By Linda Hoang @lindork

Make the most of our long sunny summer days! Whether you head out to Parkland County, Alberta for a day trip or an overnight adventure in nature, here are some ideas for your exploration. 

On your way out to Pembina River Provincial Park Campground—one of three provincial parks located in Parkland County—be sure to stop for a drink, bite, and tour of award-winning Anohka Distillery. 

Anohka Distillery

Located just off the Yellowhead Trail, a few minutes west of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain, Anohka Distillery is a farm to flask distillery that opened in late 2021 and has already picked up several World Whiskies Awards including Best New Make and Spirit! 

How cool that Parkland County is home to this high quality distillery? In addition to offering flights, tastings, tours, and excellent cocktails, Anohka also offers a full dining menu—including burgers, poutines, flatbreads, nachos, charcuterie and more. And you can rent out their space for events. It’s a pretty spacious room! 

Anohka Distillery is also family-friendly and drop-ins are welcome but reservations are recommended especially for larger groups and if you’re popping in on a weekend!

Pembina River Provincial Park Campground

Once you check in for your camping adventure at Pembina River Provincial Park Campground, hit one of the many forested trails that run alongside the Pembina River!

Offering camping May through September, Pembina River Campground located near the Parkland County hamlet of Entwistle is a wonderful, full-amenities campground with sites just steps from the river and a bunch of hiking trails to take advantage of. 

We camped at Pembina River Campground and had such a nice and honestly very peaceful time. Despite it being so popular (pretty much all sites were full on the weekend we stayed), we didn’t find the campground too loud or run into many other campers despite  full bookings. This was a very laid back camping experience. 

Pembina River Tubing

The next morning, or for a day trip, just a few minutes drive from the Pembina River Provincial Park Campground is Pembina River Tubing, one of the most popular outdoor adventures to do in Parkland County.

The float down the winding Pembina River—described as gentle—is the best way to experience the Pembina River Valley and its iconic Pembina River Gorge, a 62-metre gorge apparently created during the Ice Age! 

The company does tube rentals (four different sizes depending on age / height / weight), lifejacket rentals, shuttle services, and parking options, for families / people of all ages (with some additional rules around youth riders).

It’s very important to note that the Pembina River is NOT a loop. So if you are planning to float down the river you need to account for different starting and ending locations—transportation to/from those spots, and paying attention to where to get in and out of the river. 

Sassy G’s Adventure Farm

On your way home from your adventures in Parkland County, take the family to Sassy G’s Adventure Farm, an awesome, family-friendly agri-tourism experience home to Canada’s first Farm Ninja Obstacle Course, in addition to a playground and dedicated toddler zone, obstacle courses and more than 35 outdoor activities and farm-themed games from “milking” cows to racing ducks, blowing bubbles and riding mini tractors. They also have a number of farm and rescue animals you can view but please don’t pet or feed the animals! I really liked how spread out and spacious Sassy G’s was. There was definitely a ton for my son to do, and a lot more he will do when we return for repeat visits!

Plan to Explore Parkland County this summer!

Those are really just a few ways you can have fun in Parkland County. I love that there are so many beautiful rural attractions super close to the big city. You’ll feel like you’re far away but it didn’t take forever to drive there.

That’s such a huge incentive to explore!! 

You can get more ideas for Things to Do in Parkland County if you visit my 2024 blog guide!

We love exploring Parkland County and I know you will too! 

Enjoy. 

—Linda Hoang is an Edmonton, Alberta-based blogger and social media content creator who regularly shares ideas for Things to Do, Eat and Know Each Week in the Edmonton area. She won the Edmonton Tourism Award for Best Influencer in 2024, and sends out a weekly email newsletter for people who live, work and play in the Metro Edmonton region. She regularly works with tourism boards and destination marketing organizations to experience and share about ways to explore regions. Visit her blog at www.linda-hoang.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Start your day by getting lost, in a fun way! It’s Saturday morning, the sun is shining and you’re off to visit the Edmonton Corn Maze and make your way through the intricate paths to the finish line. While you’re there, check out the locally produced farm market for fresh produce from Alberta food producers. Be sure to bring a cooler to keep it fresh so you can continue your adventure in the afternoon. If you check out the maze in late September, you can even select your own pumpkin and whip up some homemade pie – yum!

If you’ve worked your way through the maze, you may be hungry for some lunch with your friends and family. The adventure continues, not far off in east Parkland County, as you head over to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden and enjoy some lunch at the Patio Café. From June to September, the botanic garden is open from 10 am to 6 pm every day.

