In the coulee between the east and west sides of the city, Indian Battle Park, named after a famous 1870 battle between the Blackfoot and the Cree, is no ordinary manicured green space. Instead, this is an expansive, surprisingly wild place astride the Oldman River that is strafed with trails, wildlife and some unsung mining history.
Impossible to miss in the middle of it all is the 96m-high, 1623m-long High Level Bridge – the largest trestle bridge in the world – built in 1909 to carry the railway across the deep coulee to the prairies on the other side.
Almost directly under the bridge, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre & Lethbridge Nature Reserve contains a small interpretive center and is the starting point for various nature trails on the reserve's 80 wooded hectares along the river; it runs special nature programs in the summer. At the other end of the car park is the Coalbanks Interpretive Kiosk, an open-air shelter containing an impressive stash of information on Lethbridge's early mining history. Trails nearby lead to gazebos, picnic areas and viewpoints.
