There’s a network of interconnecting trails in the Rotary Forest Community Pathways on the west side of High River Alberta. They’re on the Highwood River flats and the route described here makes a good-sized loop using several.
The Rotary Forest is a place of meadows, wooded groves, and it’s the former site of Beachwood Estates. This neighbourhood of luxury homes was removed due to the flood potential and there’s almost nothing left to indicate anything was ever here.
Rotary Forest Loop High River Alberta – a pleasant stroll at the edge of town. Keeping active with Chris and Connie.
The adventures begins at the hockey rink and community gardens off Highwood Trail SW at Sheppard Road. On the west end of town and on the south side of the Highwood.
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Make note of signage here marking old Macleod Trail linking Fort Calgary and Fort Macleod to the south, in the 1870s-1880s period. Pack trains and travellers passed right by this very spot. There was also a stopping house on the property and it was one of many along the route.
Head west past the rink, hit a section of the (paved) Happy Trails pathway and turn right. Note that stone house and it’s the remains of “Shorty” McLaughlin’s Old Town Farm. The home dates to the late 1890s and had various occupants into the 1970s.
This section of pathway is atop a berm and it’s for flood mitigation. The town is named High River for a reason, and it’s there to keep that nasty Highwood River at bay.
The trail bends east and where it meets up with the Highwood River, make a hard left and head down the stairs. We’ve been walking past that old blue truck off to your right for what seems like decades now.
You’re now in the Rotary Forest Pathways system (named in honour of the local service club) and while there’s a maze of trails here, there’s maps in select places to help you along.
Take the first right and turn left just before hitting the river. If you hear a splosh-splosh sound and feel a cold chill down below, you’ve gone too far. Continue on at the edge of the woods. The Highwood River begins in the front ranges of the Rockies west of High River and empties into the Bow a little northwest of the community
The Highwood River is prone to frequent flooding during spring run-off (or even heavy rains). “Flood events of exceptional magnitude occurred in 1894, 1899, 1902, 1908, 1912, 1923, 1929, 1932, 1942, 1995, 2005 and 2013.” – Alberta Public Works. That’s eye opening.
The Rotary Forest is often partly or fully underwater each time the Highwood floods its banks. That’s not a good time to be hiking here.
In places, the river has eaten away the banks and each year removes a little more material. You’ll see this at one point along the trail. When passing though some meadows (where the utility lines cut across the property) note some old fence lines. In addition to Beachwood Estates, there were some acreages on this land, but the town said they all had to go due to the potential for flooding.
This changed happened not even a decade ago.
The trail meanders this way and that. There’s many junctions, but the route shared here seems the most heavily beaten down. Keep that in mind, if you’re unsure but even if you don’t duplicate our route exactly, you’ll be fine. Trails are dirt single-track and some sections well drained and others perhaps not so much. The clay in the soil here is often slick as ice on Teflon when wet and no fun at those times.
Watch for little Easter eggs along the trail – googly eyes and fairy houses – and I’m sure there’s other we missed. It’s something to look for and make you smile.
A downed cottonwood along here makes a nice lunch spot – down by the river. Bring something to eat, take the time to enjoy it in nature, or minimally just grab a stump and daydream.
If you fish, the Highwood can be really productive and side channels are often full of beavers. Wildlife in general is abundant and you can expect to see deer, coyotes, moose, the occasional bear and all manner of winged beasts. We noted an eagle off in the distance, but by the time the camera was ready, it had vanished. Of course.
Flora includes native grasses, river alder and willows down by the water, cottonwoods (they love river flats) and some spruce.
Follow the most used trail as it bends west. In a short while come to a former road and turn left. It heads into what was Beachwood Estates but if we didn’t tell you about it you might never know. After the last major flood and in anticipation of another (by the numbers a guarantee), the town determined the neighbourhood was too vulnerable and forced everyone out.
The town bought out the residents and sold off the opulent houses in the stipulation they be moved away. There was some nice places here, and many were snapped up. Once gone, they removed almost everything man made – foundations, pavement, sidewalks, fences – and seeded the property. It’s now grassy meadows.
The old roads (still shown as paved on Google Maps) are now gravel tracks. It’s like it was never here. However, the orderly placement of certain hedges and trees make it clear that something was located on this property. It’s not obvious unless you know and then it’s easy to picture.
Before being complete reclaimed, a number of filmed series used the old neighbourhood as a backdrop. The Last of Us comes to mind.
Leave the Rotary Forest and old Beachwood Estates behind. Take to the berm off the west and it’s a short walk back to where you parked. As always, it’s a bummer when it ends, but there’s always next time. Yeah, the next hike will be awesome, just like this one!
”These two are amazing!! I love following their adventures and the photography is…jaw dropping. Enjoy your working vacation, Chris & Connie!!… Dayna Kent. (this job really is like a vacation).
If you wish more information about this adventure or if you love to chat don’t hesitate to contact us!
Date of adventure: Remembrance Day, November 11th 2024. Location: High River Alberta. Distance: 6km loop. Height gain maximum: Negligible. Height gain cumulative: Negligible. NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports (including our own).
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