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• Fort McMurray

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New Dark Skys Adventure

Experience the beauty of our night sky in a unique and authentic way. We'll transport you away to a clear and quiet location just south of town where you can witness the brilliance of the Aurora Borealis on a clear night while learning about its history and importance while learning from local photographers on how to capture this natural wonder. Warm clothing, snowshoes and coffee included!

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Day trip down the Athabasca

Athabasca Multi Day Whitewater Trip

Fort McMurray Night Sky Tours Base

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Fort McMurray Night Sky Tours Gold

Christina River Multi Day Trip

Clearwater River Multi Day Trip

Weekly update: Housing program's future uncertain, unions hold bargaining talks

The news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.

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Happy Friday, Fort McMurray!

Weekly update: Housing program's future uncertain, unions hold bargaining talks Back to video

• Rock the Rails:   Rock The Rails is back! Featuring legendary punk band Authority Zero and more than a dozen other acts from across Canada and the United States. Friday and Saturday at Syncrude Athletic Park.   Information .
• Fort McMurray Giants : Baseball action at Legacy Dodge Field against the Regina Red Sox on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Next home games are against Okotoks Dawgs on June 20-23, Weyburn Beavers on June 26-27, Brooks Bombers on June 29-July 2, Saskatoon Berries on July 9-10, Lethbridge Bulls on July 11-14. Drum Brewery hosts watch parties of away games.   Tickets and schedule .
• Calgary Stampede Art Sneak Peak:   Fort McMurray artist Amy Keller-Rempp is one of this year’s esteemed artists at the Calgary Stampede Artist Studios. Keller-Rempp invites the community for an exclusive art preview ahead of he Stampede. June 10 at Fort McMurray Golf Club from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.   Event details .
• West Coast Amusements:   Canada’s biggest travelling carnival returns to Fort McMurray. June 13-17.   Tickets .
• Free Heavy Item Pickup:   Anyone with large household items and appliances can get the RMWB to haul it away. Registration closes June 18. Once registered, a pickup date will be assigned between June 25 and July 11. Space is limited so don’t wait! There’s also Big Bin events between June 8 and 29 to get rid of household items such as large furniture, appliances, renovation materials and electronic waste.   Registration and dates .
• Fort McMurray Fringe Festival:   Local theatre company Theatre, Just Because is launching   the first Fort McMurray Fringe Festival   at Heritage Village on Aug. 31. Submissions are open until June 14.   Information on submissions and the festival .
• Fort City Car Show:   Fort City Church hosts its annual Father’s Day car show. Two, four and six-wheeled rides are welcome. Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the different vehicles. All proceeds from the BBQ go to Youth With A Mission. Entry is free for people, but   vehicle owners can register online .
• Western Canada Ribfest Tour:   This free event will be a drive-thru ribfest at Centerfire Place on June 21 and 22 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and June 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• 2024 Pride YMM Festival:   The eighth annual Pride YMM Festival returns to Heritage Shipyard on June 22. A list of local Pride Month events are   online .
• Take the Pledge:  Want a chance to win a helicopter ride AND reduce wildfire risk? Pledge to reduce wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area by August 16 and you’ll be entered to win a helicopter tour of the region!   Take the pledge today online .
• Wood Buffalo Regional Library   hosts   all-ages weekly events .
• MacDonald Island Park   updates its website with   upcoming events and programs .
• Wood Buffalo Volunteers   has   volunteer opportunities for different causes and non-profits   across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
• Obituaries:   Obituaries, memorial notices and sympathy announcements .

Get the news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo in your inbox every Friday morning  by signing up for our newsletter .

Funding concerns puts Fort McMurray supportive housing program at risk

The work of Tawâw, a permanent supportive housing program focusing on chronically homeless Indigenous people, could unravel within the next six months if funding is not secured.

Councillor Chris Beausoleil of Fort McMurray 468 First Nation warns if that happens, the options left for the clients are “jail, the streets, the hospital or death.”

The program focuses on people who are chronically homeless. Many of them have been kicked out of other shelters and treatment programs.