After filling up, be sure to take a leisurely walk through this mesmerizing location to enjoy this botanical gem, plus expand your horticultural knowledge. Their cultural gardens offer an array of visuals ranging from authentic Japanese design to an Indigenous Peoples Garden, indoor showhouses and much more! Bring your cameras, wear comfortable footwear and dress for the weather.

If you want some sweet serenity to end your day, you can bring your local produce over to the Jackfish Lake Boat Launch and Recreation Area. Hang out at the beach, enjoy some swimming and head over to the picnic area.

“From picturesque trails to endless rural recreation opportunities, there is so much to see and do in Parkland County!”

To be totally honest, we weren’t sure what to expect when we decided to take a day trip out to Parkland County. We’ve driven through before on our way to Jasper, and my husband has played golf at a couple of the courses, but we’ve never really checked the county out beyond that.

It turns out that there’s a lot to do here! We wanted a close camping trip to test out our new trailer so we booked a site at Wabamun Lake Provincial Park since we knew the kids would love the beach, plus with a small grocery store nearby we knew we’d be good if we forgot anything major.

In all honesty, it feels like we didn’t take enough time to see everything. We stopped at the Botanic Gardens on our way out to the campground (a bit of a detour but worth it!) but some of our campsite neighbours were telling us about some of the camping at Pembina River and that sounds amazing too.

STROLL IN THE GARDEN

I kept hearing about the U of A Botanical Gardens from a friend whose sister got married there, so I semi-forced my husband to detour south on our way camping. The kids loved wandering and seeing all the different flowers, and the easy pathways around the gardens meant they weren’t moaning to be carried the whole time. Plus, we had no idea there was a cafe, so it was nice to grab a snack for the road on our way out!

“The beach was quiet and serene. Our morning walk was really special for the whole family.”

Wabamun Beach For the Day

Getting to the campground at Wabamun Lake was super easy. The kids and I took off to the beach while Jake set up the trailer, then we roasted hotdogs just before the sun set. The next morning we made coffee and went for a walk. The beach was quiet and serene. It really was special for the whole family. We saw ducks landing on the lake at sunrise. It really was a morning I won’t forget.

The whole family can’t wait to explore Parkland County more. The kids are really looking forward to camping at Pembina River some time soon, and we’re planning some day hikes next month as well.

The Mason Family

Last summer I surprised my husband with a twilight picnic at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden for our anniversary. Neither of us had been before, and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was just so good, and the wine and beer pairings were perfect. We were worried it was going to be cloudy but things cleared out while we ate and we were treated to a great sunset too.

Since then we’ve been back to visit a couple times, once when my parents were in town and then just the two of us to explore during winter as well. It was a good spot for my parents too since the pathways make for pretty easy walking and there’s so much to see.

My favourite part is definitely the Aga Khan Garden. The terraces, water and pathways create this serene space that I know I’ll never be able to describe perfectly. You really just have to see it for yourself!

Aisha and Mark

“You really just have to see it for yourself!”

As soon as the kids could walk, we started coming to the Edmonton Corn Maze. It’s fun to see how the maze changes each year, and it seems like there’s always something new to do. My youngest was adamant we take a ride on the Corn Cob Express this year, which was a nice break from walking for all of us.

The farm animals are always a hit with my daughter, especially the goats. They’re so cute! There’s some straw bales for the kids to climb on too, and those jumping pillow things they put in the ground. What I’m trying to say is, this is a good place to burn some energy for the afternoon!

The kids aren’t quite old enough for the mini-golf but next year I think we’ll give that a try too.

The Ryan Family

If you ride in Edmonton, you know about the river valley trails. They’re great for me, I ride all the time. But it’s easy to get in over your head sometimes when things get too technical, so I brought my girlfriend out to the trails at Chickakoo Lake last summer for something a little different where she could focus more on riding and not full-blown tech stuff.

It turned out to be a great way to get her riding more. We always enjoy the trip out, there’s lots of birds to see around the lakes, and it mixes things up for me versus always riding in the Valley or having to drive all the way out to Hinton or something.

Justin and Ashley

I never really golfed, but a couple of my girlfriends got into it with their husbands a few years back and dragged the rest of us into it. Fast forward to now and it seems like we are getting out a couple times a month all summer long.

Before I golfed I didn’t realize there were so many courses in Parkland County. I live in St. Albert, but honestly, the courses out this way have so much on offer that I keep coming back. And with the rest of the girls living kind of all over Edmonton now it’s easy for us all to head west and meet up.

It’d be tough to pick a favourite course, but lately I’ve really been liking the challenge over at The Ranch. And it’s ranked one of the best courses in Alberta too I think, so we’re pretty lucky to have access to that.

Lynne