Family Fun - Adventures in Edmonton

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village Near Tofield

2013-08-20T23:05:00.003-06:00

On the weekend we traveled out just past Elk Island National Park to the Ukrainian Village. It was a great experience and a lot of fun.

Almost as soon as we entered the village we joined a walking tour that was just starting. Throughout the day we saw a lot of tours walking around so there must have been quite a few. One tour we saw was even riding on a horse drawn wagon, unfortunately we didn't have time to try to get on that one The tour guide was excellent, giving us information about the Village, history of Ukrainian settlers in the region, and information about each building we saw. By going with a tour guide you were able to enter buildings that were closed (only buildings with a staff member in historical character were open for entrance) which was a nice bonus. After the tour finished up we wandered around the rest of the village to see the main buildings until the kids were pretty tired and hot and we headed back for some food. There is a nice area with picnic tables by the big red barn (concession) where we ate some Kielbasa on buns. I was a little disappointed the only way to get cabbage rolls is to buy a heritage plate, as I wanted to buy one individually. The Kielbasa was pretty good though.

Admission was $20 for our family, which seemed to be a pretty good value, considering the large number of guides and interesting sights.

Entrance Sign

The Big Red Barn

Train Station and Grain Elevator

Tour Group Walking Over to the Village

Ukrainian Village

Family Swim at Commonwealth Rec Centre

2013-07-20T23:36:00.001-06:00

This morning we went for a family swim at Commonwealth Rec Centre. I had taken the kids there before but this was the first time all five of us went. As always, it was pretty great, it is never crowded, and everything is very new, clean, and well designed. Cost for a family is $24.50, a little cheaper than Terwillegar and I think pretty good value. The pool itself is pretty awesome, and admission includes use of the field house and the gymnasium, as long as it is open time (seems to be a majority of the time).

The pool features include:

large kids pool with lots of fountains and sprayers
one great water slide
an aquatic climbing wall
large hot tub
swimming lap lanes (3 or 4?)

The kids loved the water slide, I think they went on it ten times or so, and luckily there was no line so they were able to spend all their time sliding and none of their time waiting. Our youngest loved floating around the kids pool in one of the baby boats and spent some time on the little blue toddler slide.

Commonweallth Rec Centre Pool Waterslide

Resources

Root for Trees 2013 - Kids Tree-athlon/Treeathon

2013-06-18T10:40:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday the kids participated in a Kids Tree-athlon at Government House Park. They had to run 500 meters, then plant and water a tree, then run another 500 meters. They started off strong but grew a little tired by the end, we should have trained more for the race I guess. It was a lot of fun, but the best thing for the kids was the vast amount of activities (all free) that were available:

Craft tent - crafts included colouring, bird feeder construction, and preparing a newspaper wrapped bean plant
Temporary tattoos - excellent tattoos, they had obviously hired a professional and they looked really good
Face painting - it was kind of the opposite of the St. Albert Children's festival, there was only one person face painting but she was a professional, so she did a really great job but the line/wait was a little long
Bouncy houses - the kids love bouncy houses, they can never get enough...
Tons of trees you could take home to plant yourself
Cake booth - free cake!
Lots of information booths about planting trees and various other nature themed topics

Registration for the kids was $10 each, which was excellent value for what you got. Parents could run with the kids to help them as well, for free, which was nice.

Tree-athlon Race Site From Above

Photosphere from the Middle

Poutine Food Truck!

Warm Up and Pre Race Instructions

More Pre-Race Instructions

At the Start Line

Spiderman Tattoo

Bouncy House Fun

Root For Trees Awards

Resources

City page
Nature Alberta blog post
Nature Alberta event pictures

A Visit to the Muttart Conservatory

2013-06-12T10:08:00.003-06:00

On the weekend we stopped by the Muttart Conservatory to take some family photos. It was a great place to do it, it wasn't very crowded so we had lots of time to take pictures without getting in people's way (too much). It also provided fantastic backgrounds. It is a little pricy at $36 for a family but it is still a great bit of fun for the kids on a rainy day. There are four pyramids with vastly different plants, and the kids did seem pretty interested in reading about them all. As always, I got lots of pictures, and worked on some photospheres too.

The Entrance

The Kids Were Impressed With this Edmonton Pyramid Outside

Muttart Photosphere in Preview Format

Cactii!

Elephant Stump Tree, Pretty Cool?

