Louise McKinney Riverfront Park & Alberta Legislature

This sunny Sunday was a good day to check out Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, located along the bank of the North Saskatchewan River, close to downtown. It's named in honour of Louise McKinney, one of "The Famous Five" women's rights activists. When she was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1917, she became the first woman elected to a legislature in not only Canada, but the entire British Empire! I bet Edmontonian school kids can rattle off the members of The Famous Five better than anyone across the country, as there are five parks in the River Valley named in their honour.

Louise McKinney Park, parking lot level

The park has ample free parking; alternatively, visitors can arrive from downtown via the long escalator within the Shaw Conference Centre. From the parking lot level there's a nice southward view of the river and Muttart Conservatory's glass pyramids on the south bank.

view towards the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River from the parking lot

We headed down one of several wooden staircases to a paved two-lane bicycle trail and traversed east along this to reach the Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge. This wooden bridge is fun to walk across and affords a great westward view of the downtown area.

Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge

westward view from the bridge towards downtown

Looking downriver we spotted a large gravel bar near the river's south bank and decided to make it our destination.

gravel bar on the right

On the south side of the bridge we walked through Henrietta Muir Edwards Park, named after another of The Famous Five activists and founder of the Victorian Order of Nurses. In this park another paved two-lane bicycle trail continues east-west through the broadleaf greenery. We scrambled down a narrow dirt path to reach the river bank and waded through about half a foot of chilly clear emerald water to reach the gravel bar. A couple kayakers and canoers drifted by, carried by a surprisingly fast current for such a calm and wide river. We shared the gravel bar with a couple hundred gulls, who soon took off in a picturesque flurry of white.

view from the gravel bar: gulls, Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge, and downtown

We continued west along the Henrietta Muir Edwards Park bike trail, passing a dock of dragon boats and the Edmonton Queen paddlewheel riverboat. We crossed the Low Level Bridge to return to the north bank of the river, then walked east along the paved bench-lined waterfront promenade at Louise McKinney Park.

Louise McKinney Park riverfront promenade

Edmonton Queen paddlewheel riverboat & Low Level Bridge

Reascending to the parking lot level, we checked out the carving-adorned pagoda and zodiac statues in the Chinese garden area and watched the paddlewheel boat take off.

a little Chinese garden

Our next stop was the Alberta Legislature building. Constructed in 1907 overlooking the river valley, it occupies the former location of Fort Edmonton, an HBC trading post. Accompanied by the carillon bells' hourly chimes, we wandered the beautifully maintained park-like grounds, appreciating vibrant celosia flower beds and shady elms, and checking out the eternal flame that was lit on July 1, 1967 to commemorate Canada's centennial.

Centennial Flame, still going strong, on the Alberta Legislature grounds

In front of the building there's a expansive rectangular fountain pool (which uniquely doubles as a public swimming pool in the summertime!).

Alberta Legislature fountain/pool

We wandered indoors to check out the Vancouver Island granite-decorated first floor. Though grand with columns and stonework, the foyer felt a bit dingy (perhaps just in contrast to the sunny outdoors). Its centrepiece, a plant-surrounded circular pool, felt a bit out of place, as did the palm plants near the top of the dome. The upper floors are only accessible to guided tours -- sometime I'll have to return to give the rest of the building a chance to match its exterior beauty.

Legislature foyer -- Vancouver Island granite

Legislature foyer -- upper floors only accessible to tour groups

I really like that Edmonton has nice parkland located so close to its downtown core -- and after the preview of winter weather this week, I'm realizing that I should be taking advantage of the warm weather to explore these places! Now it's back to reading Outlander, with a blueberry banana smoothie :)

this tumbler cup is my all-time favourite beverage container :)