Roaming Edmonton: the River Valley Walking Bridge

  
By far the best place to watch a sunset or a sunrise. The Edmonton River Valley is amazing in the summer time.

The River Valley is quite a large area. When I was around 8 years old, my grandparents used to take me there to toss pine cones around for my puppy, something I remember very fondly. Now in my 20s, I think of the River Valley as both the place that 8-year-old Kelsey used to play, and where 20-something Kelsey escapes from university. 

I’m not going to make this post too in depth about the River Valley – that can always come later in the summer when there’s a bit more to do, but I just wanted to share this sunset with you all. 

I think that when you spend your whole life growing up somewhere it’s really easy to take it for granted. I always want to be on the move because “Edmonton is boring.” When I started university 5 years back and was in the downtown area more, I guess you could say I gained a bit more appreciation for it. Once I started dating my boyfriend though, Edmonton became a lot more interesting since we’re always on the look out for date ideas and places to explore.

I think it’s easy to get restless when you’ve been somewhere for so long. There are a lot of places I’ve been in my life that have had an overwhelming feeling of being home… Granada, Banff, Summerland… But in the end Edmonton is always the place I’m drawn back to. Even though I’m so young and don’t have any commitments keeping me here, I feel like I’ve put down roots here. Edmonton is a pretty special place if you start paying attention to it.

 
Tonight, my friends and I decided to watch the sunset from the walking bridge that’s underneath the Highlevel. Every time we try to find it, we get ridiculously lost, but that’s mostly because we’re lazy and try to find the fastest way there from campus. It always involves a lot of straying from the paths and slugging through mud or bushes. Not very successful, but interesting nonetheless! We were lucky enough to find the bridge just in time to see the beautiful sunset behind the Edmonton skyline. I think the sunset looks different in the spring, a little more pink? But maybe I’m just crazy haha

This summer I’ll definitely be checking out the River Valley area more and experiencing more of it than usual! I’ll also stick to our Canada Day tradition of watching the fireworks from the Highlevel, while the city puts on a light show on the bridge.  

Any places around the River Valley that I’m missing out on that I should check out this summer? Let me know!! 🙂

Check out my Roaming Edmonton series intro here, and bookstore adventure here!