Pond and Lilly Pads

Foilage

Cool Trees

St Albert Children's Festival

2013-06-06T21:48:00.000-06:00

We headed out to St. Albert Children's Festival last Friday evening, and it was a lot of fun. We didn't go to any shows, but just walked around and checked things out. It was a pretty fun atmosphere, and there was a ton of stuff for children. It was a nice atmosphere too, down by the river.

We did the following:

saw some fairy tale frogs
stilt walkers!
kids bounced in the bouncy house
ate hot dogs from Fat Franks and mini donuts and ice cream
kids got their faces painted (the festival did a great job at this, there were tons of volunteers ready to paint and no line at all)
saw a juggler walking around
there was another show on the main stage, but I don't know what it was... But it was good!

The Frogs!

The River

Mini Train Giving Kids Rides

Stilt Walkers Playing with Kids

The Festival

Main Stage

Resources

official site

John Janzen Nature Centre Visit

2013-04-08T23:56:00.001-06:00

John Janzen Nature Centre

On the weekend we went to the John Janzen nature centre, down by Fort Edmonton in the river valley. It is, in essence, a really great kids indoor playground in a cool looking rustic building. The playground is one of the most impressive indoor playgrounds in Edmonton, there are a lot of really cool well thought out features, including:

a bee hive encased in a glass window that allows kids to see live bees safely
lots of great slides and climbing apparatuses
kids are encouraged to "sort" acorns by dropping them through a hole in the upper level which leads down to a basket in the lower level, kids were running these acorns up constantly while we were there
a beaver lodge that kids could see inside, with a fountain feature that lets them build play dams on top
super sized flowers kids could build out of foam
a really cool glass dome that kids could climb up into from below and look down on from above

In addition to the playground there is a nature room where the kids can do crafts and learn about various Edmonton area animals. There are also some nice tables for snacks, several rooms that can be rented out, and lots of benches outside for picnics. Admission was $12 per family, which we thought was pretty reasonable value. There are also programmed activities such as nature walks/talks and snow shoeing.

Playground Feature

Building a Dam

Nice Bench

Nature Room

Resources

city website

Hamptons Winter Carnival

2013-03-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to a Winter Carnival event put on by the Hamptons Community League, it was actually a ton of fun. There was a ton of food (hot dogs, chips, pop, hot chocolate, coffee) and everything was 100% FREE! They had stations for people to try out cross country skis and snow shoeing that the kids absolutely loved. All in all, it was great fun, and that it was all free was a refreshing change from so many family events that cost money these days...

Hamptons Community League Winter Carnival

Global TV News Clip:

Swimming at Servus Place

2013-01-21T16:32:00.002-07:00

Servus Place with Finger Smudge

I went to the gym at Servus Place on Sunday morning and went back in the afternoon and brought the kids. This way I only had to pay for admission once, as Servus uses the daily bracelet method of verifying your admission. Admission for me was $10, and the kids was $4.50 each, so $19 for the three of us to access all of the facilities.

We had been told that kids are allowed on the track on Sundays between 1 and 3 so we went up there first and the kids enjoyed running around for a couple of laps. There weren't a lot of other kids on the track though, and none as young as mine (4 and 6) so it was a little awkward feeling.

Running on the Track

View From the Track, 3 Fields Below

After running we had snacks in the leather chairs by the restaurants (they have Starbucks, Booster Juice, and Skybox Grill is somewhere else) before swimming. We also watched a little bit of an indoor soccer game that was going on, it was pretty impressive how many events were being held at Servus place, soccer games, hockey games, fitness classes, etc.

Watching Soccer at Servus Place

The swimming pool was nice, the highlight was the river ride, but it was much slower than Terwillegar or Millenium Place. The funny thing was it was fairly shallow in the River Ride itself, good for little kids, but to get there you had to go through the deep end, bad for little kids (though I guess there were direct stairs too). They also had two waterslides (1 more than Terwillegar, 2 more than Millenium). The pool area also has two large hot tubs, a steam room, and a sauna. The biggest weakness is lap swimming, they only have one lane and it is crammed right in with everything else.

Servus Place Pool

Resources

official site
waterslide pov (pretty cool)

Family Swim Time at Millenium Place

2013-01-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Over the holidays we went to Millennium Place for a swim. The kids love it because of the large warm pool and the water attractions, and because they can play in the playground after. At $20 for single visit family admission, it is quite a bit cheaper than Terwillegar, but still a little pricey. There is a folksy rural theme used throughout the building which is somewhat entertaining.

