Beaver Boardwalk — Attraction in Town of Hinton

Beautiful walking trails around Maxwell Lake. Boardwalk takes you in among the large beaver dams where you can sometimes see them busy at work. The area is dog friendly (on-leash) and is used by many of the locals. There are a few spots in need of repair, and some of the boardwalk could stand to have been made a bit wider but in general it's a nice spot. I have trail access across the street from my home, and prior to purchasing my home lived in the maxwell lake apartment buildings which overlook the boardwalk so I've spent a fair bit of time there. It can be a little busy depending on season and time of day but generally not an issue. It is clean and the walk is not strenuous. Plenty of places to rest if need be. Make sure you brush up on the local wildlife as this is the rocky mountain foothills and there can be the odd predator about. There is literature posted regarding what to do if you should encounter a black bear, grizzly, or cougar/mountain lion but its wise to be prepared for the unlikely possibility of meeting one. Even though its highly unlikely you encounter hazardous wildlife, bear spray is still a wise choice. Better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

The following isnt really necessary for the beaver boardwalk itself as it is easy to navigate and doesnt go too far from civilization but here are some things I recommend to carry when going into the wilderness for those who may not have much (or any) wilderness knowledge/experience and plan to enjoy some of the more remote back country the area has to offer:

Small first aid kit with tick remover Bug spray / afterbite Bear repellant Water bottle / life straw / purification tabs Reliable way to make fire Signaling device (whistle/flare) GPS or compass (phone doesnt count) Multitool or swiss army knife A reliable fixed blade knife (full tang) Flashlight/glow sticks/lantern Emergency blanket Rain poncho Paracord Small Hatchet or hand axe Granola bars or trail mix Ziplocked Kleenex or toilet paper Ziplocked Pair of dry socks

That looks like a lot but all of this can be carried easily in a fairly small and manageable kit bag or pack as most items are quite small and the larger ones can be belt carried. Of course you can add or remove items depending on the type of excursion you plan to embark upon, however this is a good basic list of essentials for wilderness survival to start with and tailor to your needs.

Have fun while you're here, its a beautiful part of the world so take it all in and above all else...

So the trail divides right at the beginning into a left and right branch.... and it had freshly snowed that morning AND there were two families ahead of us that took the trail to the right so we followed suit and.....long story short, we were about 25 minutes into the hike when my daughter said, "wouldn't it be funny if we took the wrong trail and this trail just leads to the back of people's houses?!" So I pulled out my phone and Googled Beaver Boardwalk and a map came up showing us that we had taken a side trail rather than the Beaver Boardwalk trail. Initially we just kept thinking the boardwalk was further up ahead.... So we drove to the Beaver Boardwalk just to NOT tour the boardwalk but to tour a random wooded trail instead. We were too cold upon our return to attempt the CORRECT trail....so I guess we'll just have to take the correct (aka left) trail next time instead of the right but incorrect trail! 😂😭🙄😜. Wonder if there's any other mildly directionally challenged peeps out there besides my...

Excellent, beautiful place. Lots of lovely trails and views up in the surrounding hills, as well as the well made board walk. If you do stray from the boardwalk onto any of the trails be warned, there are warnings of lots of things that may be in the area that would LOVE to eat your insides, such as Bears, Cougars and Wolves . And some that will only Hoof you to death such as Moose or Elk! Be prepared to wait patiently if you want to see a Beaver though. We waited for an hour before dusk in the biting cold wind as our skin slowly turned from a lovely glowing rosy red, to purple and then blue. Good thing was that just before my extremities turned black with frostbite an adult Beaver then baby Beaver popped up for a few seconds before disappearing never to be seen again. Give it a visit. Really. It makes you feel glad to be alive at the...