River Valley Alliance announces new name for the longest river valley trail in North America

Dignitaries stand in front of the freshly revealed artwork and name of the River Valley Alliance's trail system. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

The River Valley Alliance announced a new name for a 100 km pedestrian trail system as “Amisko Wacîw Mêskanaw,” which translates to “Beaver Hill Road.”

The trail system, the longest river valley pedestrian trail in North America, is under development and will connect communities from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan.

The alliance is a not-for-profit made up of the six municipalities that border the North Saskatchewan River in the Edmonton Metropolitan region including the City of Edmonton, the City of Fort Saskatchewan, and the Town of Devon, Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, and Parkland County.

The ceremony for the name unveiling was held on May 11 at the Kinsmen Park in Edmonton, where dignitaries from the six municipalities gathered to share words and stories.

The project currently is 70 per cent complete, according to the River Valley Alliance’s website. When it reaches its completion, the trail system will connect the Town of Devon, southwest of Edmonton, all the way to the City of Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton. The trails will all run along the North Saskatchewan River and will be over 100km long.

Hunter Cardinal, Director of Story at Naheyawin, spoke about the process of picking a name that almost lasted two years.

“We led a really wonderful engagement process, guided by Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, and other folks to put forward a name that can unite and bring people together.”

At the ceremony, Elder Jerry Saddleback offered prayer, blessings, and his remarks on the trails name unveiling.

“This is kind of like a reawakening of the established relationships we have from nation to nation,” Saddleback said.

In an interview, Saddleback explained where the name “Beaver Hills” came from, telling the story where “one time, [the beaver] made a mountainous hill, this beaver dam. He made it into a hill, so we started calling [the area] Beaver Hill.”

When looking into the future, Elder Saddleback said the want to “at least leave a legacy of good work.”

“To be able to say ‘hey, these guys left us a good awareness of our natural environment, and what happened [in the past], what took place, how we took care of it, and how we ought to take care of it,’ that’s the kind of inspiration I get out of this,” he added.