I am absolutely loving the Downtown Community Arena located in Rogers Place…read more My little guy is currently participating in the NHL Learn to Play Lil' Oilers Program here. The locker rooms are nice with a spacious washroom in each and showers (5 locker rooms in total). There are washrooms on the main floor here as well as upstairs. That's another great thing - the bleachers here hold 1000 peeps and are accessible to all because there is an elevator in addition to the stairs. There's even designated wheelchair space with safety bars/handrails at the top level of the bleachers. There are free community skates here every week so check out their website to find out the current schedule: https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/downtown-community-arena.aspx At the top of the arena is a few places to grab a bite to eat - a couple to go places attached to the Casino (pizza and burgers and fries) but also a Starbucks (always makes me happy). We usually park on the street and try to snag some free parking but there is a paid lot available on the North side of Rogers place. Alternatively, there is also the LRT that runs here as well. Two Thumbs Way Up!

What a fantastic addition to the downtown core for it's residents, workers and students. It is the…read moreofficial rink that MacEwan University is using for it's hockey team. It offers public skating programs free of charge to a variety of groups. Some being for fitness, skating for parents and kids, older adult skate as well as the Downtown Community League skate. Free skates and helmet rental are available. They also offer adult shinny for those who are 18 years and older but you must be pre-registered. All schedules for public skating and adult shinny are on their website. The facility is awesome. It has a change room that you can put your skates on and leave your belongings in if you feel comfortable as there are no lockers. There is a water dispenser for your bottled water. Everything is very clean and spacious. If you do not feel comfortable leaving your belongings in the change room, you can bring them out and leave them on the front bench before entering the skating rink. The bleachers for fans seats about a thousand and there is an elevator for those who can not take the stairs. It is connected to Rogers Place so it is not difficult to find. There is access to the community arena through Rogers but sometimes the doors are locked. It is best to enter from outside on the North East entrance. I will be sure to utilize this facility in the upcoming months.

Very nice rec centre! It is very busy depending on the day, and the epl library has a very large…read morevariety. It is also in a area with a lot around it! Very nice pools, especially the deep end. Also a pretty nice gym.

This place is huge! I got lost looking for the drink…read more I was in the area so I decided to check the pool out. Pretty sizable, its weird how half the pools in this city are tiny and the others are gigantic. I mistook the hot tub for a pool at first. Bad vision without my specs. Hot tub wasn't too hot but it might've been the day. Theres 3 pools I think. Kids, lanes and a diving area. This place has a slide and a lot more. In the swimming lanes, someone had an under water radio, which was weird but cool! Couldn't hear it above water, only below. I didn't see a sauna but there is a steam room. Every 40 seconds it was blasting heat into the room pshhh! Pshhh! I found it a bit tricky to find the shower by the steam but its probably just my bad eyes again.

This community league is in a nice neighbourhood next to a school. There is a large play park here…read more(made from wood), an large size outdoor skating rink with boards sitting area and nets, and a smaller skating rink on the side of the building. The skating rinks are well maintained by the staff at the community league who regularly clean the snow off the ice. They have some folding chairs and skate trainers but you have to be lucky if someone is in the building to allow you to borrow this. There is an indoor boot room where you can put your skates on, store your boots there, and skate directly to the rink from there. They also have 2 washrooms inside this boot room which can come in handy if you're there for an extended period of time. In addition to all that, there is also a large tobogganing hill beside this community league so you can play, skate, toboggan, all in one place! Lots of lighting around too so feels very safe. There is also a large parking lot next to the building so there is ample parking as well. Check this place our!

I've always liked coming to Hawrelak Park. One year I was taking a summer class at UofA and I…read morewould walk here after class to enjoy the greenery and quiet space. Over the years, we've enjoyed the sites to have BBQs and gatherings. It's a spacious park and even with crowds, it never seems that busy (except during Heritage Days). Most recently I was here for the Rock Festival at the Amphitheatre. It's easy to find the white top and the walking from parking isn't far as it's central. Inside there was plenty of seating with a good view of the stage and those who brought their own lawn chairs could enjoy it from the outside where it was a bit warmer when the sun was out. There's a water fountain near the washrooms and lots of women stalls, although with this crowd, there was always a line up that moved fast. They also had porta potties. There were tents set up with vendors on one site, and food trucks on the other, and sometimes the walkway got crowded but I could walk around them. I enjoyed the event, and it got a bit chilly so I'm glad we also brought a blanket to keep warm!

