Winter Outdoor Fun

Kinosoo Ridge - For All Seasons

Kinosoo Ridge For All Seasons is the region’s premier winter destination. With a chalet offering the best views of Cold Lake, and the area’s largest kitchen, the facility can fully cater a variety of events all year round. It is also home to Alberta's only BagJump - a huge inflated bag that skiers and boarders can fall into after grabbing some air off of a jump.

During the winter season relax in the chalet, or enjoy a workout on the 11 runs covered in natural and machine-made snow. A triple chairlift, carpet ski lift on the bunny hill, or T-bar operations ferry you up the hill. Kin02

New this year Kinosoo Kritter lessons for kids three to six years old. Click here for more information

The Ridge offers groomed novice and intermediate runs, a Terrain Park for snowboarders and skiers, and night skiing. Snowboard park features for all levels . Other services include equipment rental, ski lessons, ski patrol, Holiday Lesson Camps, Racing Team, special events, and food service. Kinosoo Ridge is located 14 km northeast of downtown Cold Lake on French Bay. 780-594-5564. Visit www.frozensurf.ca

Cross Country Skiing

Muriel Lake M.D. Park, just outside of Bonnyville, has 10 km of groomed trails in a boreal forest setting. Click here or the M.D. Facebook page, for up-to-date snow conditions. Cold Lake Provincial Park has 13.5 km of intermittently groomed trails and Moose Lake Provincial Park has 6 km of intermittently groomed trails. The Cold Lake Golf and Winter Club on 4 Wing Cold Lake (www.coldlakegolfandwinterclub.ca) offers kilometres of groomed cross country ski trails set on the golf course.

Ice Fishing

Frosty fishing attracts a lot of anglers once our lakes freeze over. For a more customized outing, hook up with It’s A Keeper Guided Fishing Tours & Lodge at 780.826.4895 or www.its-a-keeper.ca to reel in a monster Lake Trout or a “northern lobster” (Burbot). Great catches of Walleye, Yellow Perch and Lake Whitefish are always a possibility as well.

Snowmobiling

Outside of Bonnyville, riders can take advantage of the dedicated work of the Bonnyville Snowdusters Snowmobile Club. The Club has developed extensive trails around Moose Lake, and along the Beaver and Sand Rivers, providing a 50 km round trip. The South Cabin Trail is an 80 km round trip, connecting to the Heinsburg and Elk Point trail systems. The Wolf Lake area offers a forested region of cutlines and old roads.

Once Cold Lake freezes over, it is a snowmobilers paradise, with plenty of space to open up your machine. Stay in the Lakeshore Inn Bed and Breakfast, step out the front door, hop on your sled, and head north for miles.

The Cold Lake Snowmobile Club has a warm-up shelter on the northeast side of Crane Lake. It is accessible from a trail starting at Sandy Beach on Cold Lake, with a mid-way viewing point at Ethel Lake.

The Trans Canada Snowmobile Trail links up with the Iron Horse Trail on the east side of Cold Lake. Unfortunately the Beaver River Trestle, just outside of Cold Lake, was damaged in a fire last year, and as a result, access to the rest of the Iron Horse Trail from Cold Lake is not possible until further notice. Riders can access the 300 km Iron Horse Trail just before the hamlet of Ardmore and use it as a jumping off point to access countless kilometers of backcountry trails and cutlines that weave through the region’s more rugged terrain. In our region, snowmobilers can experience virtually every type of riding. The area offers a diverse mixture of open areas; lakes, hills, valleys, ravines, creek beds, rivers, treed and sheltered trails.