Adventure Park opens for soft launch today and tomorrow

Last Updated: May 19th, 2022By Michael MenziesTags: City of Cold Lake, County of St. Paul, ICIP grant, Kinosoo Ridge Aerial Adventure Park, m.d. of bonnyville, Municipal Sustainability Initiative, Town of Bonnyville

Residents can now enjoy the newest, and perhaps the most unique feature in the Lakeland area.

The Kinosoo Ridge Aerial Adventure Park is open for a soft launch today (Friday) and Saturday for the public to come, climb, and scale the several Lakeland-area touches that are included in the park.

On Thursday, local dignitaries gathered for the park’s Grand Opening, which included M.D. of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski along with council and CAO Al Hoggan, City of Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland along with council members and CAO Kevin Nagoya, Town of Bonnyville Elisa Brosseau and members of council, and County of St. Paul Reeve Glen Ockerman.

The speakers also included a Lieutenant from 4 Wing in place of Wing Commander Dave Moar, a representative from Alberta Environment and Parks, and previous M.D. Reeve Greg Sawchuk.

“It’s a very cool day and a very rewarding day for the M.D. of Bonnyville,” said Kalinski, as the M.D. put forward roughly $530,000 of the total $2 million price tag at about 26 per cent.

“Staff was a big, big part of this. Years ago when I sat on council as a councillor, there was a couple that ran this place Val and Jurgen [Grau]. They had the vision, first of all for the chalet, and then they had a vision for an adventure park like this. And it was their vision off the start when we sat on committees and we talked about it. At the time, we didn’t have enough money to build it. But now the previous council, they found a way to do it,” he said.

The various features and levels of the Adventure Park, which include heritage from local First Nations, flight accents tied to 4 Wing, and barrels tied to the region’s oil and gas.

The M.D. says that full operational hours will begin June 2.

While there were multiple delays that halted the construction timelines for the park, including a rare plant study and the contemplation plus waiting time on the federal ICIP grant, it is now ready for public use.

Along with $800,000 in federal dollars, the project also benefitted from a provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) capital grant of $666,600.

As identified in the Kinosoo Masterplan, the resort is now an all-seasons destination.

“I’m very thankful for all the mayors and reeves that came out, they said some very kind words. We got to work as a region to make this place a better place to live for all our people in the community,” said Kalinski.

There are multiple layers and skill difficulties for climbers. Plus, there is a staircase that takes you all the way to the top of the structure, with a large platform to take in the view of the surrounding area.