Local guides
Grande Prairie Guides & Features
Local guides, tips and features about living, working and playing in Grande Prairie and the Peace Region.
Local Guide 80
- The Name on the Back of the JerseyThe real case for buying local in Grande Prairie has less to do with guilt and more to do with who shows up at six in the morning.
- The Swans Don't Care That You Drove OutSaskatoon Island is not an island, the swans are not on display, and it is still the best short drive west of the city.
- Who Sponsors the Peewee JerseysIn a city that rides the commodity cycle, the businesses worth backing are the ones still open when things go quiet.
- Stompede, Swans and the Long Dark MiddleA year of Peace Country gatherings, ranked by weather, mud and the odds of a decent burger.
- The Peace Country Year, Honestly RankedA columnist's opinionated walk through the region's calendar, from Stompede dust to fall supper pie.
- Our Ski Hill Is Technically a HoleThe Wapiti valley gives Grande Prairie the closest thing it has to a mountain, as long as you don't call it one out loud.
- Downtown Is Worth the Parallel ParkingThe case for shopping and eating on the old grid, from someone who has watched plenty of people drive past it on their way to the mall.
- The Road to Kakwa Falls Is the PointKakwa Falls is south of town, worth the trip, and doesn't care how much you paid for your truck.
- Plug In the Truck and Other Unwritten RulesWhat nobody tells newcomers to Grande Prairie, from the cord hanging out of the grille to the swans that named the place.
- Porcupine River, Long Road, Loud WaterKakwa Falls takes most of a day of gravel to reach, and the drive is half the point.
- Welcome to Swan City. Buy Better Gloves.What to tell the new neighbours, from someone who has watched plenty of them arrive and a fair number stay.
- Four Seasons, Two of Them WinterA columnist's honest read on the Peace Country's year of events, from rodeo dust to the long, quiet cold.
- Two Lakes, Bad Road, Good ReasonThe drive south to Two Lakes is long and gravelly, and the quiet at the end of it is the reason to go.
- Kakwa Falls Is Worth Every Kilometre of GravelA long, rough drive south of town ends at a waterfall that doesn't care whether you came, and that's the appeal.
- Where Grande Prairie Goes to SweatThe city's best fitness equipment is mostly free, partly frozen and runs along a creek.
- The Treadmill Is Not the Only Way Through WinterWhere Grande Prairie actually goes to move, sweat and stay sane, from the creek valley to the deep end.
- Two Lakes Is Worth the GravelThe drive to Two Lakes is long and rough, and that is most of the reason it stays good.
- Two Lakes, and the Price of Getting ThereTwo Lakes is a long gravel drive southwest of the city, and the quiet water, cold nights and trout at the end of it are worth that drive.
- The Peace Country Calendar Is Set by the SkyA columnist's case for which seasonal gatherings around here earn your weekend, and which month quietly outdoes them all.
- Four Seasons, Two of Them ShortA year of going out in the Peace Country, sorted by what the weather will actually allow.
- Where the Pavement QuitsA columnist's case for heading south on Highway 40, and for being honest about what the bush actually asks of you.
- Sweating It Out Before the Snow Gets a VoteA columnist's honest read on where Grande Prairie actually gets its exercise, from the Eastlink Centre to the Wapiti valley.
- The Muskeg Doesn't Care What You PaidA few opinions on sledding and quadding south of town, from someone who has been stuck in most of it.
- The Peace Country Calendar, Honestly RankedA year of local events, sorted by someone who has stood in the mud at most of them.
- Getting Fit in a City Where Winter Has OpinionsA local's honest sorting of where Grande Prairie sweats, stretches and keeps moving from October to May.
- The Real Fitness Map of Grande PrairieWhat actually gets used here has less to do with equipment and more to do with who can survive a Tuesday in February.
- Muskoseepi Park, Minus the Small TalkThe park everyone drives past to get somewhere else deserves a second look, especially in the months nobody bothers.
- Two Lakes: Small, Quiet, Worth the GravelA pair of stocked lakes south of the city that reward people willing to drive a little farther than they'd like to admit.
- The Road to Kakwa Will Sort You OutThe falls are worth it, but the gravel is the actual test.
- The Unofficial Pet-Friendly Map of Grande PrairieWhere the dogs run loose, where the patios tolerate leashes, and where to go when the dog eats something it shouldn't have.
- The Peace Country Calendar, Minus the Sales PitchA season-by-season look at what's actually worth putting on the calendar in the Peace Country, and what you can skip without guilt.
- What's Actually Worth Your Weekend This YearA season-by-season read on Peace Country events, including which ones you can skip.
- Circle These, Skip the RestA season-by-season accounting of what's worth the drive in the Peace Country, and what you can let go.
- Two Lakes Won't Try to Impress YouThe campground at Two Lakes Provincial Recreation Area doesn't perform for anyone, and that's the whole point.
- Two Lakes: Small, Cold, and Worth the GravelA quiet double lake south of the city rewards people who don't need much from a campsite.
- The Road Ends, Then the Park BeginsKakwa doesn't want your business, which is exactly the point.
- Sweat, Steam, and the Wait ListA rundown of where Grande Prairie sweats, stretches, skates, and waits for a doctor.
- Where the Dogs Actually Want to GoA practical, unsentimental look at keeping a pet fed, walked, and sane through a Peace Country winter.
- Two Lakes Doesn't Need Your EnthusiasmA modest pair of lakes south of the city rewards people who stop expecting more from it.