Nearly all of Tawâw’s clients come suffer from addictions, psychosis, mental and emotional health issues. Some clients lived in an encampment that was cleared by the RMWB last summer. Packham says they call themselves “tent city OGs.”

Jo-Anne Packham of the Wood Buffalo Wellness Society (WBWS), which oversees  Tawâw , says a funding agreement with the municipality cannot be honoured. She accused changes to the Community Investment Program of stopping progress.   The municipality says this is not true and it cannot legally fulfill the requests made by Tawâw.

“There’s double the amount of homelessness on our official list. The reason why we’re not seeing encampments everywhere is that we’re open,” she said Packham. “We didn’t create homelessness, this is a community problem. We are the service provider that’s coming in to try our best to address it and solve it for us.”

McMurray Métis birth workers make Bears’ Lair pitch

Two Fort McMurray birth workers will make their pitch on a July 5 episode of Bears’ Lair, an Indigenous spin on Dragons’ Den that airs on APTN.

Maddie Amyotte and Sheena Bradley, both Cree-Metis with McMurray Metis, are the founders of Ihkapaskwa Collective, a Cree word for fireweed. Amyotte is a registered nurse and midwife. Bradley is a birth worker who uses her skills as a traditional herbalist to prescribe locally harvested plant medicines.

Ihkapaskwa Collective began in 2022 to meet Indigenous families’ growing demands for midwifery and family supports, particularly in the rural communities outside Fort McMurray. They were flooded with clients during that first year.

Birth rates in Fort McMurray are strong but have dropped in recent years following economic uncertainty and the 2016 Horse River Wildfire. Births in rural areas, however, are booming. Every week, the non-profit is in one of the region’s Indigenous communities.

“A lot of people are just looking for an auntie they can call and reach out to if they have concerns or if they need help accessing different resources within the community,” said Amyotte in an interview. “We really try to bridge that gap so they don’t have to go shopping around all these different organizations to find what they need.”

Fort McMurray public sector unions hold bargaining talks amid inflation worries

Fort McMurray’s public sector unions will be holding public rallies throughout the summer as they enter bargaining talks. The unions are demanding higher wages, which they say have failed to keep up with inflation. They are also concerned about workplace burnout, and their employers’ abilities to keep and recruit staff.

“What we’re seeing is more determination from the workers to catch up,” said AUPE president Guy Smith after visiting Fort McMurray on Wednesday. “They fell behind inflation, there’s been lots of disruptions over the years, there’s short staffing in health care and government services. Workers have had enough.”

Leaders of AUPE, CUPE, ATA and United Nurses of Alberta are hopeful talks go well this summer, although some union leaders say the discussions have been off to a rough start. No strike vote has been held, but some unions say staff are ready to strike.

Lynn Fleet of CUPE Local 2545 said some of her members have been working two or three jobs to pay bills. The union represents the FMPSD’s educational and librarian assistance, maintenance and administrative staff, food workers and district office staff.

“People are tired. People are getting hurt at work, mentally and physically. They are tired of not being valued,” she said.

Carbon capture projects stall as industry, federal government at odds over risk

The question of who should bear the financial risk for pricey carbon capture and storage projects has become a stumbling block slowing the technology’s adoption in Canada.

Carbon capture stores harmful greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes deep underground. Since the federal government signed a deal with Entropy to underwrite much of the risk for their proposed carbon capture project, there has been no other contracts to cover risks for other proposals.

That includes the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of companies proposing to build a $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage network for Alberta’s oilsands.

They have yet to successfully negotiate a carbon offtake agreement with the Growth Fund. Most carbon capture projects proposed for Canada still only exist on paper, with final investment decisions yet to be made.

So what’s the holdup? It comes down in part to tension between government and industry over the perceived financial risk of CCUS investments, and differing opinions about how much of that risk should be borne by taxpayers.

Pride Month in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo begins with flag raising

The theme of this year’s Pride Month in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo is “No One Left Behind: Equality, Freedom and Justice for All.” The flag raising event was marked with speeches calling for supporting the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

Speakers with Pride YMM also had plenty of criticisms of   the Alberta government’s proposed policies   on youth   gender identity, youth gender-affirming surgeries and treatments and transgender athletes in women’s sports.

