Elk Island: Shirley Lake Trail

There is so much that I love about the University of Alberta. The sense of community in my law class is unparalleled, the professors are amazing, I have awesome friends, and I love learning about the law. The downside? My husband of four years lives over 300 kilometres away.

The two of us are unbelievably close, so long distance has been an adjustment. To be honest, at times it is a good thing we are apart so that we can both focus solely on our studies. We are both total nerds. We split our weekends between Calgary, Edmonton, and unplanned dates in cheap Red Deer motels when the distance becomes too much. During exams, we often don’t see each other for a month.

The final exam period was a stretch. I was lucky enough to have an awesome study buddy who made March 15th to April 27th entirely bearable. We built a study cave and barely surfaced for air; our only breaks were food, bathroom breaks, and a daily episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (or Mad Men as a treat on exam days). I dove into the exam period head first and shut out everyone who wasn't my study buddy. So as soon as I closed my laptop at 4:45pm on April 27th, the only thought in my brain was that a summer full of Jon was a door away. I knew he was waiting right outside the room for me: no more study cave, no more long distance for four entire months.

Exhibit A: The 2012 study cave

But now I am left in a kind of purgatory, where nowhere really feels like home. Calgary doesn’t have the life I’ve built in Edmonton, and Edmonton doesn't have the love of my life. Thus, May long weekend rolled around and I really could not think of any better way to spend it than for Jon and I to go up to Edmonton. Some of my friends had a hike planned for that Sunday and I’ve wanted to go to Elk Island for a long time, so we decided to join along.

Elk Island National Park is 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on the Yellowhead highway. It is home to both the largest (wood bison) and smallest (pygmy shrew) mammals in North America. One hundred ninety four square kilometres of Aspen Parkland, it is the 8th smallest national park but the only one that is fully fenced. There are a range of different hikes, but we settled on the Shirley Lake trail. At a flat 10.5 kilometres, it was a short-but-sweet crowd pleaser.

Shirley Lake trail loops around numerous little lakes. It was flat, allowing all of us to chat the entire way. A great way to catch up with friends without breaking the bank or too much of a sweat ($19 for a park pass for full car).

Exhibit B: Oster Lake

I would have to say the highlight for me was seeing wild bison for the first time! I spent the whole day searching for them on our hike. I anxiously drove around the 1km bison loop to no avail. Then finally as we were driving out of the park, I saw two! They were beautiful! While the highlight for me was seeing two live bison, the highlight for Jon was seeing a dead one. On the side of the trail was a bison skeleton, which Jon speculated had died in the winter, froze, then rotted all spring.

Exhibit C: Jon with dead bison

All in all, this was a good hike and a great weekend in Edmonton. Easy, super close to the city, and beautiful, it has a wide range activities (Jon and I hope to do more hikes later this summer). There is also a picnic area if you're more inclined to snacking than walking, or a lake if you're more of a boater. Personally, I chose to cap the evening with drinks and friends at Original Joe's on 109th. A great end to a great day in the capital!


Elk Island: Shirley Lake trail
Difficulty: 2/10
Scenery: 6/10
Great for: A short getaway with friends
Wildlife spotted: Two live bison, one dead bison, one beaver, two frogs