A group of ski and mountain bike enthusiasts is well on its way to setting up a trail system alone Nine Mile Creek south of Widewater. With the M.D., the timber owner and the province on side, the dream of a newer, more accessible ski area for the Slave Lake area is closer than it’s been in quite some time.
“I’d say we’re skiing this winter,’ says Evan Baranyk, a longtime proponent of a new trail system. “All approvals are in place.”
As of last week, about five kilometres of trail had been flagged, courtesy of West Fraser Timber, which holds forest management responsibilities in the area. Baranyk says that’s the first phase of trails that he hopes would be usable by cross-country skiers by Christmas. Plans are in the works for extending those trails further up the Nine Mile watershed into the hills.
“Initially it’ll be beginner and intermediate terrain,” he says. “Next year or late this year we’ll start working on the more difficult terrain. There’s going to be some challenging stuff out there for sure.”
Nine Mile Creek rises in the Swan Hills southwest of Widewater and flows northeast towards Lesser Slave Lake. There are already some trails that follow its course and others intersecting the valley. The group has no plans to try to exclude motorized vehicles from the valley, but hopes an accommodation can be reached whereby quad and snowmobile riders could use certain trails while leaving others for the skiers.
“It follows the creek for the majority of the way,” says Baranyk, of the route the group has in mind. “We’ve walked it all. All the loops detour off the creek and up into the hills. They all come back to the creek. It’s beautiful up there.” On a tour of the lower part of the area last week, trail society member Kelly Harlton pointed out where the first set of trails would be brushed out – denoted by ribbons. A machine is to cut a 14-foot swath – big enough to accommodate the groomer that will pack the trails for skiing.
On the mountain biking side, Harlton says an Edmonton bike club is interested in pitching in to help build the bike trails. He hopes that with a good facility, a local club might form, which could host events to which out-of-town bikers could come. Even if that doesn’t happen, he envisions the Edmonton club using the trail system occasionally as place to ride and train.
West Fraser’s help on the project is contingent upon the trails being used for educational purposes. The company hopes that schools can use the trails in all seasons to teach students about forests, including the aspects of harvesting and reforesting that the trail system will one day intersect.
From the municipal district side, council has agreed that the M.D. can help out by building a bit of road into the parking area, which would be on M.D. land a couple hundred metres off the highway. The Town of Slave Lake is on board as well, having offered the former tourist information cabin for use at the trailhead.

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