UCP MLAs have been banned from attending events hosted by 14 Pride groups across Alberta. Hanna Fridhed, executive director of Pride YMM, says MLAs who plan to vote in favour of the proposed policies are not welcome to attend upcoming events.

“We’re seeing rollbacks not just of trans rights right now, but abortion rights are being questioned, a right for contraceptives,” she said after the flag raising event.

“It’s a slippery slope once the the narrative of transphobia and homophobia becomes more legitimized by politicians, by spokespeople, by leaders, it opens scary doors towards a less accepting and less inclusive world.”

The organization was founded in 2017. One of their founding goals was to have an annual Pride festival in Fort McMurray. That festival has gone from a one-day event to a week-long event and now to a month.

“It went above and beyond expectations last year. We’re seeing a great, great reception to Pride Month this year again,” said Fridhed. “But the most important thing I would say is that in the current political climate and always is that if you’re an ally, being accepting is not enough. You also need to be vocal and you need to be active.”

Killers get life for brutal ‘execution style’   murder:   Christopher Wilson and Abdullahi Yalahow were sentenced last week for killing Hamza Mohamed, an oilsands safety worker, at a crowded Edmonton party in 2021.

Another man, who set off the deadly chain of events by opening fire on Mohamed, will go to trial on manslaughter charges next year.

Local man gets 4.5 years for grooming, abusing minor:   A man has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years for grooming and abusing a 14-year-old girl starting in 2021.

The exact nature of the abuse is mentioned in the article. It cannot be mentioned in this newsletter because some email servers might label it as spam. Some readers might find the article upsetting.

Alcohol a factor in fatal crash that closed Highway 63:   One of the driver’s in a Tuesday morning crash on Highway 63 died the next day. Police believe alcohol was a factor in the collision that shut down traffic for hours north of Fort McMurray. The collision shut down traffic in both directions for hours.

Police investigating two random attacks in downtown:   Police are looking for three girls they say randomly attacked people in downtown on May 29.

The first attack happened at 2:30 p.m. when the three suspects assaulted someone at a bus stop on Franklin Avenue. That same day just before 6 p.m., another person walking on Morrison Street was attacked by the same three girls.

Alberta Roundup

• D-Day remembered:   Thursday marked 80 years since Canadian, American and British troops staged the D-Day invasions, the beginning of the end of the Second World War. The Calgary Herald’s Bill Kaufmann   tells some of the stories   of the thousands of Albertans and Prairie men who stormed the beaches of Normandy.
• No showers in Calgary:   A broken water main in Calgary   severely disrupted the city’s water supply on Thursday . The Bowness neighbourhood went under a boil-water advisory, and Airdrie and Chestermere created outdoor water bans and urged residents to limit indoor use. As of Thursday evening, the cause was still being investigated.
• MLA charged:   Former MLA Derek Fildebrandt has been   charged with four counts of uttering threats in connection with an incident involving teenage boys . Police said the boys were allegedly threatened while on their way to a convenience store. Fildebrandt wrote in the Western Standard, of which he is publisher, that   he caught the teens damaging his property   and warned them to leave.
• ‘Now with her soulmate’:   Colleen Klein, wife of former premier Ralph Klein, has died at age 83 . She died peacefully in palliative care early Tuesday, more than 11 years after the death of her husband. Klein dedicated much of her time advocating for women, children, the disadvantaged and Indigenous people facing racism, family challenges and systemic barriers.
• Influence campaign fails:   Take Back Alberta’s David Parker urged his supporters to buy NDP memberships to influence the upcoming leadership race. After nearly 70,000 new memberships were sold,   columnist Don Braid writes that campaign has failed . Only about 360 looked suspicious to NDP staff and fewer than half resulted in a denial of membership applications. The campaign’s   final debate was held Sunday in Edmonton . Voting started Monday. The winner will be announced June 22.
• Health care lawsuit:   Alberta health-care workers have   filed a $125-million class-action lawsuit against Alberta Health Services , alleging they have been overworked and underpaid. They allege AHS broke provincial employment rules when telling them they were exempt from receiving overtime pay and they routinely worked shifts longer than 12 hours.
• Read up on the politics and culture of Alberta  with Postmedia’s subscriber-exclusive newsletter,   What’s up with Alberta?   Curated by the National Post’s Tyler Dawson every Tuesday and Thursday.

