By Guest Author, Nick Kembel
If you visit Edmonton, Alberta with a toddler or baby, or perhaps you are raising your little ones there, you may be surprised at just how toddler-friendly the city is.
Known for its frigid winters that never seem to end, Edmonton nevertheless offers a plethora of activities for babies, toddlers, and older kids, both indoors and outdoors, and in every season of the year.
While my kids were born abroad, they visited Edmonton, my hometown, several times in their baby and toddler years. Then, when they were in pre-school and kindergarten, we moved here permanently.
Below I’m going to introduce 10 of our favorite activities and other things my kids loved doing when they were very young.
The Edmonton River Valley
One of Edmonton’s top attractions (for adults and kids alike!) is the Edmonton River Valley.
This expansive, forested valley is formed by the North Saskatchewan River, which begins in the Rocky Mountains, and bisects Edmonton from the southwest to the northeast. One of the most interesting facts about Edmonton is that its river valley is the largest urban green space in Canada!
For babies and toddlers, the River Valley offers endless opportunities for easy strolls. With many kilometers of paved trails, it’s also perfect for cycling with your little one in a bike trailer.
Besides walking and cycling, our kids especially enjoyed riding the 100 Street Funicular, which is totally free and provides access from downtown to the River Valley. Nearby, they also had fun walking through the indigenous Turtle Rock Effigy Labyrinth and playing in the Chinese Garden.
High Level Bridge Street Car
Brave toddlers will get a serious thrill out of riding the High Level Bridge Street Car, while mom and dad will enjoy some of the best views to be had in Edmonton.
These fully restored historic street cars from around the world travel from Downtown Edmonton to trendy Whyte Avenue several times per day (Friday to Monday) in summer. To cross the expansive Edmonton River Valley, they ride across the top of the High Level Bridge, Edmonton’s tallest.
If you think the height might be scary for your kids, have them sit up at the front and watch the conductor driving the street car; that was our kids’ favorite part.
Alberta Legislature Grounds
As the capital city of Alberta, Edmonton is home to the Alberta Legislature, an impressive Beaux Arts-style building first opened in 1913. The lovely grounds surrounding the building, right on the edge of the River Valley, are a favorite hangout among locals in Edmonton.
For kids, the “Ledge” grounds are all about the water fountains in summer. There are several very shallow pools and streams perfect for babies or toddlers, while a huge deeper pool is great for older kids and even parents to take a dip.
In winter, the Alberta Legislature Grounds are filled with Christmas lights and ice sculptures, yet another reason to visit with your kiddos.
Fort Edmonton Park
Fort Edmonton Park is a living history museum covering the history of Edmonton. Besides the original fort from when Edmonton started as a fur trading post, it has streets set up to look like they did in 1885, 1905, and 1920.
While toddlers won’t be old enough to appreciate the history, there is nevertheless a lot to keep them entertained. This includes riding original steam trains and street cars, costumed interpreters doing various demonstrations, and light stories on the walls and teepees in the gorgeous new Indigenous People’s Experience building.
But the real prize at the end for most kids is the recently renovated Midway, complete with Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, fun house, and other carnival-style games and rides.
World Waterpark
The ginormous waterpark in West Edmonton Mall is aptly named, for it is one of the largest indoor waterparks in the world. In fact, the Mall itself is the largest in Canada and was the largest in the world until 2014.
World Waterpark is truly like a world of its own, with an enormous “beach”, wave pool, and dozens of slides. For toddlers, ours loved playing in the shallow end of the waves. There is also a dedicated baby and toddler pool and a huge splash park.
World Waterpark even offers a Toddler Time with a reduced price (since many of the slides aren’t suitable for toddlers anyway. They’ve also got free life jackets and swimming diapers available. Although pricey, you can consider splurging on a poolside cabana, where you’ll have your own private space to change and feed your kids.