Features include:

wave pool
separate lap pool
river ride
large kids area with splashing bucket
huge inflatable train or something for older kids to climb on in the deep pool
steam room and sauna

Outside of the pool, Millennium Place also has:

kids playground
restaurants (Extreme Pita and a burger place)
teen rooms (with foosball, no less!)
hockey rinks
various other kids activities
full gym and running track
public skating rink
Running Room

Front of Millennium Place

Pool Area

Sign Explaining the Theme

Another Pool Picture

Eating Area with the Gym Above

Resources

Swimming at Terwillegar Recreation Center

2012-12-31T11:22:00.001-07:00

Terwillegar Rec Centre

Over the Christmas Holidays the kids and I tried to go swimming at as many pools as possible. The Edmonton area is home to a lot of new fun pools, one of the closest to us is the city run Terwillegar Community Rec Centre. This is a very good facility, although a little pricey ($23 for 2 kids and an adult). In addition to a pool it also has full workout facilities, a large indoor track, gymnasiums, a great playground for kids under 10 (best for under 7 probably) and many multi purpose rooms. And a second cup and DQ/Orange Julius to boot. The kids love it, and like all of the new city facilities it is bright with well used natural lighting.

The pool features:

river ride - pretty fast current, keeps the kids entertained for hours
wave pool - also lots of fun
baby pool - the kids are getting too old to go here, but it is a nice shallow warm pool with lots of toys
water slide - kids can't go on when there are two kids and only one adult, but it is pretty fun too
steam room - can't go to with the kids but it is nice
hot tub - fairly large, you can watch people diving from it which the kids like
large pool - there is a 50 m lane swim which can be (and usually is) broken up into several smaller pools, there is also a very high diving board and several smaller ones

View Larger Map

Resources

Festival of Trees

2012-12-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Festival of Trees the weekend before last, it was a lot of fun for the kids. It was held at the Shaw Conference Center which is fun for the kids to see in itself.

Shaw Conference Center
View Larger Map

There were a lot of little booths and games for the kids to do activities/crafts at, and live dancing displays, along with TONS of Ginger Bread Houses and elaborately decorated Christmas Trees. The kids favourite stations were:

meeting Santa - there was a big line but this one was free, which was nice
making a miniature Christmas tree - they couldn't put on all of the ornaments themselves, but they loved making a craft
decorating a gingerbread man - there weren't a ton of toppings but the kids loved putting on the icing and m & m's and chowing down

Resources

On the Way Down to the Festival

Trees

Miniature Craft Tree the Kids Made

Gingerbread Man

Green Tree

Red Tree

More Trees

Tobogganing By Ormsby School

2012-11-18T21:32:00.001-07:00

Took the kids tobogganing/sledding at the hill by Ormsby School today. It isn't a huge hill (about 15 seconds sledding top to bottom), but has a large square plateau shaped area with four sides that can be used for sledding. It is not too busy, but is used enough that there are some good well tread runs for the kids to sled down. There is good parking at the school, and the hill is just north of the school.

Walking to the Hill

View From the Top of the Hill

Resources

A Visit to the Calgary Zoo

2012-10-08T22:07:00.003-06:00

This weekend we went on a family mini vacation to Calgary and Banff. Saturday we made the usual trip to the Calgary Zoo and as always it was lots of fun. It was a pretty pricey entry at $71 for our whole family, but definitely delivers value for money.

The new attraction at the zoo is the Penguin exhibit, right at the entrance of the zoo. It is pretty impressive, there are penguins outside the exhibit playing you can see close up. After lining up you can walk through a chilled habitat with several types of penguins playing. The most impressive aspect of the exhibit is how close you can get to the penguins, literally almost touching distance. I took one video of the penguins diving into the water, pretty cool.

The rest of the usual areas of the zoo are also still great, the Dinosaur area which contains realistic Dinosaur statues, the Canadian Wilderness with Canadian animals, and areas for Africa, South America, and Asia. The Gorilla habitat was very cool as was seeing how huge the hippos were close up.

