Edmonton Attractions - Part I
There's a lot more to Alberta's capital city that West Edmonton Mall
by Jennifer Groundwater
My first visit to Edmonton was 12 years ago, when I took the train across Canada with two friends en route to a summer in Banff. We arrived on an unseasonably warm day in early May, dumped our things in the hostel, and promptly headed for the river valley. It was hot and sunny, and the valley was green and bursting with colour. The river flowed lazily below us. Life was grand.
I had discovered one of the nicest things about Edmonton: the North Saskatchewan River, which has its headwaters far away in the Columbia Icefield. It winds prettily through the city, surrounded by the largest urban parkland system in North America. The valley includes 22 major parks, over 100 km of trails, and four lakes. There are also six golf courses within the river valley, not to mention a zoo and two ski hills.
Edmontonians appreciate their valley and use it for all kinds of activities, from walking, running, rollerblading, and cycling in the summer to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. On the river itself, people kayak, canoe, fish, and jet ski. Some even pan for gold (hope springs eternal…)
Some of Edmonton's best attractions are located within the river valley. I recommend visiting the provincial Legislature Building, Fort Edmonton, and the Muttart Conservatory. All are close to downtown and easy to get to.
Fort Edmonton Park is a huge historic display of the city's history, including streets depicting life in 1885, 1905 and 1920. Costumed interpreters and transportation by steam train, streetcar or horse and wagon make for an interesting day for a family.
Strictly speaking, the Legislature Building is not in the valley - it's above it, on the downtown side of the river. It's well worth a visit to see the beautiful gardens and reflecting pool in summer. If you go in winter, you can skate on the frozen ice surface of the pool. Take a free tour of the Legislature to learn more about its architecture and the political history of the province. (This is much more interesting than it may sound!) The original Fort Edmonton was established very near here in 1795 by the Hudson's Bay Company. After your visit, take the wooden steps way, way, down and go for a stroll by the water where the fur traders used to pull up to the fort in their canoes.
Now that your appetite for history has been whetted, get yourself over to Fort Edmonton Park. This huge historic park is open from the May long weekend to Labour Day. There is an extensive fur-trading fort, a replica of the HBC fort that was here in 1846. You can learn about the fur trade and what life was like inside the fort by talking to costumed interpreters.
The rest of Fort Edmonton is laid out in a series of streets, each one reflecting a different era in Edmonton's history. You can get around among 1885 Street, 1905 Street, and 1920 Street on foot or by taking a steam train, streetcar, or horse and wagon ride.
The river is part of the exhibit here, as one of the main jobs of the inhabitants of the fort was to build the York boats that took furs to Hudson's Bay for shipping to Europe every summer. The boats got quite beaten up on the long journey, so every year new ones had to be built.
A visit to Fort Edmonton can easily take all day, as there is so much to see and do. Food is available onsite, or you can bring a picnic to enjoy by the water's edge.
The Muttart Conservatory offers a totally different kind of experience, and it's one that can be enjoyed any time of year. In fact, I think it's best when it's -40 out and you can step into this completely self-contained little world to forget about winter for a while. Mind you, it's gorgeous in summer as well, when the outdoor gardens are at their peak.
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The river valley that winds through the city of Edmonton is home to the Muttart Conservatory, whose four glass pyramids feature distinctly different varieties of gardens.
Muttart is made up of four interconnected glass pyramids nestled in the valley just below downtown Edmonton. Each pyramid houses a different style of garden. There is a show pyramid, where the display often reflects a seasonal theme and changes completely every six to eight weeks. The Arid Garden has a big selection of desert and semi-arid plants. This garden has a spare, Zen-like beauty; it feels like not a pebble is out of place. The Tropical Pyramid is the opposite of the Arid Garden: hot and steamy all year-round, with lush rainforest plants growing every which way. The Temperate Garden is carefully controlled to allow the plants a period of dormancy and to have "spring" arrive in the middle of Edmonton's natural winter.
One final Edmonton favourite of mine, though it's not noticeably near the river, is the Old Strathcona area, which was incorporated as a town in 1899. Thanks to the concentration of old buildings here, the area retains a historic charm that is hard to find elsewhere in the city (or elsewhere in Alberta, for that matter). Most of the action can be found along Whyte Avenue, where there are funky shops, bars and restaurants aplenty, including numerous bookstores.
If you're in Edmonton on a Saturday, be sure to take in the old Strathcona Farmers' Market. Be prepared for a veritable feast for the senses. The building is ordinary enough - it's an old bus barn that's been cleaned up - but 130 vendors selling everything from organic eggs to handmade quilts fill the space with colour and taste. Plenty of vendors hand out free samples to tempt you; the last time I went, I fell for homemade pies and pesto this way. If you go, you will definitely spend more than you planned to, but everything is so good that you won't care.
That first day in May, I had no clue about Edmonton - it was just a stop on the way to the mountains. But with every visit since then, I have grown to appreciate the city more and more, and I know I will always have a soft spot for the river Saskatchewan.
If You Go:
Edmonton is about a 4-hour drive from Canmore. Make the trip more scenic by taking Highway 22 from the Cochrane turnoff up through some lovely foothills ranching country, then take 27 east to Highway 2 to reach Edmonton. Plan to stay at least overnight to take in the attractions in this story.
There is plenty of accommodation in Edmonton, from the aforementioned hostel to luxury boutique hotels and cozy B&Bs. Pick up a Travel Alberta Accommodation Guide at the Canmore Visitor Info Centre to help you make your selection.
Fort Edmonton, www.fortedmontonpark.com is on Fox Drive, just off the Whitemud Freeway. Call 780.496.8787.
The Muttart Conservatory, www.edmonton.ac/muttart, is at 9626 96A Street. Call 780.496.8755.
The Old Strathcona Farmers' Market is at 10310 83 Avenue. Call 780.439.1844. The market is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday, year-round. Bring cash - no plastic accepted.
Jennifer Groundwater is looking forward to her next visit to Edmonton so she can enjoy a scenic stroll along the banks of the North Saskatchewan. And so she can stock up on pie and pesto. A Canmore resident and mom of an adorable toddler, she is the author of "Western Canada: An Altitude SuperGuide, available from Canmore-based Altitude Publishing"".
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