Come play at St. Albert’s beautiful parks
Across 1,370 acres, St. Albert contains 112 parks, 77 playgrounds and 85 km of walking trails. From winter activities to those of summer, the parks bustle with people playing and exercising alone and in groups, with friends, pets or family, as they take in nature’s beauty. [Image credit: iStock.com/proxyminder]
Swimming Pools
(Corner of Boudreau Rd & Sturgeon Rd), ABThis free splash park is an expansive space for families to spend a lazy afternoon or for teens to cool off with friends. There are change rooms and bathrooms on site, as well as shaded seating areas and grass for picnicking on. The park also features a concession offering ice cream and other goodies. Right next to it is a playground, with a skate park adjacent to it on another side. Weather permitting, the splash park is open from the Victoria Day weekend until the Labor Day weekend.
St Albert Botanic Park
265 Sturgeon Rd, St. Albert AB T8N 1N2A five-acre botanical garden, this park is organized according to themed gardens. They feature plants such as lilies, roses, annuals, vegetables and perennials. The on-site John Beedle Centre provides an indoor location for the gardening classes offered seasonally and is available to rent for other occasions. Weddings can also be booked at the botanic park, as well as guided park tours. After strolling Crabapple Orchard or Lilac Lane, remember to stop by the gift shop for a memento!
Grain Elevator Park
4 Meadowview Dr, St Albert AB T8N 2R9Guided tours of two grain elevators (dating back to 1906 and 1929) and a replica train station are available at this park, which is also the scenic site for many weddings and the occasional food truck festival. Come try your hand at Morse Code in the 1920s-era train station or book a birthday party in this unique setting. The park is open for tours from the Victoria Day weekend through to the Labour Day weekend.
City Of St Albert
Although not technically a park, with the action it sees (especially in winter), it could be. Mission Hill is known more commonly to local tobogganers as “Seven Hills,” named after the first seven orphans taught by the Grey Nuns in St. Albert in the 1940s. It is the go-to place in St. Albert for winter tobogganing thrills and chills – which helmets and hot chocolate complement nicely. The hill is a long ride down so be prepared for the walk back up. It has also been known to occasionally accommodate water slides in the summer.
Lions Park
Sir Winston Churchill Ave, St. Albert AB T8N 6P3One of St. Albert’s oldest parks, the equipment is anything but. With a modern playground and fitness circuit, both young and old can play at this park. Walking trails traverse the park and can take you kilometers in either direction, past a train trestle, bridges and even sculptures. Bordering the Sturgeon River, Lions Park is also home to two large picnic shelters, as well as numerous fire pits and picnic table seating areas. The larger picnic shelter can accommodate 60 people and is available for booking through the city; the smaller shelter is available on a first come-first served basis.
Red Willow Park
St Albert AB T8N 3Z9Red Willow Park trails run throughout most of the city of St. Albert, with 85 km of walkway connecting numerous city parks and neighborhoods. A portion of the paths follow the Sturgeon River and the walkways will also take you over bridges, through wooded areas, past artwork and into areas you may have never explored before. Because the paths are generally paved, they are great for cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers and runners. Remember to yield to those going more slowly than you!
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park
St Albert AB T8N 0P6St. Albert and area bird lovers will want to bring their binoculars to this park, which features 235 bird species, at least eight of which are at-risk species. It has been known to have 20,000 swans visit in the fall, and other birds such as cormorants, great blue herons, ospreys and pelicans have stopped by. Big Lake within the park is 8 km long and 3 km across at its widest. The lake contains a variety of fish including walleye, northern pike and goldeye, and wildlife such as moose, red squirrels, red foxes and snowshoe hares may frequent the area.
Lacombe Lake Park
151 McKenney Ave, St Albert AB T8N 2T7Lacombe Lake Park in St. Albert is specifically dog-friendly. It has a designated off-leash area within the larger park. It contains a body of water but Lacombe Lake’s is on-leash, so you can stop Fido from going for a swim if you prefer that he stay dry.
Dodger Dog Park
400 Campbell Rd, St Albert AB T8N 0R8Dodger Park is another park that is dog-friendly. It’s an off-leash area at all times so take your furry best friend here for a long run or a game of fetch. There’s also a storm water park, which is off-leash, making it ideal if your pup loves to swim.
Riel Recreation Park
10-47 Riel Dr, St Albert AB T8N 3Z2This park accommodates many different sporting activities throughout the year with its extensive facilities but there’s more to it than just athletics. It contains a multi-use artificial turf field, five soccer fields, four rugby fields and a BMX bike dirt track. The park also hosts the city’s annual Rainmaker Rodeo, with its rodeo grounds and RV facility with room for 92 units. Riel Recreation Park also houses Rotary Park, which offers a playground, picnic tables and fire stoves. So, whether you’re looking to race or looking to ride, this park may have just what you seek.
Kingswood Park
400 Campbell Rd, St Albert AB T8N 0R8The Kingswood Park shelter is a great starting point in the winter for strapping on cross-country skis. The St. Albert Nordic Ski Club maintains cross-country ski trails in this park each winter, which includes 1 km of lit skiing in the park after dark with another 2 km of street-lit trail beyond that. The park runs adjacent to Sturgeon County’s Riverlot 56 Natural Area, providing access to even more extensive trails for skiing in the winter or hiking in the summer.