- The Lake That Doesn't Try Too HardTwo Lakes won't wow anyone with a drone shot, and that's precisely its case for existing.
- How Grande Prairie Stays UprightThe gyms here run on oilfield hours, the trails run through Bear Creek, and nobody's calling any of it a lifestyle.
- The Off-Leash Reality CheckA practical look at where your dog actually wants to go in this city, not where the brochure says it should.
- Getting Fit in Minus ThirtyThe wellness scene here was built for a place where the weather makes the first move, and everything else adapts around it.
- Two Lakes: Small Water, No ApologyA pair of quiet lakes south of the city that ask nothing of you except to slow down and maybe catch a trout.
- Kakwa Falls Is Worth It. The Road Isn't Kidding.The falls get the postcard, but the gravel gets the last word — here's what actually waits west of Grande Prairie.
- No Mountains RequiredThe Wapiti River valley does more work for this city than it gets credit for, and Nitehawk sits right in the middle of it.
- The Circuit: A Peace Country Year in EventsYou could build a whole calendar around this region's festivals, and by August you'll be sick of lawn chairs.
- Two Lakes Doesn't Try Too HardA small, quiet corner southwest of the city that rewards low expectations and a decent rod.
- The Fitness Math of a Cold TownGrande Prairie's wellness scene isn't glamorous, but it's built for people who actually have to live here through February.
- Two Crops, One Region, Neither One Yours to IgnoreThe Peace Country runs on a wheat check and a wellhead, and pretending otherwise is how you get surprised twice a decade.
- The Valley Does the WorkA river cut this valley long before anyone thought to put a chairlift in it, and that's still the best part.
- The Peace Country Bucket List, No FluffA working list of things worth your time here, and a few worth skipping.
- The Family Activity List Nobody Asked ForA running argument about what's actually worth your Saturday with kids in Grande Prairie, and what's worth skipping.
- Kakwa Falls Is Worth the GravelThe best waterfall within a day's drive of Grande Prairie also has the worst road, and that's the whole point.
- The Guy Who Actually Shows UpIn a region this size, your contractor's reputation travels faster than the man himself.
- What Actually Keeps Kids Busy HereA practical, mildly opinionated tour of where Peace Country families actually end up, geese included.
- Grain, Gas, and the Gap Between ThemThe Peace Country runs on two economies that rarely peak at the same time, which is either bad luck or the smartest accident in the province.
- What's Actually Worth Your SaturdayA working list of what pulls its weight around here, and what doesn't.
- The Falls At The End Of A Bad RoadKakwa doesn't ask to be liked, and that's most of the appeal.
- The Cold Doesn't Care About Your ResolutionsIn Grande Prairie, getting fit is less a lifestyle and more a negotiation with the weather.
- The Valley We Take for GrantedA ravine full of ski runs and bike trails sits fifteen minutes from downtown, and most of us drive past it without a second thought.
- A Peace Country List Worth Arguing AboutNobody needs convincing that this region is worth the drive, but nobody's actually done the whole list either.
- The Trades That Actually Show UpIn the Peace Country, a contractor's reputation is built on whether he answers the phone in January, not on his logo.
- Stompede Season, and Everything AfterThe Peace Country festival calendar isn't complicated, but nobody agrees on which weekends are worth the drive.
- What Actually Deserves Your WeekendA short, opinionated list of Peace Country things worth your actual time, and a few worth skipping.
- The Valley Nobody Has to Sell You OnA short list of what's actually worth your daylight along the Wapiti this season, and what isn't.
- The Peace Country List, Minus the FluffA working rundown of what's actually worth your weekend in Grande Prairie and beyond, and what you can skip without guilt.
- How The Peace Country Actually CelebratesThe festival calendar up here runs on grain trucks and grit, not brochures, and it rewards people who know when to show up.
- Two Economies, One Truck StopIn the Peace Country, the price of canola and the price of a barrel argue at the same coffee table, and neither one wins for long.
- Who's Actually Free in FebruaryIn the Peace Country, the trades economy runs on harvest, freeze-up and word of mouth — not availability.
- Two Economies Sharing One HighwayThe Peace Country runs on grain trucks and gas trucks sharing the same ditch, and neither one apologizes for it.
- The Valley Does the Heavy LiftingGrande Prairie has a river valley steep enough to ski, bike, and float down, and most days it goes unremarked.
- One Economy, Two CostumesThe Peace Country likes to talk about oil and ag as separate worlds, but the same trucks, the same guys, and the same nervous glances at commodity prices run through
- Two Lakes Won't Wow You. That's the Point.A modest little rec area south of the city that rewards low expectations and a canoe you don't mind scraping bottom in.
- Two Small Lakes Worth the Long Drive SouthTwo Lakes Provincial Recreation Area near Grande Cache trades size for quiet, and most people never notice the trade.
- What's Actually Worth Your Time Around HereA working list of the region's better ideas, minus the ones everyone already tells you to do anyway.
- The Peace Country Calendar, Minus the HypeA season-by-season accounting of what's actually worth your Saturday, and what you can skip without regret.
- Small Towns, Big Rodeos, No ApologiesThe Peace Country doesn't throw festivals so much as it throws parties and calls them that, and the distinction matters.
- Two Lakes Doesn't Need to Be BiggerA pair of small lakes south of the city that reward low expectations and quiet paddling.
- The Valley Does the Work You Won'tThe river cut a valley so the city wouldn't have to build a hill, and three seasons of people use the free ride.