Galaxyland
Also located inside West Edmonton Mall, Galaxyland is (no surprise here) one of the largest indoor amusement parks in the world. True, many of the rides are not suitable for babies or toddlers (including the world’s largest indoor roller coaster), but many are.
For toddlers, some of the best facilities include a merry-go-round, play park with a ball pool, fun house, Flight to Equestria, Galactic Rodeo, and Moto Jump.
Galaxyland is currently undergoing changes after a new partnership with the toy company Hasbro, so you can expect to find even more kid-friendly rides with famous toy themes, along the likes of My Little Pony, Mr. Potato Head, and Operation.
Awesome Playgrounds
While every city in the world has playgrounds, we’ve done a lot of traveling with our kids, and the ones in Edmonton still stand out as some of the best we’ve ever played in.
Besides the usual playground in every community and schoolyard, there has been a wave of creative new playgrounds in Edmonton that offer unique features and make use of environmentally friendly materials.
A good example is the “tomato playground” in the new eco-friendly community project called Blatchford, on the site of the old city centre airport. Besides the colorful tomato play towers, there are real tomatoes growing in the community garden there.
Other cool examples are Natural Playground in Sir Wilfred Laurier Park (next to Edmonton Valley Zoo), Grizzly Bear Playground in the River Valley, and Sustainability Plaza on the far south side. Here’s a full list of our favorite playgrounds in Edmonton.
Related: Cool Playgrounds Around the World
Edmonton Corn Maze
In late summer or early fall, one of the most interesting places to take toddlers just outside of the city is the Edmonton Corn Maze.
Much more than just a corn maze, the kid-focused farm also features a smaller sunflower maze, bouncy balloons, hay stacks to climb, a potato gun, farm animals to feed, and over a dozen toddler oriented games.
The corn maze itself is enormous, but our kids had a blast running through just a small section of it near the entrance, and we never got TOO lost. There is a large aerial picture of the maze at the entrance, and the design changes every year.
Elk Island National Park
The smallest of Alberta’s five national parks is located only 30 minutes outside of Edmonton. Elk Island National Park is known for its conservation work of wood and plains bison (the park is divided in two by the Yellowhead Highway, with one type of bison on either side). You’re almost guaranteed to see them when you visit. We’ve also seen a porcupine there!
Elk Island Park is our go-to place for a natural escape with our kids in every season of the year. In summer, there are about a dozen hikes, and they’re all easy because the ground is almost totally flat. For toddlers, the Living Waters Boardwalk and Amisk Wuche trails are especially suitable.
In fall, the park’s foliage colors are radiant, while in winter, our kids love playing in the deep snow and walking on frozen lakes.
Jurassic Forest
My kids are dinosaur fanatics, so I have to include Jurassic Forest for the final entry. As parents, we’ve all seen more than enough animatronic dinosaurs in museums, but Jurassic Forest stands out because it is actually located in the forest.
About 45 minutes north of the city, Jurassic Forest features a network of easy walking trails through the forest, with numerous life-sized (and moving, and growling) dinosaurs to spot in the woods along the way. It’s a dino lover’s dream, but also gets the family out and moving in nature.
I hope you’ve found a few appealing ideas for fun things to do in Edmonton with babies or toddlers. If you’re looking for a kid-friendly place to stay while in town, our kids absolutely loved our stay in the space-themed room at Fantasyland Hotel in West Edmonton Mall!
Want to leave all the gear at home?
Did you know that you can rent baby and toddler gear in destinations all around the country and internationally? For rentals in the US and Canada, the industry leader is BabyQuip. You can find them in over 600 locations, including Edmonton! They have incredibly high standards for product quality and cleaning, and you get the peace of mind of having big (or small!) items delivered right to your destination doorstep.
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Nick Kembel is a stay-at-home/blogging dad. After nearly 20 years of living and traveling abroad, including 10 years in Taiwan where his kids were born, he’s back rediscovering his home: Edmonton, Canada. He runs Spiritual Travels and Fun World Facts.
