Visiting Edmonton

[xzmattzx]

I looked for existing threads, but the two I found were over 10 years old, so I figured a new thread was fine.

I have points with Porter Airlines that expire if I don't take a trip this summer, so I am trying something new and flying from Hamilton to Edmonton. My goal is to see the capital city and legislative building of every Canadian province and territory. I have seen five so far: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia, in that order.

I will be in Edmonton just for 24 hours, on a Tuesday in late August.

First, some swimming questions, because I want to try and swim in all of the provinces and territories:
~ Is there a good place to swim in the river near Downtown? Is there any place closer to Downtown than Terwillegar Park, which apparently has a little beach area?
~ Or, how easy is it to get to Wabamun Lake, without renting a car? Or, is there a lake with a little beach/swimming area even closer than Wabamun Lake?

Second, some drinking questions:
~ Is there an iconic bar to get a beer at?
~ There's an Untappd local badge at Old Yale Brewery in Beaumont. (I try to get an Untappd local badge in every state and province.) How easy is it to get to Beaumont without a rental car, either from the airport or from Downtown?

Third, some food questions:
~ Is Edmonton known for any type of unique food? For instance, Philadelphia is known for cheesesteaks, Chicago is known for deep dish pizza, Halifax has donairs, and so on.
~ Is there an iconic restaurant to try and eat at?
~ Is there a local fast food chain in Alberta? (I had Taco Boyz in the Maritimes, for instance.)

Finally, some general questions:
~ I plan on just sticking to Downtown and walking around. What buildings should I see? I plan on touring the legislative assembly, and seeing Hotel Macdonald, and the arena, and any other old buildings and tall skyscrapers.
~ If I have time, what other neighborhoods should I see?

[Hallsy's Toupee]

Looking forward to your visit, xzmattzx!

There are a few places for swimming in or near downtown, including the Don Wheaton YMCA, MacEwan University, Kinsmen Park and Oliver Pool (if it's still open).

There's not really a lot of beaches in or near Edmonton. In Edmonton, you can try the Accidental Beach east of downtown near the Tawatina LRT Bridge. Outside of Edmonton, you can also also try Pigeon Lake, Alberta Beach near Lac Ste Anne, or Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park. For travelling outside of Edmonton, your best bet is to rent a car due to a lack of public transit or bus service.

As for bars, I recommend OTR (aka On The Rocks) on a Saturday night. There's also the Sherlock Holmes Pub, Fu's Repair Shop, Rocky Mountain Icehouse, Cask & Barrel, Kelly's Pub, Club Trove, Evolution, Underground, Central Social Hall, O'Byrnes, Canadian Icehouse, The Banquet and a few others, which are all located in downtown Edmonton.

Local microbreweries include Sea Change (their Death Wave lager is the best beer IMO), Alley Kat, Arcadia, Bent Stick, Campio, Growlery, Irrational, Longroof, Odd Company, SYC and Town Square.

Edmonton is well-known for their green onion cakes and donairs. The best green onion cakes are at Green Onion Cake Man on Alberta Ave (118 Ave), plus you can find green onion cakes in every Chinese eatery or bakery. There's a donair shop on practically every corner, especially on Whyte Ave. I'm not into donairs, so I'll let the other forum members respond.

Iconic restaurants in Edmonton include SABOR, Bianco, Cafe Amore, Continental Treat, Tzin, Bistro Praha, Japonais, Lingnan, The Harvest Room, Khazana and Dorinku - but that's just for starters!

Fast food places in Alberta? I can only think of Peter's Drive-In. There is Famoso (their Neapolitan pizza is to die for) but I don't know how widespread they are.

If you want to see tall skyscrapers, head down to ICE District where you'll find Stantec Tower (the tallest building in western Canada), JW Marriott tower, City of Edmonton Tower and the Rogers Place arena. Other skyscrapers include Manulife Place (under refurbishment), Commerce Place, Rice Howard Place Tower (under refurbishment), ATB Financial/Telus Tower and Sun Life Place. Also visit City Hall, Royal Alberta Museum, Art Gallery of Alberta, Churchill Square, Winspear Centre (new extension u/c), 104 St Promenade, Alberta Legislature, the High Level Bridge and the Walterdale Bridge.

