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Strathcona County follows a priority system to manage snow and ice on more than 187 km of trails and pathways in Sherwood Park and rural hamlets.Â
After a snowfall, it can take up to five days to clear all County-maintained trails and pathways. If it snows again, crews will return to clear trails and pathways again in order of priority.Â
Effective September 27, 2022Â Â
PriorityÂ
LocationsÂ
1Â
School sites, including student drop zones, school bus zones, school parks and connector pathways from residential areas Â
2Â
All hard surfaced pathways and trails leading to public recreation facilities Â
3Â
All remaining hard surfaced trails including trails between residential streetsÂ
Typically, the County will start clearing Priority 3 trails and pathways at the same time as Priority 2 trailsÂ
If icy conditions are an issue, crews will spread rock chips and use equipment to remove ice, where possible. Rock chips are considered a safe and effective way to manage icy trails and pathways. A sand/salt mix can be hard on pets’ feet and landscaping.Â
We typically do not use any chemicals on trails. In extreme circumstances, we will use an environmentally friendly ice melt, which is safe for animals. High-traffic locations near County facilities also use the same ice melt product.Â
Concrete surfaces around Bethel and Ordze transit centres, as well as areas around County facilities such as the Community Centre and Festival Place, are cleared with 24 hours following a snowfall. The updated priorities only include trails and pathways.
Providing clear pathways for our residents to use safely is always important to the County. To ensure we dedicate our resources well, we use a priority system to clear trails in the most highly used areas first.
In 2022, we updated our trail clearing approach to clear all trails and pathways within five days, an improvement from our previous standard of eight days.
Strathcona County is not responsible for all the trails in Sherwood Park. Some are maintained by residents or businesses. Also, because we use a priority system, and depending on the weather, some trails may take longer to be completed.
Any pathway that is not concrete or asphalt is not maintained by the County in the winter months. They are left as a natural pathway.
Mailbox pathways are typically a Priority 3 trail, so we may not have got to it yet. Many locations have private sidewalks that connect to the mailbox, which is maintained by the resident on the adjacent property. It's the responsibility of Canada Post to clear around the mailbox itself.
More information:
Transportation Engineering and Operations Phone: 780-417-7100 Submit a County Connect related to winter maintenance
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Last updated: Friday, October 24, 2025 Page ID: 50914