An island of hills on a sea of ​​prairie

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There was no doubt about it: the sound of a coyote howling across the lake, that yelping bark piercing the night. I sat in the dark, soaking up the wild sounds mixed with the hissing and crackling of our campfire.

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This was the second night we had heard the “scrub wolves” serenade across the prairie skies. My wife and I had been lucky enough to see them a few times while sipping our morning coffee on the porch of our cabin in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.

Coyotes are one half of a predator-prey duo that spans the southern Prairies. What’s the other half? North America’s fastest land creature: pronghorns.

They are not really “antelopes”; their closest relatives are African giraffes and okapis. Fast, but not evolved for jumping, pronghorns try to squeeze under fences that wind through grasslands, and this is often when coyotes settle in for a meal.

The park, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, was Canada’s first interprovincial park, resulting when the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan united to administer the park in 1989. Eleven years later , the Fort Walsh Historic Site was officially included in the park.

The Cypress Hills area also offers a chance to see bird species that you may not see anywhere else in this part of Alberta, due to its geology. It’s almost like an island in the prairie ocean, says Yousif Attia, citizen science coordinator for Birds Canada.

“The area has not been affected by glacial activity, so there is an elevation increase,” he says. “With that, there’s more rainfall, more vegetation that provides a variety of habitats for bird diversity.”

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During an afternoon stroll along a boardwalk on the largest lake in the park – Elkwater Lake on the Alberta side – I spotted several different species including a snipe, a bluebird cerulean, a pair of red-necked grebes and several Caspian terns riding the wind currents above the lake. Swallows scurried across the surface of the water, looking for insects. Several times we saw hawks hovering overhead or sitting on a fence post, scanning the ground for prey.

Fishing opportunities exist on many lakes in the park, and I tried my luck on Spruce Coulee Reservoir and Reesor Lake. Both offer fishing from a dock and from boats.

I tried both methods on both lakes…without success. When we took a canoe out to paddle Reesor Lake they were jumping all over the place – but not on my lures.

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Even the pelicans in the lake were catching fish.

While fishing isn’t always successful, if you’re a history buff, a visit to Fort Walsh National Historic Site should prove fruitful.

Famous Sioux Chief Sitting Bull spent time here in 1877 after his tribe fled after the Battle of the Little Bighorn in the United States.

Located southeast of the park on the Saskatchewan side, it’s as far northwest of Elkwater as you can drive and still be in the park.

Some parts of the road are quite rough just past Reesor Lake on Battle Creek Road, but we did it driving a mid-size sedan. If there had been rain; I could see the dirt road becoming a tire sucking quagmire if you didn’t have a 4WD. The other option is a longer drive out of the park north to the Trans Canada Highway, east to 21, then south through Maple Creek, Saskatchewan and on the 271 side road. took this road on our way back to Elkwater, and it took longer, but that’s when we spotted some pronghorns along the road to the park.

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At the fort, we took a guided tour of the quarters of the post commander of the North West Mounted Police. I tried to imagine and absorb what Superintendent James Walsh would have felt in the presence of someone like Sitting Bull, the internal conflict he had to experience trying to balance safety and peace with the Sioux and their desire to stay in Canada against the wishes of an American delegation that visited, trying to convince Sitting Bull to return to the United States

Caught in the middle of two powerful factions, Walsh performed this act of juggling for five years before being transferred. The Canadian government wanted the Sioux to leave Canada and did not feel like it was doing all it could to convince them to leave.

“It was a tricky situation,” says Scott Whiting, visitor experience manager for Fort Walsh. “For First Nations people, the border along the 49^e the parallel was an entirely arbitrary thing.

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Eventually, after Walsh left, the Sioux departed for points south.

While a well-known person from Sitting Bull certainly draws attention to the area, Whiting points out that the Cypress Hills were a special place for First Nations people long before the Sioux.

“The hills have been a crossroads, a meeting point for indigenous peoples for centuries,” he says. “It was an important place, there was a large human presence, there was a lot of activity. During Fort Walsh’s peak years, with the aboriginal presence in the area, with the trading town that sprung up, it was one of the most densely populated areas in Canada, between Winnipeg and Vancouver.

As I walked around the barracks, I got the impression that the constables who called this fort “home” were made of rather harsh stuff. The beds were basically wooden planks with legs, each with its own buffalo robe. Most people who visit the park these days sleep much more comfortably.

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We chose the basic cabins provided by Alberta Parks along Elkwater Lake for what they call “comfort camping”. Each cabin has bunk beds with mattresses, a heater and a small fridge-freezer. While we were there we cooked outside on a camp stove.

Our last night there, we cooked on the fire pit provided by the park service. Because after all, we were camping, right? Nothing quite beats hot dogs roasted over a wood fire as the main course, followed by gooey, sweet, runny smores for dessert.

As the darkness advanced, we could hear the coyotes beginning to perform their twilight tunes, a canine concert that never gets old.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO:

Camping, Alberta side: There are different levels of camping at park campsites, with serviced and unserviced campsites. You can also choose “comfort camping” in one of the park’s refuges or chalets.

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They all have bunk beds with mattresses and can accommodate three to eight people, depending on which building you book. Many of them are equipped with electricity and lighting. A few come with wood stoves, those that don’t provide fire pits and picnic tables outside.

Campsites can be reserved online at https://reserve.albertaparks.ca or call 1-877-537-2757

Hotels/Lodges: There are three lodges in the park, one on the Alberta side, two on the Saskatchewan side, and an Airbnb near Elkwater Lake.

Elkwater Lake Lodge and Resort https://www.elkwaterlalodge.com 1-888-893-3811

Buffalo Trail Guest Housean Airbnb facility http://buffalotrailguesthouse.ca

Historic Reesor Ranch https://www.reesorranch.com 1-306-662-3498

The Cypress Hills Complex https://resortatcypresshills.ca 1-306-662-4477

Campground, Saskatchewan side:

As in Alberta, campgrounds range from self-sufficient without electricity to sites with electrical hookups. They have “camp-easy” sites, where a reserved tent is already set up for you, complete with beds, covered shelter, picnic table, camp chairs, propane camp stove, fire pit, an axe, a garbage can and parking for two vehicles.

Book online at https://parks.saskatchewan.ca or call 1-833-775-7275