Rundle Park is far from the closest river valley park to my home, but it's one that I frequent…read moreoften. Why? Disc golf! Rundle Park has the largest and most well-used disc golf course in Edmonton, and is home to Edmonton's disc golf league. For those that aren't familiar with disc golf, it's similar to traditional golf, in that you start at a tee, but the goal is to throw discs into baskets instead of hitting balls into holes. Disc golf has ramped up popularity since Covid restrictions were introduced, as it's an easy outdoor sport that has no green fees and allows for social distancing. I've played the course at Rundle many times and I still find it challenging. Some of the holes are fairly long, and have hazards like water or hills to keep you on your toes. Compared to the other courses I have played, Rundle could do a better job with signage to help players find the next hole, as some of the holes criss-cross each other a bit. The bathrooms in the family centre are open daily, and there are plenty of parking spots. Aside from disc golf, Rundle is huge. I've attended 5k races here, and they easily can stay within the park. There are playgrounds, and numerous picnic sites. On a recent Sunday, the park was full of people setting up makeshift picnic sites in the grass, and all the city-run picnic spots were fully of families. I will note that the mini-golf is no longer open, even though there are a few painted signs remaining in the park. Rundle is a wonderful place in the city to spend time with family and friends, and a perfect picnic destination.

LOVE me some Rundle Park…read more When I first moved to Canada, from Seattle, 14 years ago our townhouse was across the street. Now, the area is a bit rough but that's not Rundle Park's fault. The park itself is MASSIVE and contains the ACT pool, the clubhouse you can rent out for parties, paddle boats, lots of trails, views/access to river valley, and tennis courts open to the public for free. Not to mention the bumpy roller coaster feel of the road that will abuse your car but is oh so fun for bike riding. It's build on the old city dump so that's why the ground bubbles up all over the place! There's a golf course here though I've never had the pleasure. They also have outdoor mini golf but I've never tried that either. They also set up huge bails of hay here in the winter along the fence lines for awesome and relatively safe tobogganing! See you soon Rundle Park!

I've stopped here several times over the years when my body needs a break from being in the…read morevehicle. Tonight I sat way too long in the lineup at Peter's, so naturally I thought of this location on my way home. It was super windy and quite chilly tonight. I debated just looking at the lake from the vehicle but I wanted to see what birds were out there. So I had a fast eating kind of picnic while watching the geese at the lake, checked out the playground to see if it's worth bringing the nephews and nieces (definitely cool!) and just enjoyed watching the sun set from different angles. It's a large park with the road dividing the off leash area from where the playground is. Trees look to be the boundary to the gold course further back in the park. If you're looking for well set up group spaces for picnics that are family friendly, I'd recommend this location. Lots of parking too. Oh

This park is OUT OF THIS WORLD!…read more There are so many playgrounds here, it is easy for me to get lost! TONS of parking, at least 5 separate playgrounds including - toddler playground, big kid playground, rock wall/climbing and rope course play ground, HUGE spray park, and a freaking monkey bars playground... that's right, I said a monkey bars playground with more than 20 different types/styles of monkey bars. This park is INSANE - if you haven't been here, you NEED to come. Get up, right now and go! So pray tell, why am I only giving 4 stars rather than 5 stars? Well... Okay, compared to my family's personal have spray park, this park does not offer concessions, is not staffed during all open hours, and has a lake that little ones could run off to quickly and possibly get wet or be in a dangerous situation. So... If coming here with only big kids that you trust not to go in the lake or run out in the parking lot, then this park may become your very favourite. If you are like me with two kids under 6, this park requires a 1:1 ratio of adults to children to be certain of safety. I will most definitely be coming back here again and again and again!

A nice public park with picnic shelters which you can rent from the city. The pavillion is…read moreexcellently well maintained with washrooms, rooms for activities and rent and lots of open grassy area for activities. There's even a small park for children, decent parking, and it is located very close to the river if you wanted to go for a nice walk on the paths. It is also walking distance from downtown. There is a skating rink in the winter (which I've not visited as most of my visits have been in the spring/fall/summer) but the space is lovely for a picnic or other summer activities. A smaller park, it is often less busy than other more well-known Edmonton parks in the downtown accessible area.

A beautiful place to stop by and enjoy the river valley in the summer! Lots of trails to go for a…read morewalk/run down. In the winter, there's a skating rink where speed skaters go to practice. The ice is fairly well maintained. This year they added in the 400m Freezeway, which is an awesome starter project. The loop is still fairly short, but lots of fun to skate! There are slight slopes which make it fun, but also a little scary for newer skaters. The ice is rough. Very rough. So be careful! The areas with the lights are very pretty and are a perfect place to snap a picture. I'm really excited about this project and hope they expand it in future years! There's lots of parking to be found here, which makes it super convenient to visit. A great place to head for some free fun, a workout, or even a date!

I visited Spruce Grove many times, but it was my first time to Jubilee Park…read more I went there to take part in an event for Canadian Veterans, the Canadian Walk for Veterans, which took part in mid September. There lots of trees, play ground for the young ones, and trails for running, walking and cycling. Spruce Grove is fairly quiet town, close to Edmonton and a good place to relax and enjoy nature.