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Welcome to Above and Beyond Travel!

We are a full service travel agency who prides itself in creating life experiences that will transform you. Our love of travel and first hand experiences and connections  help us to create those once in a lifetime experiences that will stay deep within your soul for many years to come.We plan travel packages that can include air, transfers, tours, hotels, dinner reservations and many more!  Just ask how we can help you make your travel dreams come true!

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Phone (780) 381-1787

Website https://www.beyondadventures.ca/

Location 209 Leigh Crescent, Fort McMurray, AB T9K 1K2

Beyond Adventures

Beyond Adventures is a specialty outdoor store offering canoe and paddleboard rentals, courses and guided trips to help you go beyond in our beautiful region! Whether you have a lot or a little experience, Beyond’ Adventure’s goal is to get you outdoors and having fun safely.

Franklin Suite Hotel

10300 Franklin Avenue, T9H 0A5 Fort McMurray, Canada – Excellent location - show map

Franklin Suite Hotel Reserve now

Lock in a great price for Franklin Suite Hotel - rated 8.6 by recent guests.

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Cleanliness

Value for money

Just 24 km from skiing at Vista Ridge, this Fort McMurray hotel offers a 24-hour fitness centre. A kitchenette is featured in all luxury suites. Free Wi-Fi is included. A Full Hot Breakfast Buffet is served daily. A flat-screen TV with cable is featured in each suite at Franklin Suite Hotel. Comfortably furnished, all suites include a dining area. Tea and coffee-making facilities and a toaster oven are provided. A 24-hour reception is offered at Franklin Suites Hotel. A business centre complete with fax and photocopying services is available. Free underground parking is available. Just steps from this hotel, guests can choose from a variety of restaurants and bars including The Keg Steakhouse and Podollan Pub. Northern Lights Tours are available 23 minutes’ drive away.

Couples particularly like the location — they rated it 9.2 for a two-person trip.

Distance in property description is calculated using © OpenStreetMap

• Free parking
• Fitness centre
• Non-smoking rooms
• Facilities for disabled guests
• Family rooms
• Tea/coffee maker in all rooms
• Good breakfast

Property highlights

Top location: Highly rated by recent guests (9.0)

Want a great night's sleep? This hotel was highly rated for its very comfy beds.

Breakfast info

Continental, American, Buffet

Free parking available at the hotel

Saved to 57 lists

Availability

Select dates to see this property's availability and prices

Sustainability certification

Categories:, see what guests loved the most:.

Hotel surroundings

Facilities of franklin suite hotel great facilities review score, 8.6.

• Toilet paper
• Bath or shower
• Private bathroom
• Free toiletries
• Wardrobe or closet
• Alarm clock
• Dining table
• Kitchenware
• Electric kettle
• Refrigerator
• Kitchenette
• Dining area
• Seating Area
• Flat-screen TV
• Cable channels
• Tea/Coffee maker
• Parking garage
• Accessible parking
• Invoice provided
• ATM/cash machine on site
• Luggage storage
• Express check-in/check-out
• 24-hour front desk
• Daily housekeeping
• Laundry Additional charge
• Fax/photocopying
• Business centre Additional charge
• Meeting/banquet facilities Additional charge
• Fire extinguishers
• CCTV outside property
• CCTV in common areas
• Smoke alarms
• Security alarm
• Key card access
• 24-hour security
• Minimarket on site
• Vending machine (snacks)
• Vending machine (drinks)
• Hypoallergenic
• Air conditioning
• Non-smoking throughout
• Wake-up service
• Tile/marble floor
• Soundproofing
• Ironing facilities
• Wake up service/Alarm clock
• Toilet with grab rails
• Wheelchair accessible
• Upper floors accessible by elevator

See availability House rules

Guests are required to show a photo identification and credit card upon check-in

Until 11:00

Cancellation/ prepayment

Cancellation and prepayment policies vary according to accommodation type. Please enter the dates of your stay and check the conditions of your required room.

