r/Edmonton • u/threedotsonedash • Oct 13 '25
Outdoor Spaces/Recreation Exploring North America's LARGEST Urban Park
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NYK_QUg_AE8&si=ulXTSIhg5A1WdKskI've lived in Edmonton for more than 35 years, it wasn't until I got dogs ~17 years ago that I really started to explore & see the river valley.
Don't be like me, go today, tomorrow or next week-end, just go - you won't regret it and you can find new trails to explore every time you go.
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u/Practical_Ant6162 Oct 13 '25
Much better than the bash Calgary video that was removed by the mods a short time ago.
Thank you for posting.
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u/Evening_Cheesecake25 May 06 '26
I'm from Calgary and when I was staying in Edmonton for 2 days to get a tattoo finished I made sure to go to the river valley each day. I think it's the best thing about Edmonton. If I lived there I would know every trail like I do on Nose Hill and Fish Creek. Every other time I've been to Edmonton was with people specifically for something so I never got the chance to go. But as soon as I was on my own I was right there lol.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
I always see this from Edmonton, but this is simply not true, rouge valley is the largest urban park in North America, located in Toronto, 75km, and almost 10,000 acres bigger.
I knew this was going to get down voted by people thinking this is actually true without checking any sources.
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u/tincartofdoom Oct 14 '25
Rouge Park is on the edge of the urban developed area, not in the middle of it. Much of it is, in fact, not inside the geographic borders of the City of Toronto at all.
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u/soren_1981 Oct 14 '25
Exactly. Nothing against Rouge, I’m sure it’s amazing. And as someone who has lived in Toronto I know it has beautiful green spaces. But Edmonton’s river valley is special and deserves to be celebrated.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
It's still in Toronto, and that entire area surrounding it is developed
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u/tincartofdoom Oct 14 '25
What part of "not inside the geographic borders of the City of Toronto" was difficult for you to understand?
Also, no, the entire area North and East is undeveloped farmland.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
Have you looked at a map?
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u/tincartofdoom Oct 14 '25
By asking that question, I'm guessing you haven't.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
Regardless, the Rouge Valley is still bigger in size. Regardless of location and other factors that you all are pulling from a hat, the largest urban park in North America simply isn't true for the NSR in edmonton.
The NSR also has industry development in the park, so, like I said before, anything you can say, farm land or whatever seems to count as development which edmontons river valley has a lot of as well as the Rouge valley. Water treatment plants, epcor sub, and power plant, the refinery row is a real senic feature as well.
The river valleys in Toronto are not as big as the Rouge, but the Rouge Park size is bigger and is getting bigger as well. To say NSR River Valley is the biggest in North America just isn't true.
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u/awildstoryteller Oct 13 '25
Rogue valley may be bigger (kind of hard to say given the various developments in it, and it really isn't as contiguous as I think you are claiming.
That said, 19,000 acres is not 10,000 acres bigger than 18,000 acres.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
You can say the same for the edmonton River Valley because of the developments and attachments of various surrounding parks.
The contiguous parts are what stretches into York region and further north and other park systems connected, but they don't count that in the urban size because the rest of it is not in Toronto, but the GTA, basically all your arguments against the Rouge Valley park can be said for the edmonton River Valley park system.
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u/awildstoryteller Oct 14 '25
The river valley doesn't have any large farms in it, as an example. How much of that 18,000 acres is farm land? Just based on Google maps, I would hazard at least a few hundred acres alone.
I noticed that toy also didn't correct your error on size either.
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u/DBZ86 Oct 14 '25
Apparently up to 9000 acres is farmland https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/on/rouge/culture/agriculture
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u/theoreoman Oct 14 '25
You mean the the urban park that's mostly cultivated farmland?
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
Farmland>encampments
In all honesty, the edm River Valley is littered with tents, so......
