Clearwater County provides update on Rocky to Nordegg Trail

Clearwater County crews are busy blazing more trails eastward as the Rocky to Nordegg trail gets closer to completion.

Crews are currently working east of Misty Valley towards Baker Road.

Earlier in the year, crews reached Jackfish Creek with one bridge to be installed in 2025 with approximately 1000 metres of new trail to be constructed. This will connect the trail to Baker Road.

According to a statement from a spokesperson from the provincial ministry of Forestry and Parks, the remaining east leg of the trail will be completed in two phases:

Phase 3 of the project will link Sunset Creek to the Chambers Creek Provincial Recreation Area. Construction of a parking area near the redecked Taunton Trestle began earlier this fall and is expected to be completed by late 2025.

Phase 4 aims to connect Chambers Creek Provincial Recreation Area to the Rocky Mountain House area with about 20 km of trail, pending regulatory and land use approvals. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in the fall of 2026.

As for completed work in 2024, crews laid gravel on 13 km of constructed trail and are working on access and bridge abutments on the east side of Jackfish Creek.

Currently, the trail is completed from the Forestry Trunk Road near Nordegg townsite to an area near Saunders Alexo Rd.

Users can access the trail through a number of staging areas, including Prentice Creek Road, Chambers Creek, Jackfish Creek, Saunders, Harlech and Nordegg townsite.

The three-metre wide trail is open for use by quads, motorbikes, pedestrians, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

In the winter, visitors and locals alike use it for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and dog sledding.

The project, which began in 2009, saw Clearwater County begin developing a multi-user trail system along an abandoned rail line, covering 109 km between Rocky Mountain House and Nordegg.