Children and beds

Child policies

Children of any age are welcome.

Children 18 years and above will be charged as adults at this property.

To see correct prices and occupancy information, please add the number of children in your group and their ages to your search.

Cot and extra bed policies

The number of extra beds allowed is dependent on the option you choose. Please check your selected option for more information.

There are no cots available at this property.

All extra beds are subject to availability.

Age restriction

The minimum age for check-in is 18

Pets are allowed. Charges may be applicable.

Accepted payment methods

Cash is not accepted Franklin Suite Hotel accepts these cards and reserves the right to temporarily hold an amount prior to arrival.

The fine print Need-to-know information for guests at this property

Guests are required to show a photo identification and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.

FAQs about Franklin Suite Hotel

How far is franklin suite hotel from the centre of fort mcmurray.

Franklin Suite Hotel is 0.7 miles from the centre of Fort McMurray. All distances are measured in straight lines. Actual travel distances may vary.

What kind of breakfast is served at Franklin Suite Hotel?

Guests staying at Franklin Suite Hotel can enjoy a highly-rated breakfast during their stay (guest review score: 7.0).

• Continental

How much does it cost to stay at Franklin Suite Hotel?

The prices at Franklin Suite Hotel may vary depending on your stay (e.g. dates you select, hotel's policy etc.). See the prices by entering your dates.

What is there to do at Franklin Suite Hotel?

What type of room can i book at franklin suite hotel, what are the check-in and check-out times at franklin suite hotel.

Check-in at Franklin Suite Hotel is from 15:00, and check-out is until 11:00.

The best of Fort McMurray

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• Keyano College
• Athabasca Oil Sands
• Oil Sands Discovery Centre

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Beyond Fort McMurray: Adventures in Alberta’s Athabasca sand dunes

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Trekking to where a wall of sand meets the sky

DREW ANDERSON

WOOD BUFFALO — The corner of northern Alberta that is the sprawling Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is known for its sands. Mostly, it’s the oil sands that has tongues a wagging, but there are dunes north of Fort McMurray that deserve their own bit of attention.

Getting there, you pass through a contradictory landscape. Here are the infamous Syncrude tailings ponds just off the highway, stretching almost out of view. There is the Suncor mine, large enough to shock any first-time viewer. In between and beyond are trees and rivers that stretch interminably off into a flat, development-free horizon.

Adventures Borealis, a new company operating out of nearby Anzac, is determined to bring more attention to this vast wilderness, with tours meant to engage with nature and change the perceptions of this corner of the world.

Almost 100 kilometres north of Fort McMurray you arrive at the Fort Chipewyan winter road. During the warmer months, this sandy artery serves as a thoroughfare for ATVs of all shapes and sizes as people flock into the surrounding forests.

Our target on this adventure is the Athabasca sand dunes in Maybelle River Provincial Wildland Park, a protected area only open to exploration by foot. Getting there, however, you must travel 90 kilometres along the bumpy winter road — a bandana or face cover is a must — through crowds of motorized explorers that slowly taper off as you get further off the grid.

Adventure Borealis started operations in November but is just starting to get serious now that the warm weather is here. It’s a small operation run by Ron Sturgess and Jordan Huppie, two kindhearted northern boys who know their way around the wild lands as well as the motorized beasts of burden needed for this kind of trek.

Sturgess and Huppie load us onto ATVs after arriving at the start of the winter road, each guest mounting their own ride. It’s several hours to the base camp they’ve established on the shores of Lake Laroque, a crystal-clear oasis nestled into its sandy surroundings. When we arrive several hours later, we find the gear unloaded. It’s been over an hour since we’ve seen another human and the only occupants of the lake are a family of loons.

