JoAnne Burek

Eight people came out for a beautiful day of hiking through the Patricia Heights ravine to Fort Edmonton Park and beyond.

The ravine is quiet and deep. It has sloping sections that are steep and prone to be icy, especially after a few freeze-thaw cycles like we have had recently. We prepared ourselves by wearing decent grips on our boots and carrying hiking poles. In the end, the only ice was on the few city streets.

After crossing the magnificent footbridge, we walked past Fort Edmonton, where renovation is still going on. It looks like they’re putting up a new large building at the entrance.

Our lunch was in the warmth of the Alfred Savage Centre.

There are many things to like about this river valley hike. One of them is that you can do almost all of it in a loop. There’s very little visiting the same section twice–like these stairs.

Thanks to Lee for scouting and leading this hike. You can find more photos on Flickr.

Eight people came out to hike along the North Saskatchewan River into Hawrelak Park. We started from the parking lot at Whitemud Park in softly falling snow. Crossing the Quesnel bridge into Laurier Park, we continued on past joggers, dogs, and fat-bike riders.

A new attraction this year was the helicopter. For $80 per person, you and up to two friends could have a lot of fun flying over the city and getting some spectacular views.

On the walk back to Whitemud, we followed the south bank. The sun broke through the clouds, warming up the day.

There’s a new development on these trails—the city has installed some wide lookouts on the trail. In this photo, the house you see in the clearing across the river is Yorath House, the historical residence situated next to the Edmonton Rowing Club.

Thanks to Lee for leading this hike. You can find more photos on Flickr.