Hippo Under Water

T Rex in the Dinosaur Area

Gorilla Habitat

Resources

web site

Birthday Party at GalaxyLand

2012-10-01T15:49:00.002-06:00

On the weekend we went to a birthday party at West Edmonton Mall in Galaxyland. The family rented a party room (Cosmo’s Party Launch Pad) to have cake, open presents, and eat a meal. The kids were also able to go play in the Toddler Play Area, which we thought was called Todderland, but seems to be just "The Play Area." In the birthday brochure they reference it as Galaxy Kids Playpark. This area is great for younger kids with several ball pits, climbing structures, a mountain that leads up to long slides and other attractions. It is good too, as with only one way in and out there is an easy spot for parents to watch without fear of losing their children.

View From the Mountain in the Kids Play Park

Entrance to the Kids Play Park

Kids Play Park

Party Pads - 3 Room You Can Rent for Parties

Resources

West Edmonton Mall Party Booking Brochure
Flickr Galaxyland pictures

Edmonton Corn Maze

2012-09-18T08:46:00.002-06:00

Our route through the maze (on last years satellite image).

View Corn Maze 9/16/2012 2:49pm in a larger map

On Saturday we took the kids with Nana and Papa to the Edmonton Corn Maze, on the very west end of Edmonton. It was busy, totally packed to the point you had to drive around and wait for someone to leave just to get parking. The maze is big enough to make it challenging, but not too tough that we got majorly lost. Including a large break in the middle for snacks it took us an hour and 38 minutes to make our way through the maze with a total walking distance of 3.07 KM. The corn is very tall, maybe 8 feet at most places and the kids loved running through the maze. There are other attractions at the maze too, a hay bale mountain, a petting zoo, a small race track, and a corn cob train, but the most popular seemed to be a giant jumping pillow. Admission was a little pricy at $10 an adult and $8 for kids older than 5.

Where Getting Lost Means Finding Fun

Start of the Maze

View of the Maze From the Bridge in the Middle of the Maze

Resources

official web site
facebook page
Prairie Gardens has a maze too

Family Hike: Wedgewood Ravine Beavers Are... Gone?!?!

2012-09-09T19:19:00.003-06:00

We went on a family hike to see the beavers at the bottom of Wedgewood Ravine today. Wedgewood Ravine is sandwiched between the Hawkstone area and Cameron Heights. An old closed road runs through it down to a beaver dam and lodge, and there is a hiking trail running along the creek towards the river too, though that is less ideal for kids. Usually we hike back up the North side and stop at the playground on the way back to where we park. This is always a good hike because the kids are guaranteed to see a beaver dam and lodge, and one time we even saw a beaver swimming around, and eventually heard his warning slap... However, it looks like the city (I am guessing?) has destroyed the dam and drained the beaver pond. Hopefully they come back again next year?

View of the Ravine on the Hike Down

The Destroyed Dam

The Empty Pond and Lodge

Bridge On the Cameron Heights Side

Jurassic Forest

2012-09-04T19:51:00.001-06:00

Lisa and the kids went to Jurassic Forest near Gibbons (about 45 minutes north of Edmonton) the other day. We've gone here a couple of times before and it is always a good time, though for me about one visit a year is enough.

The park features very nice wooden walk ways through a forested area with 23 different kinds of animatronic dinosaurs. They are realistic enough that our kids thought they were real when they were very young. The park doesn't feel cheap at all, they have done a very nice job building a quality attraction where everything is new and fresh. There is also a large sand playground (with buried dinosaur bones like Wolf Willow Playground) the children love to play in and places to buy souvenirs and food. Daily admission for a family is under $40, making it somewhat pricy but I think definitely worth it.

Resources

official web site
Facebook
Jurassic Forest dinosaur information blog
blog of someone who worked on building Jurassic Forest
another blog review of Jurassic Forest with a ton of pictures

The Kids Take this Warning Very Seriously

Animatronic Triceratops

Fighting Dinosaurs

The Big Guy

Playground Fun

Nice Walk Ways

Kites Over Callingwood Edmonton Kite Festival!

2012-09-01T18:59:00.002-06:00

While stopping by the Callingwood branch of the library today we noticed at least 50 kites in the air over a nearby field. It could only be... Kites over Callingwood! We walked around and checked out the kites, very impressive, lots of booths and activities for kids and of course a ton of kites flying! And the free admission was nice too, of course. This was the 20th year anniversary of the event. It was a little chilly, but the wind probably helped the kites.

