Helen Schuler Nature Centre Bull Trail

Length: 8.7km

Elevation Gain: 201m

Rating: Moderate

Starting point: Parking lot east on University Drive, near Whoop-Up Drive

This trail incorporates some of the Bull Trail Park North path, but also includes a walk across Whoop-Up bridge (offering some fantastic views, albeit without accessibility for some people) and a chance to enjoy the bottom of the coulee on the east side of the river as you trek past historic Fort Whoop-Up and the lovely Helen Schuler Nature Center. Want more elevation? You can add more stairs to your walk as offshoots from the trail will take you to different viewpoints.

It is important, as you walk through the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands, to note that this is a sensitive wetland park and you must remain on the designated trail. If your dog is with you or you are on a bike, please use the by-pass trail through this area.

Also be sure to stop and watch the Western Painted Turtles! Resident wildlife include muskrat, beaver and a wide variety of birds.

Historical info

• The original Whoop-Up Drive Bridge was opened in 1975 and expanded in the 1980s. The Coalbanks Crossing Walking Bridge was opened in September 2000.
• The original Fort Whoop-Up was located approximately 12 km south of Lethbridge. It was the first, largest and best known fur-trade/whisky trade fort in southern Alberta and was originally built in 1870. Fort Whoop-Up in Indian Battle Park is a replica initially constructed in 1967 and redeveloped in the 1980s. 
• Helen Schuler was vital in developing programs to connect Lethbridge youth with hands-on experiences in nature and in getting the Lethbridge river valley protected as a nature reserve. She was a founding member of the Lethbridge Naturalists Society and the Federation of Alberta Naturalists. The Helen Schuler Nature Centre was named in her honour. 

Thanks to Curtis Goodman of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre and Belinda Crowson of the Lethbridge Historical Society for contributing to the above information.