SD - EXPLORE EDMONTON

EDMONTON GETS WINTER RIGHT

How do you think about winter? If you’re someone who scans the sky for “snow clouds” and keeps your winter coat on the hook all year long because “you never know,” it’s time to visit Edmonton. A capital city in North America, Edmonton embraces winter unlike anywhere else, from fabulous festivals to outdoor dining beneath a variety of heated pods. Add in a three-hour jaunt to Jasper National Park, and your authentic winter holiday will be fuller than the Zamboni after an ice scrape at Rogers Place, home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid, the greatest hockey player on the planet.

Long known as the Festival City, Edmonton also sparkles brightly with winter celebrations, beginning with Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Fête from Jan. 14 to 23. (Seriously, where else will you find a festival called ‘Deep Freeze’?!) This fabulous winter tradition produces a family foray into winter recreation, including ice slides, ice sculptures, and curling. (Alberta is home to three of the five top male curlers in the world, including the GOAT, Edmontonian Kevin Martin.)

The power of ice is also front and center during Boardwalk Ice on Whyte, when the world’s best ice artists carve pieces you have to see to believe. Kids and adults can immerse themselves in the craft at the Lil’ and Big Chippers area. You can share your creations over local craft ales and other beverages in the Ice Bar.

Ice offers up another only-in-Edmonton tradition, the annual Flying Canoë Volant, Feb. 1-5. The Flying Canoë Volant honors Métis, First Nations, and French Canadian cultures in the region, a unique educational experience that also involves riding a canoe down what is essentially a frozen flume. Think of it as the prairie version of the bobsled. Like all Edmonton festivals, the Flying Canoë Volant also benefits the local community, specifically the Indigenous and Francophone populations.

Visitors also learn about Indigenous culture every year at Silver Skate, Feb. 11-21, when Hawrelak Park hosts a kaleidoscope of winter recreational and cultural experiences. Skaters glide around the pond, a homage to the Dutch speed skating tradition, sculptors carve snow art as you’ve never seen before, and storytellers at the Cree winter camp share their rich oral tradition.

Edmonton is located on Treaty 6 Territory, a region that is home to numerous Indigenous cultures, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Sioux, and Métis people. Métis Crossing is the first major Métis interpretive center in Alberta, a significant opportunity to immerse oneself in the storied history and rich culture of this land. Visitors are encouraged not only to learn about this Indigenous nation, but also to participate in numerous customs like beading techniques, shelter construction, and other forms of survival over the four-hour Tales from the Trapline experience. The Lodge at Métis Crossing is the latest opportunity to support this important story.

Whether you ski the Métis Crossing Nordic trails, go for a skate in Hawrelak Park, or try your hand at curling (FYI, it’s harder than it looks!), the many bakeries, breweries, and cafes are waiting when you’re ready for your warm-up. More than a dozen breweries are sprinkled throughout the city, each with a unique take on craft-beer creation. Download an Explore Edmonton Brewery Pass and start checking off your favorites. Edmonton’s pizza scene continues to rise also, with close to 10 establishments where you can carb up after cruising outside. And don’t forget the dozen independent coffee shops or the Duchess Bake Shop, one of those places with a perpetual queue that is oh so worth the wait.

No need to stand in line inside North America’s largest shopping and entertainment emporium, the West Edmonton Mall. In addition to hundreds of shops and eateries of every stripe, you can visit the theme park and, of course, go for a skate on the community ice rink. If buzzworthy boutiques are more your thing, make your way to Whyte Avenue, 124 Street, and the 4th Street Promenade.

In addition to shopping, festivals, and urban culture, Edmonton serves as the gateway to one of North America’s greatest natural treasures, Jasper National Park. Located three hours from the city, Jasper in winter dazzles visitors with the majesty of a 12-point caribou buck framed by a Canadian Rockies backdrop. The 4,200-square-mile park presents an array of alpine landscapes to explore. Come nightfall, the heavens unfurl. Jasper remains the second-largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world.

Getting cozy and Jasper go hand in glove, whether you book a cabin at the iconic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge or choose another rustically elegant setting replete with fireplace, Hudson Bay blankets, and knotty pine interior. When you’re ready to get moving again, head to Marmot Basin. The “Hill” is routinely listed among North America’s premier ski areas, with 3,000 feet of vertical drop spread over 1,720 acres of reliably dry snow.

Jasper exudes the best of western ski town atmosphere with a considerably Canadian bent; think après over bison poutine and Jasper Brewing Co. ales. You’ll also want to store up some calories for an ice-walk in Maligne Canyon, at once the deepest and most accessible in the Rockies.

We’re all ready to fly away like a flock of snow geese over the 2021-22 winter. We’ve also emerged determined to get more out of every minute, especially when it comes to our vacations. Winter comes calling loudly in Edmonton, where answering the bell, be it for a final lap skating around the Hawrelak Park pond or a tasting flight of IPAs, has never rung so true. Visit the Explore Edmonton website to start plotting your journey into winter’s wonderland.

JOIN US!

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DEEP FREEZE:

A Byzantine Winter Fête

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The stars align in many other places throughout the city as well, especially during winter. Over the holidays, Luminaria casts Edmonton in a different light. Scheduled from Nov. 27 to Jan. 9, luminous paths in the serene Kurimoto Japanese Garden lead you on a contemplative journey, a time to reflect on the previous year and share quiet moments with friends and loved ones. Luminaria also provides a gathering place, be it around the bonfire, in the ice bar, or during several special events that include the Northern Light Dining Experience, Indigenous Dark Sky Storytelling, and “Light up in the Dark” Nights. Honoring the dark sky remains a key element of the Edmonton experience.

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The Edmonton experience begins the moment you fly in. Edmonton International Airport (EIA) is more than an airport, it’s a destination to shop, stay and play. Stay at EIA in one of two fantastic Marriott hotels and explore an outlet mall, casino, raceway, golf course, distillery and coffee roaster. You can even book a helicopter tour above Edmonton.