Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area has 15 712 hectares of grassland and forest.   The lower grasslands are more arid with an abundance of sagebrush, but the middle and upper grasslands have a greater proportion of natural grasses and open terrain.   Aspens are found in wet spots and open douglas fir forest covers the upper slopes.   There are no designated trails in the middle grasslands, but there are some sections of old tracks that can be combined for a scenic hike.

From the parking area, we followed the trail past Parks kiosks into a central bowl of potholes, past Island Lake, frozen in by mid-November.

Continuing north we ascended the Grasslands Esker, a sinuous ridge 1km long running down from the Lac du Bois Road to Long Lake.   We hiked on top of the ridge down to the lake.

Following the esker all the way down to Long Lake means climbing back up to the edge above the lake, an elevation gain of 100 m.   The views of the Long Lake trench improve all the way up.

Long Lake is the highlight of the Grasslands Loop.

We usually stop for lunch at the top of a small knoll overlooking the lake.  In spring, the lake is full of ducks and geese.   On a cold November day, the surface is icy and still.

We went over Raptor Ridge for the view and watched red-tailed hawks circling the hills.   The route then has to go over a series of north-south ridges, glacial deposits laid down as moraines, kames, and terraces, eroded by water over time.   This is an up-and-down route back to our vehicles.   There are few trees in this area except for small clusters of aspens and junipers.   Rock outcrops and erratics dot the hills.   The area was shaped by glaciers, which laid down infertile glacial till.   A few thousand years later, we continue to hike in this unique environment, the middle grasslands of Lac du Bois.