Coates

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LOCATION

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• Located in Leduc County
• North of Calmar
• 80 Acres
• 55 km drive from central Edmonton

VISITING GUIDELINES

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Please read our full guidelines before visiting our sites.

DIRECTIONS, PARKING & TRAILS

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• 1.3 km of natural trails
• Trail winds down a steep slope with several sets of wooden stairs
• Two creek crossings at the bottom of the valley
• Check https://rivers.alberta.ca/ (Weed Creek) for current water level. Below 3 meters should indicate the creek is crossable.
• Small gravel parking pullout

Directions & Parking Map

Trail Map

GEOCACHES

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• Walking with Dinosaurs • A Creek Runs Through It • I Saw The Sign

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS

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@EdAreaLandTrust #CoatesEALT

Upcoming Events

Thank you to Ethel Coates for leaving her legacy as this special piece of nature, for all to enjoy in perpetuity.

““Ethel was known to all who loved her to be a person in love with life! Her laugh was infectious and could be heard often and from far. She encouraged people around her to stretch themselves into the unknown and sometimes scary which often ended up in a great adventure for them all. She taught them about birds, taught them how to ski and canoe, the importance of the little things in life. She made you pay attention to nature and all of its offerings, all the while relishing it herself.””

— Ethel's family

Wildlife and Habitat

This natural area consists almost entirely of parkland forest, a habitat that is disappearing rapidly. This crucial habitat is located within an important wildlife corridor, Willow Creek, which allows wildlife safe passage from the surrounding agricultural areas, to the river valley a few kilometers away.

The majority of the natural area is covered by mixedwoods forest with an aspen, poplar, birch, and spruce canopy and diverse understorey including red-osier dogwood, honeysuckle, and multiple fern species. Shadowing a portion of the creek is a white spruce forest stand with many plants like fairybells, wintergreen, and stair-step moss lining the forest floor.

Coates is home to wood frogs, crayfish, mammals such as moose, coyote , porcupine, and a wide variety of birds including red-tailed hawks, great blue herons , and yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

Do you plan on trying to identify plants and animals while exploring? Consider helping EALT with some Citizen Science. There are lots of easy ways to share your finds with our conservation team and your input is greatly valued!

Importance

This natural area is located in an Environmentally Significant Area of Regional Importance and High Sensitivity. Willow Creek runs into the North Saskatchewan River, approximately 2 km away, therefore conserving this land protects a crucial link of a network of wildlife corridors and an integral part of the watershed.

This section of creek has historical significance too: hadrosaur footprints were extracted by helicopter in the early 1990’s, as well as albertosaurus skin impression & dinosaur bones. The area was therefore rated as having high potential for historic resources, by Alberta Culture and Community Spirit.

Indigenous Connections

The region around Coates, including Pigeon Lake to the south, was home to the Samson Cree, the Montana Cree, the Louis Bull Cree, and the Ermineskin Cree Nations who eventually formed the Pigeon Lake First Nation. Willow creek runs through Coates and into the North Saskatchewan River. The Nehiyawewin (Cree) name for the North Saskatchewan River is kisiskâciwani-sîpiy ᑭᓯᐢᑲᒋᐊᐧᓂ ᓯᐱᕀ, which means swift flowing river. The river valley was important for harvesting plants, fishing, and harvesting materials for tool crafting. The river itself, as well as its tributaries were the main modes of transportation for thousands of years.