Other neighborhoods to see include Old Strathcona/Whyte Ave, Ritchie, Garneau, University of Alberta, Oliver (now known as Wihkwentowin), 124 St, Chinatown, Little Italy, Muttart/Stadium Yards and Alberta Ave. There's also the river valley, where you can spend hours walking, jogging, cycling or e-scootering through kilometres of unspoiled parkland.

Good luck, and happy travels!

[Xelebes]

For beer, you will want to check out a small but dense brewery district on 78th Ave on the west side of 99th street. 5 breweries are currently there and the city hasn't made any decisions yet but they are thinking of making that block or two just a beer garden district.

Beaumont has a bus to it but it is a rush hour bus only. It can be caught at Mill Woods Town Centre Station.

[Coldrsx]

Second, some drinking questions:
~ Is there an iconic bar to get a beer at?
- Hotel Mac, Black Dog on Whyte, Sugarbowl

~ Is there an iconic restaurant to try and eat at?
- Bistro Praha
- Coliseum Pizza/Steak
- Double Greeting Wonton
- The Next Act

If I have time, what other neighborhoods should I see?
- Garneau/Old Strathcona
- Richie
- Westmount/124st
- Riverdale

[Harrison]

Swimming in the river isn't that common, rafting or floating down it definitely is though. Regardless, you want to avoid the river up to a day or two after a major storm, as the combined sewer system flows into the river during major rainfall events.

[Harrison]

For a unique swimming pool experience, I recommend checking out the Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool, which is not far from Downtown, if it's open when you are here.

[Coldrsx]

Also, depending when you are here, happy to meet up for a patio pint and walking tour or the like.

[itom 987]

I will get roasted for saying this! lol If you have the time and have never been to it before, check out the *cough* mall. Its always worth a look given how successful it is.

[Hallsy's Toupee]

Originally Posted by itom 987

I will get roasted for saying this! lol If you have the time and have never been to it before, check out the *cough* mall. Its always worth a look given how successful it is.

I would also recommend visiting WEM...but only after they finish completing the LRT!

[itom 987]

The LRT will definitely change the way urbanists view the mall.

[xzmattzx]

Thank you for the suggestions so far!

I should've been clearer on the swimming. I want a natural body of water, because my goal is to swim in all 50 states and all the Canadian provinces and territories. For it to count as a swim for me, it has to be a natural body of water (so no pools, and no reservoirs unless absolutely necessary), and preferably it's an ocean, lake, or other wide or girth-y body of water (so avoid rivers when possible). A swim should replicate a day at the beach or what people do to cool off or enjoy their bodies of water, even if the amount of time I take is a little short (so tubing down the river actually would count, if that is a normal thing there, and swimming at, say, Lake Havasu in Arizona, which is a big boating place, and where there's no natural lake or anything in the state, could count).

I actually thought about seeing West Edmonton Mall. I've never been to the Mall of America, but would probably want to see that for a couple hours. I would be walking or taking the bus from Downtown, so I have to think about time management. Who knows if I'm ever in Edmonton again to see that mall? But who know if I'm ever in Alberta again to check it off as a province I have gone swimming in?

Keep the local foods and restaurants coming! What makes Edmonton's donairs different from Halifax donairs?

[Xelebes]

Going to be honest, I have no clue what makes a donair from Edmonton special.

The things that are known to be Edmonton specials or things invented in Edmonton are:

A) Kovasa

Edmonton and the area surrounding it has several packing plants and a common feature that they make is kovasa, or Ukrainian sausage. If you want this in a meal setting, Uncle Ed's on 118th avenue will be a good bet. This will be different than what you get in Chicago, which has a more Polish history, even though there is a Ukrainian community there.

B) Puffed Wheat Squares

A snack you pick up in a convenience store. Invented in Edmonton, as far as I understand.

C) Green Onion Cakes

Someone else can do the explanation. Don't know much about this but do know that it is a thing here.

[Coldrsx]

Queen Donair is my goto here, but there are good options city-wide. Shawarma might be more Edmonton come to think of it.

[savevp]

As a regular Edmonton visitor, I will second green onion cakes as Edmonton's signature dish. Edit: puffed wheat squares as a snack too!

I'd always picked them up at the Green Onion Cake Man at Churchill Station, though it looks like the location is temporarily closed on Google.

