About 20 kilometres south of Fort Smith along Highway 5, the Salt Plains are one of the strangest landscapes in Canada: a vast, nearly flat expanse of exposed saline soil where salt crystals form on the surface and almost nothing grows. The effect is startling — it looks more like a tidal flat in the Arctic than anything you would expect in the boreal forest. Underground brine seeps to the surface and evaporates, leaving salt deposits that have been used by wood bison for centuries as a salt lick.
The short Salt Plains Trail leads from the parking area out across the crust to overlook points where bison tracks and wolf trails are often visible in the wet edges of the flats. Bird life is surprisingly rich around the margins, where willows and sedges give cover to waterfowl. Go in the morning for the best light and the greatest chance of seeing bison crossing the open ground.