Summer Adventure - Parks Day at Elk Island

The following photos were taken on July 16, 2016 in Elk Island National Park just outside of Edmonton & Sherwood Park, AB.

Astotin Lake, the beach. View from our picnic lunch.

Mom & Dude, the Adventurers

Canada's National Parks have installed these bright red double Adirondak chairs at points within their parks that have "great views". Well, we found one! And the view was great.

The View From The Red Chairs

There were SO MANY BOATS on the lake this afternoon! It was a spectacular site to see.

My main goal on this mini road trip was to get the NEW BIKES out of the city. The Parks gal recommended a good trail, mostly paved, and we were off. I got to teach Lucas about shifting gears to make it up those tough hills. It's his longest ride to date, and he did so great! I definitely recommend the Shoreline Trail, even though you don't actually really ever see the lake. Hmmm.

Before the ride vs. after the ride. As a reward for our most excellent bike ride, we treated ourselves to an order of Drift Truck fries! Mmmm I miss these fries.

Notes about Elk Island Park...
- It's about a 45 minute drive outside of Edmonton on HWY 16. If you want to avoid some of the Henday construction, I recommend cutting through Sherwood Park.
- Astotin Lake is the big lake we were hanging out at. There are boat (canoe & kayak) rentals, a small beach, and lots of picnic spots with fire pits and/or shelters close by.
- There are many great hiking trails in the park, so make sure you get a map! Most are easily accessible from the main road, and have their own parking lots. These are usually much quieter than the area around Astotin.
- You can buy a visitor pass from the Visitor Centre or from the drive up kiosk. For Lucas & I it was around $11 for the day.
- Please keep in mind that while this park is so close to the city, it is still a National Park filled with WILD ANIMALS! Apparently, it's mating season for the bison right now, and one of the Park's recent tweets was something along the lines of: "you wouldn't want to be interrupted would you?..."

xo