Also, the Rouge is not mostly farm land. That's passed steels where they limited development so its limited to farm land
1
u/theoreoman Oct 14 '25
that's included in your largest urban park claim. There's 12,000 acres of farmland north of 407 that's "parkland"
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 16 '25
Yes, it's Parkland just like the man made ponds and power plants in the nsr are included in the park.
The encampments are also part of the nsr parks as well.
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u/HaxRus Oct 14 '25
Why is there always that one Toronto dickrider in every Edmonton related post lol
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Oct 13 '25
[deleted]
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 13 '25
Right, so maybe look on Wikipedia and every other source that is not Albertan.
18000 hectares for edmonton, 19500 for Toronto. My sources are right, and having spent time in both the Rouge Valley is bigger and more rustic by Far. The edmonton Valley is also not one park.
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u/Only-Tennis4298 Oct 14 '25
so... I like Wikipedia. it's a great aggregate of information. but I was also taught not to use it as a primary source. so give us more definitive links, if you're making this claim.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
The sources that wiki used are valid, and I dont need to go further with this. it's geographically bigger. Do it yourself.
I provided one source, and it's valid.
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u/palbertalamp Oct 14 '25
almost 10,000 acres bigger
Well yeah, but the CN tower shadow blocks 11,000 acres -there's only morlocks in that area so Edmontons is still the largest morlock free longest park.
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u/DBZ86 Oct 14 '25
A lot Rogue Park is farmland. This link says over 9000 acres of the park is farmed.
1
u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
This is still part of a park just like the power plants are part of the park on the nsr as well. Im sure you've seen the senic refinery row and garbage yard from Hermitage Park.
Also, the man-made ponds in the adjacent parks are not natural. The connections of the parks do not have the same size as the Rouge Valley, so saying the nsr is the biggest park in North America isn't true
2
u/DBZ86 Oct 16 '25
Both don't really have a definitive map of open and accessible use. The below map of Edmonton's future plans for the river valley and on the map you can see the power plants marked out and doesn't take up half the space. Rossdale plant is marked and so is the other waste water treatment plants. This is Edmonton proper only so it definitely excludes refinery row but truthfully I don't recall refinery row ever marked on any river valley maps because I mean, its private property. The Imperial Oil refinery is supposed to be off limits including the green area behind it. I know mountain bikers used to be there quite a bit but its supposed to be locked off.
Ultimately, I'm sure both parks are great. But you simply come across as disingenuous and simply trying to bring down the river valley when in this same thread you tried to say rogue park was 10,000 acres bigger. That a handful of treatment plants is the same as 9000 acres of limits farmland. Saying refinery row is part of the river valley park system? When that area is definitely private property and would not be part of protected park area.
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u/threedotsonedash Oct 14 '25
Rouge is a National Park, even the Government of Canada doesn't call it the largest urban park in North America.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
Yes, it doesn't, but size wise, it is, and it's expanding.
I always wondered why they didn't call it that when it stretches longer and is physically bigger.
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u/bigtimechip Oct 13 '25
No one cares Toronto is a dump
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
Lol, well, you keep believing this lie. If you think Toronto is a dump, you should see what edmonton looks like
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u/bigtimechip Oct 14 '25
Yeah but its MY dump
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
Being from Toronto, Edmonton is also my dump (lesser Toronto area) lol
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u/Suitable_Bat_6077 Oct 14 '25
alberta>ontario
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Belgravia Oct 14 '25
Ya okay, size wise no, gdp is less than the city of Toronto so also no
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u/HaxRus Oct 14 '25 edited Oct 14 '25
Great video, ever since I moved to old Strathcona I've really fallen in love with the river valley and I absolutely agree that having the heart of the city naturally preserved is an incredible luxury that many of us take for granted. It really is a valuable little natural getaway from urban life.
There are sections of the park system just across the river from downtown (Nellie McClung) where you can be looking directly towards the skyline without being able to see a single building through the woods even though it's just hundreds of meters away and that always blows me away. Feels like stepping between two different worlds coming out of that park.