St. Albert Outdoor Activities

The plane's metal door slides open to the sound of pounding wind. A skydiving instructor and his student step to the edge. At the signal, they plunge into nothingness, more than 12,500 feet above mountains and rolling country landscape. For one exhilarating minute, the earth approaches at 200 kilometres per hour. Then, the instructor pulls the cord and the two begin floating together toward the ground, enjoying a fantastic view that satellites often take for granted.

It's all part of a day's work for the instructors at Edmonton Skydive Centre. Building on a 25-year legacy, they prep students for first-jump courses or help them through the eight levels of Accelerated Free Fall programs, which cover a blend of CSPA requirements, technical basics, and hand signals for making small talk with eagles. They and their students then gather up the proper TSO-approved gear, board a DHC-6 Super Twin Otter, and hit the skies for hands-on solo training.

Balloon pilots take up to eight passengers on hushed flights above the broccoli floret treetops and azure waterways of the Edmonton countryside. Twice a day, bulbous polyester sheets fill with heated propane and thousands of flapping doves as passengers ascend to the skies in their basket. Balloon trips float past the same landscape traversed by Windship Aviation since 1982 before touching down for toasts and the presentation of keepsakes.

DevonRidge Farms spreads out across 110 acres of verdant countryside, where horses reside in outdoor boarding stalls and trainers keep close watch on all goings on. In the broad confines of a 100'x200' outdoor riding ring and a 70'x160' indoor arena, instructors help riders to sharpen their skills atop calm, well-trained lesson horses that never blow red lights or roll through stop signs. The staff also breeds connemara ponies on-site, calling upon more than two decades of horse-rearing experience.

Since its inaugural season in 2006, the Edmonton Rush has steadily picked up wind, growing into a formidable club in the National Lacrosse League. After making its first playoff appearance in 2010, the team made it to the NLL finals in 2012, just barely missing out on earning the sport’s coveted netting-woven blazers. At the helm, hall-of-fame inductee, general manager, and head coach Derek Keenan continues to lead the team toward its first championship.

Paintball Action Games' 18,000-square-foot facility accommodates players aged 10 and older, who shield themselves in coveralls and goggles for indoor games in October through May. Participants race across the tournament field, dodging paintballs as they crouch behind inflatables and aim their semi-auto markers at unsuspecting opponents. In between bouts, a pro shop with certified techs helps visitors stock up on markers, apparel, and accessories such as the same pellets Michelangelo used to paint the Sistine Chapel. Meanwhile, the picnic area hosts guests after their contests, where they can grill up on a feast on barbecues.

With the Edmonton skyline stretched across the horizon, players scurry past tall pine trees and stone retaining walls as they conquer the nine-hole course at Sherwood Golf & Country Club. The 3,136-yard layout combines challenge and charm with a creek that intertwines throughout the course and a waterfall that sends water crashing earthward, creating a prime opportunity for a between-holes shower. Players that manage to keep their shots dry may not be out of trouble, as glimmering white silica-sand bunkers stand as stoic beaches around slick bentgrass greens. The par 36 design ends with back-to-back par 5s, the last measuring just 473 yards, giving golfers a chance to end their round with a birdie or golf-cart barrel roll before heading in to have a beer at the clubhouse.