcliff and back, keeping the river on your left. While there are no mountains to climb, the steep paths make for burning quads and some decent accumulated elevation. One can easily extend the half-marathon loop along the multitudinous trails through the river valley. Bring water, keep an eye out for rattlesnakes and bull snakes, and consider a mid-run stop at the Redcliff bakery before returning to the Moab-like, dusty paths.
Keeley Milne lives and runs in Medicine Hat, Alta., on the traditional lands of the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Stoney-Nakoda, Tsuut’ina, as well as the Cree, Sioux, and the Saulteaux bands of the Ojibwa peoples. She is also a yoga instructor and coach with Personal Peak.