Experience Elkwater
The town of Elkwater is the gateway to Cypress Hills Provincial Park and a base camp for year-round outdoor recreation in South East Alberta. Elkwater can be reached in a 45 min drive from Medicine Hat, and you’ll find basic amenities in town along with the Fuel Stop and 12-34 Café and Pub.
horseback riding. My family enjoys driving to the Horseshoe Canyon Viewpoint where we can hop on our bikes and ride back down to town on the Horseshoe Canyon Trail. We also like driving out to the Reesor Viewpoint to bike or hike down to Reesor Lake along the TransCanada Trail.
Explore the Town of Elkwater
There are also several other campgrounds to choose from in the provincial park including a few group use areas if you want to camp with friends or host a family reunion.
Camp at one of five RV-friendly campgrounds and you’ll have easy access to playgrounds, hiking and biking trails, Elkwater Lake with its sandy beach, as well as the visitor centre where you can enjoy interactive displays on the Cypress Hills area. My family enjoys riding our bikes along the shoreline trail between the west and east day use areas. Along the way, you pass boardwalks for birdwatching, playgrounds, a mini golf course, and a disc golf course.
Stay at the Elkwater Lake Lodge and Resort If you don’t want to camp, the Elkwater Resort has 31 lodge suites and 23 condo suites for year-round accommodations. There are also six cabins open through the summer season. From the resort you can walk down to the lake, rent a canoe, kayak, or stand up paddleboard from the marina, or just spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach.
Enjoy other Recreational opportunities near Elkwater
Other activities include fishing, hunting, and a variety of water sports on Elkwater Lake including waterskiing and wind surfing. There’s also a great golf course south of Elkwater with no tee times so just drop in when you’re in the area.
Winter in Elkwater It is my favourite season in Elkwater because you can spend a day exploring over 30 km of groomed cross-country ski trails, ski or hike into backcountry cabins, go skating in the Old Baldy Campground on a 1.5 km long skating loop, or play on the luge track outside the Learning Centre in town. There are many ways to experience Elkwater in the winter including fat biking, snowshoeing, ice fishing, or kicksledding (and you can even rent a kicksled from the Visitor Centre.) The Hidden Valley Ski Resort is also located south of town.
Once you drive higher up into the provincial park, you can access dozens of trailheads for hiking, mountain biking, or 20 | Enter Our Photo Contest
Story and Photos By: Tanya Koob
