Just a 20-minute drive northeast of Thorsby, you can find Coats Creek Conservation Area. Residing in this natural area is almost entirely of parkland forests, which is a habitat that is rapidly disappearing. The conservation area is located within an important wildlife corridor, Willow Creek, that runs into the North Saskatchewan River. Thus, it acts as a safe wildlife passage between the surrounding agricultural areas and the river valley approximately 2 km away. It also has an important role in watersheds.

The canopy is covered with aspen, poplar, birch, and spruce. Furthermore, the diverse understory includes red-osier dogwood, honeysuckle, and multiple fern species. You can also find many plants like fairy bells, wintergreen, and stair-step moss lining the forest floor, and a portion of the creek is shadowed by a white spruce forest.

Wildlife you may come by include wood frogs, crayfish, mammals such as moose, coyotes, porcupine, and a wide variety of birds. Some birds often seen are red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

Photos: Google Maps, Alexander Morozov; https://www.ealt.ca/coates