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.

The best Canoe trip I have had in Edmonton. It was Hastle free and fun. After sending a Twitter…read moremessage I got a link the send an email. The booking was fast and friendly. My son and I meet Canoeheads at The Sir Wilfrid Laurier Boat launch at 8 am. We road in comfort to Devon. Once in Devon. The prep of the Canoes and other boats was fast. A briefing on water safety and what sites to watch for was informative. We were on the North Saskatchewan river before 9 am ready for an active day. Once on the river I was impressed by the quality of the canoeing equipment. The padding was easy; with nice lifejackets and paddles. The canoes were great and I always felt safe. Canoeing is an activity that I enjoy but getting out is the hard part - Canoeheads made a day out on the water easy. We saw Moose, some deer, a Bald Eagle. A Muskrat and many ducks & geese were in the water that day too. It was a great trip. Along the way we tried to take the narrow passage whenever there was an island. As we canoed past the islands that is where we saw most of the wildlife BTW. Getting out at Laurier park was easy! Canoeheads met us there and we never lifted a boat all day. We cannot stress enough how easy it was to canoe in the Edmonton River valley with these guys. It was fast to book. No Hastle to get out-of-town. No cars to shuttle or pick up after spending an enjoyable day floating down the river. Honestly were were home before dinner and really enjoyed the day. Canoeheads made the trip a wonderful experience. A real top ten things to do in Edmonton. I plsn to make this a tradition and will look forward to doing a day out activity again soon. A big THANK YOU to Jason and his team. From pick up to drop off this was a summer highlight. Oh yeah, bring a camera ( in a ziplock ) and sunscreen. ...

We have used Canoeheads for the past three years to shuttle kayaks to Devon for a day trip paddle…read moreon the river to Sir Laurier park. The service is top notch. Jason and his crew are on time, he loads the kayaks for us and is friendly. He is very knowledgable about the river and it's conditions. Takes time to answer any questions. I appreciate this since the river conditions can change in hours. His rates are extremely fair. We will continue to use this service.

Grant Notley Park is a great little spot at the top of Victoria Park Hill. The view of the river…read morevalley here is fantastic. Looking south, you'd think Edmonton is just a giant park with a university in the middle of it. There are lots of benches and a few picnic tables and even a gazebo (which apparently you can rent through the City of Edmonton's website!). Despite all the traffic going by, it's still pretty quiet. This park also seems to be more popular with seniors and cyclists than with homeless people, at least compared to other parks in the downtown area. There's some metered parking nearby, but walk or bike if you can. It's good for you!

Grant Notley is my favorite place in the city to take a gelato and soak up the view. It has…read moremultiple benches throughout that give you a different view of the valley and is well landscaped. They offer a gazebo for private bookings but it is open to the public and is a great place to wait out the rain if you are caught off guard. It is located right next to the historic LeMarchand Mansion that was built in 1910. The LeMarchand is one of Edmonton's most recognisable buildings and a welcome back drop to Grant Notley Park. The park is small by most standards as it takes up a little less than one square block but they have used the space quite effectively in my opinion. Along the south border there are benches that follow the edge of the valley with a few picnic tables located on the other side of the walkway amongst the trees. You get a good mix of people in the park both young and old mostly there to sip on a coffee and enjoy the view. It is not a park that is activity friendly though in my opinion as the grassy area is small and hilly with trees dotting the path. I have seen a ladies boot camp use it to do weight work but that's about it. The view of the sunset is quite amazing as well as the night sky, you will find it fills up quite quickly during warm evenings. If I could change one thing it would be the storm drain that is located in the North East corner of the park right off of the road as the smell can be quite strong if the wind catches it right. The next time you are walking down the Victoria Promenade I recommend crossing Victoria Park Road and checking it out.

This was such an amazing place! We took our daughter here for the day in September. We came early…read moreand grabbed a daycamp site near the playground. She had such a blast! The playground is amazing so many neat things to do, climb, jump and explore. Seriously a great place to bring kids who are very active. We had a fire in the camp site and cooked our lunch and even set up a tent so we could relax and have a nap. We also went for a long walk along the river bank and just enjoyed nature. It was such a lovely day!

Great sites for picnic eventsfor large groups. Quite and beautiful lush area. Highly recommendedread more

Bunchberry Meadows is a privately owned conservation area just west of Edmonton and north of Devon…read more From my home in the Windermere area, I was able to drive here in about 20-25 minutes, with easy access off the Henday. The turn in to the area from Range Road 261 is easy to miss, but once you make the turn, large signs tell you that you're in the right spot. The entire area is really well maintained, with a gravel parking lot, maps and concrete outhouses (which were very clean!). There are a number of trail loops, and if you do all of them, expect to walk about 9 km, or two hours. Depending on the trail route you select, you could walk much less than this.The trails are stamped down grassland or peat, and were easy walking, but I wouldn't recommend a stroller due to uneven ground. I was also more comfortable in hiking shoes than I would have been in sneakers or sandals. The whole trail system is very well marked throughout, with maps and pointers giving walking distances and times back to the parking lot at every trail fork. Along the trails there are placards with information about trees and wildlife in the conservation area, and I especially loved the birch forest - rare and beautiful. I visited in early September, and mosquitoes weren't an issue with some bug spray, but with marshy areas I would expect them to be out in full force during warmer months. I enjoyed my visit, and would definitely return, especially once the leaves start to turn in the fall. Note: dogs and bicycles are not permitted due to some of the sensitive habitats in the area.

