Edmonton is the Capital city of the Canadian Province of Alberta. Located on the North Saskatchewan River. Home to almost one million people it is the northernmost populated metropolitan area in North America. It is home to many year round festivals and is often referred to as “ Canada’s Festival City”. It is rich in sport and recreation, art, history and culture and is home to Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum. Edmonton’s river valley constitutes the longest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America and is in close proximity to Elk Island National park making it a popular sport and recreation area year round. Although we did not visit a dog park in the city I am sure they would be no shortage of dog friendly recreation spots close to the city.
Accommodation
We spent two nights in Edmonton, staying at the pet-friendly Sandman Signature Hotel Edmonton South. Truth be told there wasn’t a lot of differences between our stays in Edmonton and Calgary. We had an almost identical hotel suite, with bedroom, ensuite, laundry facilities, living room and a kitchen (maybe it’s an Aussie thing, but I love having a toaster. Got to have my vegemite toast).
The hotel itself had a large lobby, office centre, pool, fitness centre and restaurant. If you are travelling for work or pleasure it would be perfect. Sandman’s great pet policy was the same in Edmonton, with no size or breed limits, just a $10 per night pet cleaning fee. When it comes time to look for another hotel, I’ll definitely be considering the Sandman Hotel Group.
Activities and Attractions
Elk Island National Park
During our stay, we made the 35-minute drive from Edmonton out to Elk Island National Park. Like all National Parks, Elk Island is dog-friendly but they must be kept on a leash and only visit permitted areas. The park has a variety of wildlife, hiking and kayaking to be explored and is a great night time photography location. We made sure we checked out the bison loop, where we parked the Jeep close by a herd. Fortunately for us, the herd came over and I got what I think to be some pretty good photos. It was a great moment with the Bison and Mya. She wasn’t phased by them and as a result, they weren’t phased by her.
I felt the wildlife was very similar to Yellowstone, but we didn’t have any of the crowds we had experienced there. As we were leaving we were lucky enough to be able to catch a look at a coyote, on the search for road kill.
Other Activities
Finally, we checked out Edmonton, which much bigger than I expected. It has a beautiful greenbelt with lots of mountain biking, xc ski trails and apparently the 3rd largest shopping centre in the mall.
Mya’s Mates:
Tourism: Explore Edmonton| @ExploreEdmonton
Stay: Sandman Signature EdmontonSouth | @Sandman Hotels
Helpful links:
https://www.sandmanhotels.com/locations/alberta/edmonton/hotels/signature-edmonton-south-zeds
https://exploreedmonton.com/
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/elkisland
