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Queen Elizabeth Park: A Virtual Tour of Edmonton’s Parks

April can mean a lot of things to different people, but to fans of the Oilers, April means hockey. For the first time in a decade, the Edmonton Oilers have clinched a place in the playoffs. They finally ended their playoff drought by defeating the L.A. Kings in a 2–1 victory, slotting them into 2nd place of the Pacific Division. Up against the Sharks, the team has a lot of work ahead of them, but hopefully we get to watch McDavid take the Oilers to the next round.

Glued to the Oilers’ schedule, we realize taking a moment to enjoy the River Valley Park System may not be on your list of priorities. It doesn’t help that we can’t seem to shake winter, as half-snow/half-slush blizzards makes staying in to watch hockey even more enticing than usual. But if you’re one of the brave few who has no plans on catching the game — or who will organize their time perfectly around the playoffs — we’ll turn to the Queen Elizabeth Park for our lucky 13th installment of our virtual guide to the River Valley Park System.

You can find the Queen Elizabeth on the south banks of the river, nestled between Kinsmen to the west and Nellie McClung Park to the east. Established in 1909, it’s one of the oldest parks in the system. Its 31 hectares consists of year-round walking and cycling trails, 15 picnic areas, and a playground.

The City of Edmonton is currently preparing for a revitalization of the park with its Queen Elizabeth Park Master Plan. Set to unravel over the next decade, the plan includes improving connecting roads, developing new trails, and installing an Indigenous public art park. Construction is already under way to make trail improvements, with plans to create a bike skills park, toboggan hill, shade shelter, and lookouts between now and fall 2018.

As a result, several pathways in the park are closed for construction, as the city builds the new Walterdale Bridge and establishes an accessible trail. As the city takes on these goals, they’ll make sure their efforts won’t negatively affect the surrounding flora and fauna. Special care will be taken as they develop the park, using the latest equipment and techniques to ensure they’re successful in their intent.

We too work in similar ways when maintaining Edmonton’s urban forests. When called out for a job, our crew works hard to treat your property with respect. We only employ low-impact climbing and rigging techniques to guarantee we keep the surrounding plants and structures safe as we care for your trees.

If you want to see firsthand how we operate, give us a call for a free estimate. Whether it’s for a residential or commercial property, we’ll appraise and support it as if it were our own. We’re available for deep-root fertilizing and stump grinding, as well as tree planting, pruning, and removing. One of our consultants is also available to answer any of your question should you not know what your tree needs to bloom happy and healthy this spring.