The Best Hiking Trails in Edmonton

I wanted to see the William Hawrelak Park , as it was the most famous park in Edmonton. I was quite surprised to see lots of snow, contained by barriers. That certainly looked strange, until we saw a sign that said: Ice Castles are closed for the season. That made sense. We missed it, maybe next time. We continued our trek near the lake. Some ice was still floating. There were a lot of seagulls and Canadian geese on the lake.

The park is well laid out and offers various trails to satisfy your trek through the river valley. You can stop by the river and watch puppies frolicking in the water, chasing sticks, balls, or rocks. The path through the trees offers bird watchers a chance to experience birds not seen often in the urban area and there is a chance to spot the beaver family in one of the ponds. It's like a little piece of paradise inside the city.

I love this place and take my dogs here all the time. The bottom unpaved trail is an off leash dog area and is also used as a mountain bike route. The top paved trails are for cyclists, pedestrians and dogs on a leash. There is a creek and an area where dogs can splash around in the water this trail connects to the greater river valley trails just south of downtown if you keep going north. Not all of it is off leash though so pay attention to the signs.