The City of Edmonton says the timber boardwalk in MacKenzie Ravine, near 142 Street and 93 Avenue, will stay open until the end of October 2026. In summer 2027 it will be taken out and replaced with a ground-level granular trail. The staircase at 142 Street will be rebuilt as a new wooden staircase that meets current City standards. The City expects that work to be finished in fall 2027. It closed the boardwalk in November 2025 over seasonal safety concerns. An April 2026 inspection found it could stay in service for one more year with minor repairs, and it reopened in June.
From today, October 4, that leaves about four weeks. After that, this ravine floor will next be walkable on a different kind of surface.
The renewal keeps the route between Crestwood and the river. What goes is the timber underfoot and one narrow side trail. Each section below builds on that: what is being replaced, what is being lost for good, how to walk the full route this month, and why the top of the stairs has more going on this fall than it did a year ago.
What the City is removing, and what it is keeping
The City's MacKenzie Ravine Boardwalk and Stair Renewal page, last updated September 9, 2026, says the timber boardwalks and staircase "have reached the end of their service life." It describes these structures as the pathway link through the ravine to Crestwood and Parkview, Buena Vista Park and the North Saskatchewan River Valley. The City says pathway, neighbourhood and park connections will be maintained through the work, with one exception.
| Piece of the route | Through October 2026 | After fall 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Ravine floor, east to west | Timber boardwalk | Granular, ground-level trail |
| 142 Street staircase | Existing timber stairs | New wooden staircase built to current City standards |
| Link from the ravine bottom up to Riverside Drive | Narrow trail connection | Closed |
| Links to Crestwood, Parkview, Buena Vista Park and the river valley | Open | Maintained |
So most of the walk comes back. A Crestwood walker will still be able to go down to the river and back up to 142 Street in 2028. It will just be on gravel instead of boards, and on new stairs.
The one connection that closes for good
The Riverside Drive spur is the only piece of the current walk that the plan removes for good. The City says that narrow connection from the boardwalks at the bottom of the ravine up to Riverside Drive will close in 2027. It gives two reasons: the trail encroaches on private property, and there are safety concerns such as erosion and bank stability.
The Edmonton and Area Land Trust's walking guide describes the route to Riverside Drive as a narrow trail separate from the main ravine path. For anyone who has used it as a shortcut between the ravine floor and the streets above, this October is the last month the City has said it will be part of the network.
Walking the full loop before the month ends
Two published routes cover this walk well. The River Valley Alliance's Hawrelak Park to MacKenzie Ravine guide, from February 2020, describes a broad, mostly flat walk on dirt and boardwalk. It starts at Hawrelak Park Picnic Site 2, reaches the MacKenzie Ravine walkway at 1.9 km and runs about 4 km round trip, taking 45 minutes to an hour. The land trust guide has a longer loop that runs through the middle of Crestwood. It puts that loop at about 6 km round trip and rates it moderate.
The land trust's loop, step by step:
- Start at Picnic Shelter #2 at the south end of William Hawrelak Park and cross the river on the Buena Vista/Hawrelak footbridge to the west side.
- Turn right and go down the steps, then follow the wide multi-use trail along the river to the boardwalk near the mouth of MacKenzie Ravine.
- Walk west along the boardwalk to the granular trail.
- Pass under the 142 Street bridge and keep climbing the ravine, which the guide puts at about 1 km long, up to 146 Street.
- Turn north on 146 Street to 96 Avenue, then east to Crestwood Shopping Centre on 142 Street.
- Head south on the service road beside 142 Street to the stairs at the MacKenzie Ravine Bridge, go back down to the ravine floor, and walk east to the mouth and back to the picnic shelter.
Starting from Crestwood instead of Hawrelak Park, the same loop runs in reverse from the shopping centre. The guide gives another option of about 6 km return from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park parking lot. It also marks the riverside stretch as a dogs-on-leash area because of ground-nesting birds.
The River Valley Alliance route gives one more choice at the boardwalk. Walkers can turn into the ravine toward 142 Street or keep going along the river toward MacKinnon Ravine. Both route guides were written years ago, so they describe the general layout rather than this month's conditions. The City page is the source for what is open right now.
What the new trail is being designed around
A 2015 Nature Edmonton piece described MacKenzie Ravine as short and steep, with gravel, boardwalk and steep staircases, thick summer vegetation, and views toward the river and the downtown skyline. The City's page adds something the trail guides do not cover. The ravine has several mineral-rich natural springs that are significant to many Indigenous Nations.
The City says its partnership and engagement with those Nations has shaped the design of the replacement trail and how the ravine will be protected. It says ceremony and participation will continue for the length of the project. Throughout September 2026, the City invited Indigenous groups to an unhosted harvesting opportunity in the ravine so medicines could be gathered before construction starts.
This explains the approach. The City is not building a bigger trail. It is replacing a raised structure with a ground-level path in a ravine that has springs worth protecting.
Two smaller pieces of history are on the same route. The land trust guide says the ravine is named for Kenneth W. MacKenzie, Edmonton's first mayor after the city was incorporated in 1904. Both the land trust and Nature Edmonton note a Cold War-era civil-defence shelter near 142 Street from the early 1950s.
The top of the stairs, this fall
The 142 Street end of the loop has two new reasons to stop this season. Valleyview IGA reopened on August 20, 2026, in the Valleyview Shopping Centre at 142 Street and 91 Avenue, Global News reported. It took over the space from L'OCA Quality Market, which closed in March. Before that, Andy's IGA ran the store for nearly six decades until owner Andy Taschuk retired in 2024. Store manager Stuart Trenchard told Global News that customers "can walk here now." The store's own listing and the opening-day coverage give different hours, so check before you walk over.
A few doors away, XIX Valleyview opened on September 17 at 9112 142 Street NW, according to Taproot Edmonton's September 22 food roundup.
At the north end of 142 Street, Valley Line West work continues. A September 23 construction notice from Marigold extended overnight work at 142 Street and Stony Plain Road to about three weeks, starting on or around September 28. During each shift from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., the inside northbound and southbound lanes of 142 Street and the inside westbound left-turn lane are closed. The City expects Valley Line West construction to finish in 2028, followed by a testing period with no set length. On the City's current schedules, the new ravine trail is expected to be done in fall 2027, and line construction is expected to finish in 2028.
The overnight closures don't affect a daytime walk to the IGA or XIX. The deadline that matters is the end of October, when the City's stated open season for the boardwalk ends.
If the MacKenzie Ravine walk is part of your routine and you'd like to talk about how this stretch of 142 Street is changing, from the ravine renewal to the businesses at the top of the stairs, Franco Maione is happy to share what he's following and to give you a calm, clear read on what it means for your home whenever you're ready.
