Athabasca Landing: The Gateway to the North
Between the mid-1870s and the First World War, Athabasca’s riverfront served as a critical transportation and trade hub that shaped the development of Western and Northern Canada, fostering a unique convergence of Indigenous, Métis, and European cultures.
Long a stopping place for indigenous peoples, the Landing would become a significant staging point in the journey north after 1870. Celebrated in photography, poetry, and literature as “the Gateway to the North,” the Landing embodied for many the symbolic and romantic values of that era of northern exploration and exploitation.
Public awareness of Athabasca Landing as “The Gateway to the North” begins at a naturally flat section of land on the south bank of the Athabasca River in the Town of Athabasca, Alberta. The Athabasca River remains central, but it is the bend in the river, a physical feature that 19th century fur traders and river people often called “The Elbow,” which determined its role in Canadian history.
Today, the long views of the forested landscape on the far side of the river, and the views to the sight-lines of the river as it bends south and then turns north again, are important heritage landscape characteristics of this place. They endure much as they were when scows traversed the river with furs and supplies and when paddle-wheelers once navigated the river back and forth to the Landing.
When visiting, start your walk at the Town Common boardwalk and stage where a series of signs introduce Athabasca Landing during its heyday (1890–1920) as a Hudson’s Bay Company transportation centre and jumping-off point to the Arctic and northwest Canada.
A sense of time and place are evident in the rich archival photographic record of the Landing, reproduced in interpretive signage along the path depicting the natural setting, the activities, and the mix of cultures as shown in the faces of the people working at the Landing.
Follow the interpretive stations along the boardwalk and pick up the route along the Rotary Trail where another series of interpretive kiosks display photographs about boatbuilding at the Landing, the role of the scow as workhorse on the river, and the history of Métis and First Nations freighters and trackers. Learn about the Athabasca Brigade and characters like Captain Shot and Julien Cardinal, legendary figures who functioned as river pilots and leaders of the labour crews who freighted on the river, often travelling all the way to the Arctic.
The Rotary trail is wheelchair accessible, and the riverside park has free parking, including pull-through spaces. Enjoy the picnic areas and food trucks, spray park, playground, and fire pits (bring your own firewood). Cross the bridge to the north bank of the river and visit the Lions Club Park lookout. Or visit the designated provincial heritage buildings from this time period: the Canadian Northern Railway train station, the United Church and the Old Brick School.
Sources
Athabasca Historical Walking Tour, Athabasca Heritage Society (Gregory Johnson, Marilyn Mol, Margaret Anderson), 2018. Download: https://athabascaregiontourism.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ahwt_2018-1-1.pdf
Greg Johnson, Why Athabasca?: A brief history of the origins of Athabasca Landing. 2011.
Cover photograph courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta, B2863.