William Hawrelak Park is one of Edmonton's most used parks, and used by me and my family on a…read moreregular basis. The park is named after a former mayor of Edmonton and the site used to be an old gravel pit. My, much has changed over time! The park is situated just off Groat Road with the North Saskatchewan River running by it's side. The park has many amenities available from picnic areas, public washrooms, amphitheater, playground, and of course the lake. Regardless of the time of year you go to Hawrelak Park there is always something to do - skating, cross country skiing and snow shoeing in the winter to flying kites, paddle boats, wildlife watching and chilling out in the summer. Some of the larger picnic areas need to be booked in advance and to do so you need to call the City's Parks and Rec division. Regardless of the time of year you'll see people running through the park as part of the trail system goes through it. It's also a hot spot for wedding pictures. Hawrelak Park has been the location of many events from the annual Heritage Days Festival, Edmonton marathon route, the now defunct Bright Nights Festival, Terry Fox Run, Symphony Under The Stars, sporting events and Silver Skate Festival, to name a few.

The Ice Palace is one of those places almost every Edmontonian has gone to, at least once, to spend…read morea fun-filled and laid-back afternoon. You can come here whether you're a professional cutting figure eights into the ice, or a beginner who's more comfortable clinging to the wall. If spectator sports is more your thing, you can watch skaters from the mall's different levels on the outer edge of the rink. I used to come here a lot with my family, and it's probably where I got most of my skating experience. It's a large rink, right in the middle of one of the world's largest malls (is it still the largest?), with a huge glass dome above that lets all the natural sunlight in. If you're a beginner, it's understandable if you feel uneasy skating here, since shoppers passing by may stop to look. I think some advanced skaters have fun here showing off; you can usually see quite a few fancy moves out on this ice. They also host figure skating events here and are home to the Ice Palace Figure Skating Club. If you're lucky you can catch the Edmonton Oilers practicing here too. They offer a good discount if you're going in large groups of 15+ people, about $3.50 each. Skate rentals are available if you don't have your own. It's best to check their schedule on their website before you go, as the hours vary every day for public skating. They have senior skating hours available from 10am to 11am daily, excluding weekends.

The coolest thing about Ice palace is that you can go skating during the summer. Ice palace is the…read moreskating rink located inside West Edmonton Mall and it is usually packed with people of all ages just skating around and sometimes its young kids learning to skate. It is pretty amusing watching them. It is also cool because sometimes the Edmonton Oiler's practice here and that is great to watch as well. I don't think anyone would care to watch them practice this season but it is cool nonetheless. Some people probably wouldn't skate here because of all the eyes on them but usually it is pretty packed with skaters.

Tucked away, in an unsuspecting residential area, is Westwood Arena…read more I bet it is cool, to have an arena in your neighbourhood ! The arena : Viewing can be limited. I stood during a hockey tournament, I did not want to miss the plays. Westwood, has basic amenities, limited staircase seating which is not wheel chair accessible. Those w/ limited mobility can view the ice at ground level. The ice is well maintained (4 stars) Solid sound system (4 stars) The main lobby has three benches where you can sit before heading to the arenas viewing area. Visitors for two or three teams can put you elbow to elbow. There is No concession here, - no problem, just eat or feed the kids / yourself before hand !! BRING SNACKS ! If not, there are many food stops along the way to Westwood. The lobby has three vending machines. Coke products / Cold Drinks: Fanta sprite nestea water Nescafé coffee dispenser. Snack Vending machine : Doritos etc. Dressing rooms, there are four : Extra tight quarters. Nine year olds were elbow to elbow. Two bathrooms - two stalls in the ladies (when is wheelchair accessible) All in all, a solid, old school arena solid 3.5 - No extras, No bells, No whistles - unless, it's the referees ! (That was funny! Stop rolling your eyes !!) As long as the ice is well maintained, what more do you need ! Ps. Come early, parking is limited !!