Date nights are a precious and rare commodity when you’re a parent. We’ve only got one babysitter (thanks mom!), so when we do get a chance to get out, just the two of us, I want to make sure we make the most of it.
It’s easy to fall into a date night rut of dinner and a movie, but there’s so many fun things to do in Edmonton in the summer that it would be a shame to waste a date night in a dark, over-air conditioned movie theatre.
To help spark your creativity I’ve assembled a list of 10 great dates to do in Edmonton.
1. Snow Valley Aerial Park. I was so excited when this opened up. It’s actually what Justin and I did on my 30th birthday. The aerial park is a ropes course with more than 100 games/challenges. It was pretty challenging, but so much fun. If you’ve ever seen American Ninja Warrior on tv, a lot of the obstacles remind me of that. For a unique date night visit them on Thursdays in the summer for Thirsty Thursdays. After your climbing adventure you can kick back and relax on a one-of-a-kind patio designed by Chateau Lighting. The patio is at the top of the aerial park, surrounded by nature and has a BBQ Concession running with burgers and hot dogs as well as select local micro-brewery beverages.
2. Couples cooking class. I love cooking classes, and there are lots that are geared towards date nights. My favourite classes are through Get Cooking, I’ve been going for years now and love how the menu is interactive and has wine and drinks paired with every course. Some of my favourites have been the pasta making class, Mexican brunch class and taco & tequila class. There’s pretty much any type of cuisine you could want, check out the course catalogue here.
3. Food Crawl. I love food, eating out is one of my favourite ways to spend my free time. Instead of just having dinner at one restaurant, why not make it more of an adventure and turn it into a progressive dinner somewhere on Whyte Ave, Jasper Ave or 124th street? Start off with a drink and appetizer at one restaurant, go somewhere else for your entree and then end at another restaurant for dessert. We had a date night like this last summer and started at Situation Brewing, followed by Have Mercy and ended our night at Julio’s Barrio. It was so much more entertaining than just going out to one restaurant for dinner.
4. Horse races. In case you don’t know, a brand new horse racing track and casino just opened up next to the airport (Century Mile). I haven’t checked it out yet, but can’t wait to get there. I’ve been to the horse races a couple times and even though I’m really not a gambler, I had a blast betting on the horses. Grab your date and place some friendly wagers. Loser buys dinner!
5. Walk and picnic in the River Valley. We have such a beautiful River Valley with views that can’t be beat. Get out and take advantage of the summer by packing a delicious picnic, some bubbly and hiking to a beautiful viewpoint for a romantic picnic. A few of my favourite views are: the Fort Edmonton Park trail (great field for a picnic near the foot bridge), the Victoria Park East trail and Forest Heights Park.
6. River Cruise. What’s more romantic than a sunset cruise overlooking downtown? Impress your date with a bottle of wine and charcuterie plate on Thursday Date Nights on the Edmonton River Boat.
7. “Golfing.” I don’t know about you but 18 holes of golf is a bit much. I have fun for awhile, but by no means am I an avid golfer. My husband is though; so I found the perfect middle ground, a putting course. I’ve tried both the Kinsmen Pitch & Putt and the putting course at Red Tail Landing (by the airport). My favourite was the one at Red Tail Landing, we had the whole course to ourselves and it was great to be able to go at our own pace.
8. Rec Room. This option is a great one for a rainy day. There’s tons to do at the Rec Room from arcade games, to bowling to ax throwing. My husband and I love the old school games like skee ball and the one where you throw balls at the clown faces. There’s two Rec Rooms in the city, South Edmonton Common and West Edmonton Mall.
9. Canoe or Kayak down the river. This one is on my wish list. I think it would be so much fun (and a great workout to boot), to paddle down the river. There’s a couple different companies in the city to rent boats from including Canoe Heads and Haskin Canoe.
10. High Level Bridge street car. This one is a fun day date option. Start your day with brunch on Whyte Ave (Under the High Wheel and Rooster Cafe are great options) or pick up some goodies for a picnic at the Strathcona Farmers Market (if it’s Saturday) and then catch the street car from the Strathcona terminal. Find the schedule and terminals for the street car here.
Hope this list is a good starting point for you to plan some summer dates. Honestly, it’s just a fraction of the things you could do in our city. What are some of you favourite things to do in Edmonton? Anything great that I’m missing?
