Let's face it. Winters are long in Canada. To survive them - and actually enjoy a winter I think you need lots of things to look forward to - like mini vacation breaks to the mountains and/or to cities you perhaps don't know much about. Over a January winter weekend John and I immersed ourselves in activities in and around Edmonton. You'd be amazed at the diversity of things to do in Edmonton and how much fun…
Go cross country skiing if you live in Alberta - if you want to make the long, cold winters fun and bearable. I love the fact that there are so many choices for cross country skiing within a couple of hours of any of the major cities in Alberta. If there's fresh snow in Calgary some of the golf courses (Shaganappi Point Golf, Maple Ridge and Confederation Park) and parks (Weaselhead, Edworthy, Fish Creek Provincial…
Biking in Edmonton might not be the first things that comes to mind on a visit to Alberta's capital city. But it's one of the best ways to get a sense of the city - and to discover gems that you don't always appreciate from the seat of a moving car. Explore over 150 kilometres of Edmonton River Valley trails that take you both east and west away from the downtown. Biking in Edmonton can…
One of my greatest passions in life is gardening though I appreciate you wouldn't know it from reading my blog. From spring until fall it's a rare day (when I'm home) that I don't dig in the dirt. So when I was asked by Explore Edmonton if I'd like to visit the University of Alberta Botanic Gardens (formerly the Devonian Gardens) it was a definite yes - though I have to admit I didn't even…
Winter is a great time to visit Elk Island National Park. It's an easy place to access as a day trip from Edmonton, if only for a few hours. There's plenty to do - just not a whole lot in the way of services. Here are suggestions based on my experience traveling with Priscilla from HaskinCanoe. She spends a lot of time in the park and has a wealth of knowledge about what you can do…
For this Calgarian, Edmonton is not the first place I think of for a weekend getaway. But my misconceptions about the city were rocked over three days as I discovered a multitude of great restaurants, shopping, culture and things to do. An Edmonton weekend getaway is ideal year round. There's always something interesting to do, an art exhibit to see, an amazing restaurant meal to enjoy or a festival or special even to take in.…
Edmonton is the provincial capital of Alberta and not a place I knew much about until I started researching for this blog. I thought of it as a city with nothing but big box stores, because that's all I'd ever seen as I drove through. And I knew it was bloody cold in the winter. But now I've been to the city on numerous occasions and love what it has to offer - especially the…