Athabasca Landing Trail

[4] The portage, therefore, had local economic significance but was also part of a wider trade network that linked the Arctic and sub-arctic to the rest of North America.

The main packroute northwards from Edmonton from 1824 to 1876 was that to Fort Assiniboine, well to the west of the later Athabasca Landing Trail.

It was due to Hudson's Bay Company scouts seeking an alternative to the Fort Assiniboine route that Athabasca Landing was founded in 1876.

[5] In 2010, a conceptual master plan for the modern version of the Athabasca Landing Trail was completed.

The plan is to build a 150 km (93-mile) non-motorized recreational trail, which runs between Fort Saskatchewan and Athabasca, and highlights the region's historic and natural features.

The trail was primitive, and muddy sections were particularly hard to traverse.
A six-horse team transporting a boiler on the Athabasca Trail.