A multiuse paved and rough trail options, as well as extensive marked off-leash areas allow users to commute to and from home from downtown by foot or bicycle, utilize greenspace year-round, introduce children to urban wilderness, birdwatch, and socialize dogs all in one convenient central location.

Mill Creek Ravine has a number of picturesque trestle bridges along its route, with the creek running at various levels beneath, and depending upon the level of the water, mallard ducks nest early in the year between Mill Creek Pool and 76th Avenue in some of the oxbow portions of the creek where the water tends to be deeper and run more slowly.

Pileated Woodpeckers, the largest type to be found in Canada are a fixture in the ravine and can be heard and seen in all seasons here as they have an ample food supply.

A rarer sight is the Great Horned Owl, easier to spot when the leaves have fallen, or in winter, this bird can be found keeping watch from high in the trees along the ravine and ranging out to hunt.

For those with a taste for wild greens, grab your basket and guide book and go foraging for asparagus, chickweed – with a taste very like spinach, pineapple weed-which smells and tastes like chamomile, and can be dried and used as tea, or the tender leaves and buds eaten raw in salads.

If you’re an experienced forager, there are a number of wonderful edible mushrooms to be had along the pathways and in the woods including boletes (red top mushrooms, and spongy summer boletes), chanterelles, fairy ring mushrooms, and common puffball. On a few occasions, in a short period of time, we have been able to gather several baskets of fresh mushrooms to enjoy cooked into a buttery ragout.

Whatever your sport, if your taste runs to a leisurely stroll, or a stout mountain bike ride, you are sure to be satisfied exploring what the Mill Creek Ravine has to offer.