Donair originates in Halifax, though my Edmonton colleagues insist it was perfected in the West. (As an aside; I've never heard Taco Boyz called an iconic fast food restaurant of the Maritimes. Or anywhere for that matter!)

I often like to drink at The Black Dog, Leopold's, or O'Byrnes in Strathcona (Whyte Avenue). Which is where most of the restaurants, pubs, nightlife, etc tends to concentrate. My vote for best beer place is The Bell in Scona Brewery. Bannock 'tacos' and draught, especially on the patio - lovely.

As for getting to Beaumont, it's not hard. Take light rail to Mill Woods, then catch the 540 bus. It's basically a shuttle into the centre of Beaumont, but the brewery is on a rural property outside of town. There are places to go in the centre of Beaumont, including a craft Brewery, but it's a long way to go for a pint. You'll be traversing farm fields to end up in a sleepy exurban community, have a drink, and then head way back into Edmonton.

For an iconic experience, why not have a drink on the terrace of the Hotel MacDonald?

[Hallsy's Toupee]

If you want to swim in a natural body of water then the only lakes in Edmonton I can think would be Big Lake near St. Albert, Beaumaris Lake in the north, or Summerside Lake in the far south. I'm not sure if you're allowed to swim in these lakes or not.

[feepa]

The river is swimmable in parts, especially more in the west end, near fort edmonton or terwillegar.

[xzmattzx]

Can you park on the street overnight, and for free, Downtown? It looks like from street signs in Google Streetview that it's 2-hour paid parking from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, but my understanding is that since overnight is not mentioned, it's unlimited parking.

[Coldrsx]

Yes, most places you can 10pm-9am, especially south of Jasper.

[xzmattzx]

I'm back from Edmonton. I got a lot done.

I ended up renting a car because I got it for both days for CAD$50 total. I figured that the bus rides from the airport to Downtown would be a decent amount of money, since transfers were involved, and they would be time-consuming. So the extra money for a car was worth it.

On Monday, I went into Beaumont and walked around the town, and went to that brewery that I mentioned. I then went into Old Strathcona and had a beer at Leopold's Tavern.

Tuesday, I hit the ground running. I saw the legislative building, and walked all around downtown, seeing the MacDonald Hotel, funicular and river valley, Jasper Avenue, city hall, arena, and everything in between. After that, I drove to West Edmonton Mall and walked around. After that, I drove out to Elk Island National Park, which I didn't have on my itinerary at first, but since it was so close, I figured was worth seeing. I then had plans to go to Pigeon Lake for a swim, but didn't have the time, but I saw Leduc for a little bit.

I had beers from Sea Change Brewery, I ate at Peter's Drive-in to get a taste of an Alberta chain, I had kovasa from a Ukrainian restaurant Downtown, and I got a shawarma from a pizza place Downtown. I did not have a donair (but that was alright since it is a Halifax thing, apparently), and I did not have green onion cake.

Overall, I think I packed in a lot in 24 hours!

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I'm back from Edmonton. I got a lot done.

I ended up renting a car because I got it for both days for CAD$50 total. I figured that the bus rides from the airport to Downtown would be a decent amount of money, since transfers were involved, and they would be time-consuming. So the extra money for a car was worth it.

On Monday, I went into Beaumont and walked around the town, and went to that brewery that I mentioned. I then went into Old Strathcona and had a beer at Leopold's Tavern.

Tuesday, I hit the ground running. I saw the legislative building, and walked all around downtown, seeing the MacDonald Hotel, funicular and river valley, Jasper Avenue, city hall, arena, and everything in between. After that, I drove to West Edmonton Mall and walked around. After that, I drove out to Elk Island National Park, which I didn't have on my itinerary at first, but since it was so close, I figured was worth seeing. I then had plans to go to Pigeon Lake for a swim, but didn't have the time, but I saw Leduc for a little bit.

I had beers from Sea Change Brewery, I ate at Peter's Drive-in to get a taste of an Alberta chain, I had kovasa from a Ukrainian restaurant Downtown, and I got a shawarma from a pizza place Downtown. I did not have a donair (but that was alright since it is a Halifax thing, apparently), and I did not have green onion cake.

Overall, I think I packed in a lot in 24 hours!

Buddy sounds like you nailed it all in a very short time. Still more to check out but hope you had a great time.

Based on your experience what did you like and dislike?