Dinner is simple but delicious, consisting of steak and potatoes cooked in the fire. It’s indicative of the meals you eat on this tour — simple camping fare done well. You’d be wise to tell them if you’re a vegetarian ahead of time.

There’s a lot of sand during the first day, but it’s not until the second day that you experience the unknowable volume of it contained in the dunes. After an eight-kilometre ATV ride from the camp, it’s a short walk through the woods before you encounter a wall of sand rising above you. Scrambling up the steep incline you’re met with a vast and unexpected expanse of sky and sand.

Experience Alberta's moving desert for yourself. The Athabasca sand dunes are a one-of-a-kind phenomenon sure to wow adventurous types. 

Raised above the surrounding forest, which the dunes are steadily consuming, the dunes offer an amazing view of the surrounding landscape, allowing you to take in the indescribable size of the north, from the sky to the forest to the sand. There is no one in sight and there’s ample time to explore the unique environment in peace.

Upon returning to camp, the lake is a godsend after a dusty ride and a walk through the dunes. The water is cold, but not unbearable and is a refreshing way to rid yourself of a portion of the sand that has collected on your body.

Beers, snacks, and eventually a dinner of chicken and Caesar salad around the fire cap off the day and it’s to bed to prepare for the long journey home.

The sand dunes adventure isn’t for the lighthearted traveller, and Sturgess warns that if any princesses show up for the tour, he’ll toss them in the lake. I believe him. It’s also a fair warning.

This is not five-star glamping in the northern wilds, but a dusty adventure with simple food and the expectation that you can handle yourself. If you’ve got those traits and are searching for an authentic trek into lands not seen by many, a trip to the oil-less sands beyond Fort Mac’s hustle is one to remember.

Learn more about the Athabasca sand dunes  here.

Like this story? Share it with your adventure-seeking friends!

Get footloose to the music and connect to Canada’s frontier past at the River Rats Festival

Feet raw from a hot afternoon of barefoot dancing, I dipped my toes into the cool flowing waters of the Tawatinaw River. Behind me, the band played on.

Meet the makers of north east Alberta, online

The #NEAB Online Festival is live and running March 7 - 28 with LIVE music, cooking and crafting demos, behind-the-scenes tours, travel tips and how-tos.

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Watch all the #NEAB Online Festival Highlights

The #NEAB Online Festival is live and running March 7 - 28 with LIVE music, cooking and crafting demos, behind-the-scenes tours and how-tos. Check out the schedule and tune in!

Alberta festivals and events for August

August is a busy month for festival lovers in Alberta and we’ve hand selected a few great ones that you won’t want to miss this month.

Festivals and events in Alberta in July

Check out the awesome festival lineup Alberta has to look forward to this July

Get thee to Edson Renaissance Faire

Who hasn’t imagined what it would be like living in medieval times, when bards played, mead flowed and swordplay was the era’s most popular sport?

Get muddy at Plamondon Mud Bogs for a primal rush

From July 7 - 9, 2023, the hounds of the Metal Mulisha let loose in Plamondon in some of the wildest feats of machine-driven fun you’ll find, with monster trucks, Frankenstein-modified pickups and

Free your wild side at Party In The Park

Whitecourt's Party In The Park this June 16-17, 2023 is free, full of great music and set against a beautiful backdrop!

Rev up your fun at Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed

Soaring above the snow-covered lake at Lac La Biche in a single prop Piper airplane, it hit me just how big the Winter Festival of Speed is.

Get festive with holiday and winter events in Northern Alberta

Are you ready for it? Christmas and winter holidays are just weeks away. In northern Alberta, that means the return of festive events to light up those long dark nights.

Rev, run and paint at northern Alberta late summer events

Car shows, art festivals, and triathlons await in Northeast Alberta.

Above and Beyond Travel means no agency fees, just great service! Make your dreams come true. Book with us today!

We’ve traveled there, we’re experienced, and we want to share our expertise with you. Call Above & Beyond Travel to take the worry out of your travel adventure. There are no travel agency fees, just great service. Call us today, 740‑323‑6208 . We serve Granville, Heath, Johnstown, Newark, Licking County and all of Central Ohio.

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