Great way to enjoy a nice evening in Edmonton! Be warned the sailing distance is subject to water…read morelevels - which were too low during our sailing so we moved a fairly short distance. They issued cruise vouchers to use for future sailing due to the situation, which I thought was fair. The dinner is buffet style - plenty of food and decently good - drinks are not included (other than water, coffee, tea). Dinner and cruise is $75; there is a cheaper cruise only option where you can buy food (hot dogs, burgers) onboard for about $15. Overall we enjoyed it and had a good time. The boarding process was annoyingly inefficient and took nearly an hour! They should streamline this - for example they can process dinner people while in line m. Once on board, it was pretty smooth and service was very friendly. Parking is pretty close to the dock and is free.

There is a lot to not like about the riverboat. It is really expensive for what you get, and really…read morethere is no staff to be seen. We happened to stumble onto a deal. That being said, the views are great and it is a nice family activity. Both older and younger people can enjoy this. We did not do the buffet, just the cruise. Our daughter loved it so much, that probably we will do this again and look for a deal for next year.

A relaxing and discreet Clothing Optional corner of Alberta, Canada's North Saskatchewan River…read more Shared respectfully be Albertan Naturalists. Cottontail corner is a half an hour hike from the public beach to a serene rocky beach. Perfect for peeling your clothes off and plunking a lawn chair down and enjoying nature as it was intended!

My entire family Absolutely LOVES CottonTail Corner! My young daughter loves playing in the mud…read moreand my wife and I enjoy the sounds of nature while we get rid of any tan lines in this gem of a clothing optional area. Only 20 minutes out of the city of Edmonton too! And they have a site on Facebook as well.

Went to snow valley for a skiing/snowboarding school field trip. Everyone was welcome on this field…read moretrip from people who have no experience to people who have been skiing/snowboarding for most of their life. At the beginning of the trip everyone was required to take lessons for an hour no matter skill level, after we completed this we would be allowed to free ski on designated hills based on skill level ( which some thought was inaccurate). Now here is the first of many issues we experienced, the instructors were unclear, rude and dismissive of the students. Some of many incidents include an instructor bumping into a student at full speed without apologizing or stopping to help in any way, this student was injured and lost a ski. The rules here were unclear and the instructors, without stating any of them, just expected us to know them all, and if they were stated, it was after a mistake was made by a student, or a student was yelled at because the rule was not addressed beforehand. I feel if I was an adult I would have been treated with more respect, not rushed, pushed, or yelled at. Only two of many instructors that I interacted with were kind and helpful, I wasn't able to catch their names but it's good to know that at least two people were genuinely good, still that's not a good ratio. As for general safety, when it was free time all the instructors left so students had no supervision. Students who shared their concerns or injuries to the instructors either got ignored or dismissed. They didn't check the skill levels on the tags that stated what hills they were permitted to ski/snowboard on, so students could go on improper hills and levels for their skill range. Multiple student's skis got taken by someone without the student or instructor's knowledge. And for cleanliness, oh boy. A lady just did 2 sprays of cleaning spray and was done, I don't know if this is normal, she did this for helmets and in the ski boots and called it a day, no inspection, no wiping down the boots, nothing. I lost my sock in the boot and thank goodness I noticed because the next person to get those boots would have found a sock, gross. When we got our proper shoes back they were thrown down with zero regard to students' belongings. The whole rental experience was awful. There was poor communication between everyone instructor-instructor instructor-student student-student throughout the day (mainly because students were unaware of what to do). It was a very stressful experience. Many students cried, and had panic attacks, I am aware of a student who was grabbed by the arm against their will while being upset. This is not something that I and many others want to see when skiing no matter what level or experience we are at. I am speaking on behalf of many students when I say that the day was confusing, stressful, anger inducing, and BAD. I do want to say that yes, it probably was a stressful day for the instructors because some kids can be jerks but I feel that when you sign up for that job you should be ready for anything without yelling, and being rude. Im not telling you not to come im just informing you of my experience and what you are spending your money on.

Snow Valley has made a fan out of me! My 5 year old daughter has taken lessons for the last two…read moreyears at Sun Ridge in Edmonton. We came to Snow Valley for the first time last weekend with my daughter's school. For $25, we were provided ski equipment (skis or snowboard, helmets, etc.) and an hour lesson. I had NEVER skied before and my hubby hadn't been since an unfortunate experience in 5th grade. Check-in was at 6:30 pm and the slopes closed at 10:00 pm. Our beginner instructor, Nicholas, was well worth the wait (30 minutes). He even checked back in on us later on in the evening. I'll admit we were lucky with our instructor but he sure made us feel welcome and never made me feel bad for falling on the magic carpet and needing help off a couple if times! Skiing, no problem. Child-safe magic carpet, not so much! That thing was my nemesis but the staff were there to help me each time I bit the dust. While Snow Valley likely seems small to an avid skier, it was perfect for my family! I really liked how you could see all the runs from bunny to black diamond from the main grounds when you exit the chalet. I will definitely chose Snow Valley next year for our family's lessons.