We have visited the spray park twice now and love it. There is staff on site keeping an eye on…read morethings, lots of sitting areas with shade/picnic tables, washroom/change rooms, and lots of different spray devices. This is the largest spray park I've ever been too. There are always a lot of people there, but it hasn't been over crowded. Everything is clean and well taken care of as well. The parking lot is large and is very accommodating. There is a dry park just passed the spray park as well for kids to go play in while they are there as well. A definite must if you live in spruce grove or even the west side of Edmonton.

This is such a nice park and kind of hidden off the beaten path! My husband and I come here often…read morefor a nice walk when have some alone time. I love listening to the water so taking a stroll on the walking bridge is so soothing. The bridge is nice and wide so no worries for social distancing. And it's lit up at night too. There are a few lookout spots with benches. It's lovely at anytime of the year, summer winter spring and fall.

We decided this year to try a different park each time we go out for a picnic. With the weather…read morelooking questionable we went to Capilano Park which we have never been to, but is fairly close to my house. What a lovely spot to picnic at. Not large, but has 12 picnic sites, some with the BBQs..many of them in the trees where you feel more secluded from the city and the parking lot. There are bathrooms also for convenience. Lots of trails to walk, ride a bike, or push a stroller. Our only issue is that the BBQ pits are way too small. We could not fit enough wood in them to generate the proper heat to cook our smokies on. The are so narrow! Anyway, nothing large or glamorous. But if you need a few hours of solitude, this is the place for you...just pack your propane BBQ.

I really enjoyed this park in the past but I have to say when you're less mobile, it does take some…read moresleuthing to figure out where to access things to get a better walk close to the ravine. Beautiful at all times of the year and one of my most favourite winter events is held within this park. Being that I live decently close to this park, I was surprised the 3 access points to this park I've encountered were all massive stairs but none of them had signs for any options for accessible routes. Lovely benches always nearby the top of the stairs which I've enjoyed this summer and some being near smaller open parks, I've enjoyed watching the dogs. I wouldn't recommend using the stair routes unless you're looking for good cardio in your day otherwise after a long walk in the ravine, it is quite a hike back up (speaking from past experiences!). Today, I took a neighbourhood construction detour and wondered where everyone was going with bikes and dogs. It was like the whole neighbourhood was outside! I smartly followed the dog walkers and biker groups. Finally, flatter trails and easier slope access points to the park were wonderfully revealed. There's cement paths on the upper portions of millcreek and more gravel and dirt paths on the lower levels. Some beautiful places for photos - tons of people out there today for family and engagement photos with the beautiful fall colours and the lovely bridges. I really like millcreek ravine due to the mix use. There's a good mix of on and off leash trails for dog walkers. Good trails for all sorts of bikes. Decent paved trails for young families. Nice variation of walking paths for various fitness levels. Lovely way to connect with nature without driving out of the city. I do have to say with everyone outside, I was surprised that I was one of the few with a mask on in the park. Some areas the trails are so narrow, you're almost shoulder to shoulder passing by. The path I ended on was going in the direction of the pool but due to my limited walking distance stamina, I turned around way before reaching that. Had a great but unexpected chat with friends on my way back to my vehicle which of course was much closer than I actually thought (it's easy to loose track of how far you've gone so good to remember to charge up your phone before going into the ravine so you can check distances/path maps).

It's kinda my Go-To because it's close by. Endless trails…read more Sometimes they are mucky. If you don't like dogs, stay off the lower South trail that allows off leash access. There is one porta potty in the parking lot beside the Mill Creek pool turnoff. Lots of cyclists. Most of them use their bells to give you heads up. Some will shout..."On your left!'... I shout back, "I doubt that, pal. I voted NDP". I can walk 10 km through this park which gives me a pretty nice, safe workout. I also stop and smell the roses.

Park is quite large with a reasonable amount of picnic tables, one of the best large hills in the…read morecity for sledding in the winter, fireworks in the summer are nice here, spray park is good for little kids when it's too hot, and overall very well landscaped. Only downside is that being the only large park in the area it is often packed in the warmer months and parking spaces are very limited.

GREAT park with small water splash pad, toddler area, swings, and playground…read more This park includes TONS of land and including grassy knolls, soccer fields, ball diamonds, and maybe even more! Located conveniently across from Mill Woods Town Centre - bus service would be a breeze to and from this park.

Sakaw is a good park for anyone that wants to enjoy it but I am a bigger fan of the skating rink…read more It is one of the rare rinks that you can almost always count on being open in the winter. They always have the ice fresh and the rink lit up, even on the coldest days of winter when some people would rather stay in bed than maintain a rink. The only downside is that it can get really busy sometimes and it's tough to enjoy a crowded rink but most days you can get a good pick up game going.

I used to live right next to this park and spent the occasional sunny day there reading, walking,…read moreor just hanging out with my family. It's mostly peaceful but can get a bit noisy since there's an elementary school just to the right. There's plenty of space, even enough to play a game of soccer, which a lot of kids doo. It's also a great place to take your dog for a walk (just make sure you pick up after yourself). As a bonus, it does have a skating/hockey rink so it's useful in the winter as well as the summer (unlike many parks in South Edmonton).