St. Albert in Alberta, Canada, is a gorgeous community of arts and culture, booming business, and plenty in the way of sports and recreation. The St. Albert real estate market is a great scene, with housing that offers residents a small-town feel with access to a larger city.
Perhaps best of all, though, are the scenic areas and parks that truly showcase the area’s beauty.
Bountiful Parks
There are many parks in St. Albert where you can enjoy a variety of activities among beautiful scenery, over 110 in fact. The St. Albert Botanic Park is a free-admission, five-acre garden wherein themed areas showcase a wide range of plant life. Displays and trails of roses, lilacs, daylilies, peonies, vegetables, and annuals weave throughout, with the theme gardens centering on shade, xeriscape, flowering trees, evergreens, and cottage-style perennials.
Lacombe Lake Park hosts the Fire and Ice Festival every winter, complete with skating. It has an open field for kite flying and picnicking, and a fenced-in dog park, in addition to a stocked lake for fishing and many walking trails.
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park boasts many distinctive features, top among them being Big Lake, which makes up about 59% of the park’s total area. More than 235 bird species have been sighted here, and The Big Lake Environment Support Society Wildlife Viewing platform is the perfect place to try and catch as many as you can. Another part of Big Lake is the John E. Poole Interpretive Boardwalk, an easy walk through which you can learn about the importance of wetlands in Alberta.
Coal Mine Park is designated as a Significant Natural Area, and lets visitors experience a naturally forested area among the city. There is a pollinator garden here, and signage that explains how this nature can co-exist among the more urban part of St. Albert’s, even playing a critical role in it. There are also many kid-friendly parks, like Rotary Park and Lion Park, that have playgrounds.
Plentiful Trails
The Red Willow Trail System is the best way to get around St. Albert and see the stunning surroundings. It covers a little over 60 miles and connects St. Albert’s major parks and neighborhoods. It welcomes walkers, runners, skaters, and bikers alike.
St. Albert’s Place Promenade is a quiet walkway that helps redirect foot traffic away from the busy streets, and gives strollers something to do along the way. There are 16 pedestals along it that provide information about the area, going back more than 100 years.
The Founder’s Walk is another way to experience St. Albert’s history. Along it you will find the Healing Garden, a place to acknowledge the survivors of Indian Residential Schools; Father Lacombe Chapel, St. Albert’s oldest building; and Grain Elevator Park, where two of Alberta’s oldest provincially designated grain elevators sit.
Stop off and take a tour of the 1906 Brackman Ker Elevator and 1929 Alberta Wheat Pool Elevator. The Clock Tower on Perron Street is easily viewable from here as well, an iconic building of the city’s skyline.