Edmonton is that one city that people have either never heard of, or they lived there at some point. There’s no in between. Edmonton was my home for five months while on university exchange so I got to know it quite well. Whilst it’s not the most touristy city in Canada, there’s heaps of cool things you can do! These are my top 5 things to do in Edmonton, Alberta (in no particular order). You know, just in case you find yourself there one day…
1. Explore the River Valley
At number 1 spot in my top 5 things to do in Edmonton is exploring the river valley. Officially known as the North Saskatchewan River Valley Parks System, it is the largest urban park in Canada with more than 160km of pathways to explore and 20 major parks. There’s so much you can do in the river valley in every season! I personally loved just going for a walk along one of the many trails, especially in autumn when the valley turned yellow with autumn leaves. There was also that one time I went looking for the northern lights in one of the many parks but found city lights instead. My aunt often goes running. The university outdoors club hosted fire nights where we sat around, met new people and toasted marshmallows. There are numerous attractions within the river valley, such as the Edmonton Valley Zoo, multiple golf courses and the iconic Muttart Conservatory. In winter, you can swap your hiking boots for cross-country skis. Anyway, my point is that there’s definitely something for everyone!
2. Visit the West Edmonton Mall
The West Edmonton Mall seriously blew my mind. I’m not surprised it’s the 23rd largest mall in the world (it was the largest until 2004): it’s absolutely HUGE! Not only is it home to 800-odd shops (which you would expect to find in a shopping centre), it’s ALSO home to a theme park, water park, mini golf, aquarium, ice skating rink, huge cinema, themed areas, two hotels… I could go on but I’m sure you get the point. To be honest, West Edmonton Mall kind of overwhelmed me. It was noisy and crowded, and I still can’t comprehend a shopping centre with an ENTIRE THEME PARK inside. But since it’s the one place you might have heard of in Edmonton, I figure it deserves a spot in my top 5 things to do.
Galaxyland theme park, West Edmonton Mall
I visited the West Edmonton Mall twice during my time in Edmonton. The first time, I just wandered around the mall with two of my house mates and had my mind blown. The second time was with my cousins on my last day in Edmonton. It was way too cold to be outdoors so we went to the Galaxyland theme park.
This was actually a pretty cool way to spend the morning because it was all indoors (and therefore warm!) and given that we arrived as soon as it was open, there was NO ONE ELSE THERE. When I say no one else was there, I mean we wanted to go around a ride again so we just stayed on it and the guy pressed start again. It was WILD. On the downside, I knocked myself temporarily unconscious by whacking my head against the headrest of my rollercoaster seat. On the largest indoor double-loop rollercoaster no less (see above). Still, overall it was fun.
3. Watch a hockey game
No matter where you’re going in Canada, watching a hockey game is an absolute must-do! That’s Ice Hockey for all you non-Canadians. Because I went to my first ever hockey game in Edmonton, I’m going to include it in my top 5 things to do. At the time, it was quite a big deal to go to a hockey game in ‘Rogers Place Arena’ because it was brand new! It was a really exciting evening, cheering for the local hockey team (who lost… lame) and sneaking up to the top level to get a great view over the rink at half time. Going to a hockey game can be quite expensive, so if you’re looking for a cheaper experience, go to the junior league like I did. Alternatively, the games hosted at the university for the uni league are free.
4. Visit the Edmonton Ice Castles (winter)
The Edmonton Ice Castles are quite possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Both literally and figuratively. Hundreds of thousands of icicles are hand-placed to create a huge ice castle! Complete with tunnels, fountains and even an ice slide, it’s super fun and seriously beautiful. As an added bonus, it’s lit up in beautiful colours at night. Edmonton has the only ice castles in Canada, so they definitely deserve their spot in my top 5 things to do!
Be prepared for the cold if you go, especially if you visit at night time. Make sure you wear waterproof pants (to go on the slide!), a good ski jacket and warm waterproof mittens. I also highly recommend a few of those hand warmers for good measure. It was very cold but very worth it.