Kites Over Callingwood

Spray Park is Empty Due to Cold Weather

Panorama Shot Showing the Kites

Resources

Kite Festival list
Callingwood Lymburn community league page (organizers)

You Pick Fun at Happy Acres U Pick

2012-08-21T00:04:00.000-06:00

Big Sign at the Entrance

This weekend we wanted to find a U Pick in or near Edmonton to pick some fresh vegetables. With a little research, these were the first websites we found:

Google's #1, Edmonton Countryside/Happy Acres (actual site)
big list of U-picks
Dunvegan Gardens
Riverbend Gardens

We went with the first one as it seemed to specialize in u pick whereas the other two seemed to be more farms that had some U Pick features. Happy Acres is just south of Spruce Grove about 20 minutes west of Edmonton, so a pretty quick drive for us.

The route and where to park is well marked once you get close. When you arrive at Happy Acres, there is a sign telling you to check into the office. When you go in they give you a map of the farm and a price list showing which fruits and vegetables are ready to be picked and at what price.

Map of the Farm

Inside there are buckets for berries and outside there are wagons you can take around to load up as well. Most other people there seemed to have brought their own bags too, but we just took one bucket with us. The raspberries were pretty much all gone so we went for a small summer squash, a large zucchini, and some small carrots. The total price was $9, probably more expensive than the grocery store, but a lot more fun for the kids to "pick" up. Happy Acres also featured a lot of other attractions for kids, a playground, and ice cream shop, and lots of animals in cages and wandering around. Everyone had a great time.

Wagons

Goat on a Chair

Fruits and Vegetables Were Well Marked

There Were Lots of Benches and Chairs for the Kids to Rest In

The Kids Were Very Impressed To See How Cauliflower and Brocolli Is Grown

Ice Cream Was $2.50 for Kids Cone ($3.50 for an Adult cone)

Family Hike at Mactaggart Sanctuary

2012-08-12T20:54:00.002-06:00

View Family Hike 11903-13063 23 Ave NW in a larger map

We went for a hike at Mactaggart Sanctuary today, a natural area on the south side of Edmonton (just off 23rd). I had run here before and had seen a lot of cool beaver dams and interesting vistas. However, once we got going the mosquitos were crazy in the forest (there are a ton of twisting trails through the ravine) and we had to go up and walk along the forest edge where the bugs were not as bad. In the end the kids tired out fairly quickly and took turns riding on my shoulders but it was still a fun time. Some more details:

we parked here
there are asphalt paths almost entirely surrounding MacTaggart Sanctuary, here are some details about the Twin Brooks side on the east

The history of the Sanctuary

Is this one of the Twin Brooks?

Thick Forest Everywhere!

This is the Farthest South We Got

After we Ran Away From the Mosquitos, We walked Along This Path

Heritage Days 2012

2012-08-07T15:00:00.000-06:00

We went to Heritage Days on holiday Monday, and as always it was lots of fun. In my opinion, this is the best festival Edmonton has to offer, the entire park is filled with pavilions and food tents, with dance and music demonstrations everywhere.

We parked at Laurier Park in the zoo parking lot and walked over the footbridge to Hawrelak Park. The good thing about parking here is there is always lots of parking spots available. The bad thing is it is about a mile from parking lot to the bridge. On such a hot day, followed by walking around the festival for the rest of the day, it was a little long for the kids. If it was any cooler I think it would have been perfect, though. There was also public transit park and ride from lots of locations in Edmonton that delivered you right into the middle of the festival and bike parking for those who biked in.

The price of food seems to be going up at Heritage Days, Taiwan was charging 7 tickets (between $6 and $7) for bubble tea, which seemed excessive. We bought $38 worth of tickets for our family of 5 and it seemed sufficient, for several drinks and meals and snacks and a Chocolate Covered Banana from Peru for the kids.

Dancing

Viking Ship

Footbridge to Hawrelak Park

Bike Parking

Ready to Go

Some of the Tents

West Edmonton Mall Family Shopping Trip

2012-08-04T16:47:00.001-06:00

We needed to get a gift for Grandma, so the three kids and I headed over to the biggest mall in North America to do some scouting. We always try to park by the Garden Bakery about half way down the mall because the kids love the hot dog buns and I love the pork buns/curry beef buns/chicken buns. Alexis tried the Ham and Egg bun once, but was not as much of a fan of that choice. This is a good parking spot too because one of the entrances to Galaxyland is right by here, and the kids like to walk through Galaxyland on their way back to the car.

