Length: 5 km round trip, 1 – 1.5 hours
Trail conditions: Moderately flat with some inclines. Dirt path.
Difficulty: Moderate
Bikes: Allowed
Dogs: Allowed on-leash
Parking: Along 47 St and 40 Ave
Especially after days of rain, ravines such as Mill Creek are lush, green and jungle-like
We’ve previously written about a short trail route in the north section of Mill Creek Ravine, a longer route in the north section, and a route in the south section of the ravine. This route is even further south in the area of Mill Woods. It’s a great option if you live in southeast Edmonton and don’t want to travel far for a beautiful walk in nature.
Enjoy the tree canopy of Mill Creek Ravine – but remember your bug spray!
DIRECTIONS:
PARKING
For this route, you can drive south on 50 St and turn left at 40 Ave NW. You can park alongside the park here.
ROUTE
Entering the ravine.
1. From where you parked along the open greenspace, head down the slight hill to the ravine entrance marked with a sign. One direction leads you to the Jackson Heights neighbourhood, the other to the South Ravine. Turn right to follow the South Ravine trail.
Footbridge crossings
2. Generally, the trail follows the creekside, crossing over it at several points throughout the trail on cute footbridges. There are several points where there’s a fork in the trail to take you up to the adjacent neighbourhoods; you can ensure you’re staying on the right path by noting if it takes you in a direction away from the creek. If it does, keep on the trail that takes you towards or alongside the creek.
Stairs leading out of the ravine
3. There are also several staircases along the way – these lead back up to the neighbourhoods as well. Continue on the dirt trail.
Avoid the stairs and keep following the trail.
3. After 2.5 km, you will have reached the end of this section of the ravine and 34 St. This is marked by a trail fork, where you can either go into the Silverberry neighbourhood or 34 St. There is more trail on the other side of 34 St, but in keeping this route 5 km long, turn around here and go back the way you came.
You can’t hear traffic or city noise from this trail, so it’s a great peaceful escape.
4. If you have a pup that needs to burn off energy, you can extend your walk once you return to the green space out of the ravine. Walk north on 50 St to reach Jackie Parker Park, an off-leash area with a few small sections of trail.
Jackie Parker off-leash park