To visit the Ice Castles, I recommend you book in advance. There is only a limited number of people allowed in at a time so tickets may not be available at the gate. Tickets cost $18 CAD for adults if you visit on the weekend or during the holidays. The Ice Castles are also in five other cities across North America, in the states of Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah and Wisconsin. For more information on the other cities, visit the Ice Castles website.
5. Try skiing or tubing at one of the local ski hills (winter)
For my final activity in my top 5 things to do in Edmonton, I have to write about some winter sports. I spent the whole last month of my trip getting as much snow time in as I could so I couldn’t leave it out! There are three ski hills in Edmonton: Snow Valley, Sunridge Ski Area and Rabbit Hill Snow Resort. I only visited the first two, but I hear Rabbit Hill is the best of the lot (for skiing). Anyway, you can read about Snow Valley and Sunridge below.
5.1 Skiing
For the cheapest skiing ever, head to Snow Valley! It’s got nothing on the mountains, but it’s fun to spend a few hours skiing. Plus, if you go to the “Friday Food” session, your 3 hour session will only cost you $33 CAD – the price of rentals (ski package + helmet). Instead of paying for your lift ticket, all you have to do is bring a can of food to donate! If you’re a beginner skier, this is a fantastic place to learn as the hill consists of predominantly green and blue runs. For more advanced skiers, there is one black run, which honestly I think even I attempted at one point. There’s also a fun terrain park where you can do a few basic jumps. All in all, a fun way to spend the afternoon or evening!
If you do go to the Friday Food session, be sure to check the weather before you go. I didn’t and ended up getting frostnip on my fingers because it was feels like -40 degrees C!!!!!!!! Yikes! Either don’t go, or make sure you have actual good ski mittens.
5.2 Tubing: quite possibly the fun-est winter sport
If skiing is not your thing, at Sunridge ski area you can try snowtubing! Out of all the winter sports I tried in Canada, I think this was the most fun. You could go down the hill on your own or as a group of three. If you wanted, the guides would also give you a spin as you went on your way down. And the best bit? We didn’t have to walk ourselves up the hill to start again! There was a pulley system which you could attach your tube to, then sit on it as it made its way up the hill. Absolutely incredible. Tickets are $20 CAD for 2 hours and numbers in each session are limited. We went first thing in the morning on the first day it opened for the season (Boxing Day) and there was only one other family there.
Getting around Edmonton
I found it really easy to get around Edmonton on public transport, especially because of the LRT system. This underground train connected my university (in fact, the building I lived in) with the city and I could get to downtown in about 10 minutes. I could also use the LRT and connecting bus to get to Snow Valley ski area, and the LRT to get to Rogers Place. As a university student, I had a transport pass that I used for the duration of my stay. However, it was very easy and cheap to buy a ticket for the LRT. I assume the bus would be the same.
Where to stay in Edmonton
Of course since this was an exchange, I had accommodation on campus. However, before I moved in, my dad and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Edmonton Downtown. This was actually really nice accommodation in a great location in the middle of downtown and a short walk from the LRT station and a large mall where I bought a heap of living supplies. Breakfast was included each morning and was delicious – especially the cinnamon rolls!
There is one hostel in Edmonton (the HI) which is located a fair way out of downtown. However, it’s right near the Strathcona district, which is a really nice area of Edmonton. It’s full of old buildings and home to the Strathcona markets and lots of restaurants! So whilst it’s out of downtown itself, I think it’s almost in a better location.
I hope this list of my top 5 things to do in Edmonton has inspired you to consider visiting this awesome city! I genuinely cannot imagine spending my exchange anywhere else. It’s a beautiful city and the people are absolutely lovely. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE THANK YOU (again) to my extended family in Edmonton. We’d never met before I visited, yet they basically adopted me and took me to experience the vast majority of the things in this list. If you’d like to read more about our Canada adventures, you can find all my other posts on my destination page.
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