China Garden Bakery has great Pork and Hot Dog Buns

The mini-buns here cost 80 cents each, which makes it about $2.50 for a good snack for all of us. We walked down on the main floor of the mall and then went up at the end of the mall and came back on the second floor. Sometimes the kids like to see the dragon at Silver City, but today we just went up the escalator. At the half way point we stopped at Starbucks, both Starbucks and Second Cup have kids milk for 1 buck, which the kids love. Two snacks for two kids for five bucks is pretty good, I think.

Kids Love Milk For a Dollar

The Santa Maria (or the Pirate Ship, as the kids call it)

There are a lot of expensive attractions at the mall, like Galaxyland and the World Waterpark, but its also a great place for a day of shopping, with lots of stuff to interest the kids in between stores.

Woodlands Water Park (Spray Park) in St. Albert

2012-07-29T22:50:00.000-06:00

We met some friends at the Woodlands Water Park (in Red Willow Park) in St. Albert today. This is a very impressive facility, possibly one of the best spray park experiences in the greater Edmonton area. It was a hot day and was quite busy but didn't feel overcrowded. Here is what it has to offer:

free admission
a ton of water fountains/hoses/buckets for spray park fun for the kids
a decent sized playground
a fence surrounding the entire facility with only one entrance, so you don't have to worry too much about your kids getting too far away
nice indoor bathrooms
a store with onion rings, popcorn, ice cream, etc. (popsicles 75 cents, big bucket of popcorn $4)
lots of room for adults to watch their kids play, with chairs and shaded areas. Extremely impressive benches with roofs that were really comfortable (and lots of them). They also had a bunch of pool chairs, pretty impressive all around
a fair bit of parking, even on a busy day the overflow lot was practically empty

Bike racks at the park, very nice

This chain link fence keeps kids in (or out)

The playground

Layout of Water Park

Puddle Hiking Near Wolf Willow Playground

2012-07-21T21:25:00.004-06:00

Swings and T-Rex Head

This afternoon we went to Wolf Willow Playground for the kids to play, and ended up going for a short hike to the new Fort Edmonton Footbridge. The paths/hiking trails in that neighborhood are quite family friendly, very nice and well groomed. It started raining as we were hiking so we ended up just going to the top of the stairs that lead down to the bridge and then went back to the playground for the kids to play. The kids loved the hike, since there were huge puddles everywhere to splash in, and ended up having a lot of fun.

Playground Details:

pretty nice, one of the larger playgrounds in the city
has a full set of swings, both for babies and larger kids
has two play structures, with tons of slides
has a sand play area with a plastic dinosaur partially buried, the kids loved this one and spent most of their time digging out dinosaur bones
this playground is never crowded

Buried Dinosaur

Play Structure

Stairs Leading Down to the Footbridge

View of the Footbridge

Pigeon Lake

2012-07-16T21:40:00.006-06:00

Pigeon Lake

Last Saturday we went to Pigeon Lake for a beach day. We bought some sandwiches from Save On, then started at the beach in the provincial park, moved on to the playground, and finally stopped by the Village for some ice cream. Here are some details of the day:

the beach was fairly nice, a little rocky at parts but OK sand wise and not painful to walk on
the water was cool but felt nice with the hot weather, it was a little murky but not bad at all for an Alberta lake
the swimming area was fairly large, maybe 100 meters at most along the shoreline and 30 feet out, or so
the beach dropped off fairly quickly (to about 2 feet deep within 2 feet), so maybe not ideal for little children but definitely not dangerous if you keep an eye on your kids
the playground was decent if not spectacular, and there was also a field and an outdoor volleyball court
bathrooms were outhouses
there seemed to be ample parking, with an overflow lot
there are at least two other beaches in the neighborhood, we drove by Me-me-o beach but it seemed a lot more crowded
ice cream at the Village was nice, a fine selection of ice creams and drinks for a reasonable price (the kids cones cost $2.50, the adult cones cost $3.50)
the drive to the lake took about 90 minutes from Edmonton
there were lots of accommodations to stay at near Pigeon Lake, hotel and RV spots at the Village and camp spots at the Provincial Park

Conclusion: great place to have a beach day a short drive from Edmonton

View Larger Map

The murky water

The beach (from the parking lot)

Playground

Ice Cream at the Village