Louise McKinney Park Labyrinth

Louise McKinney Park stretches out alongside the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton's beautiful river valley. I heard that the park has a rock labyrinth so one day this summer, My Rare One and I set out to find it.

We tramped up and down the whole length of the park -- no labyrinth to be seen. We asked passersby -- who were unanimously clueless about what a labyrinth even is. Finally, an older lady said she didn't know about any labyrinth but there was an "aboriginal stone circle or something" near the parking lot. Bingo!

The labyrinth is a small 5-circuit Chartres labyrinth. There's a magnificent view of the river valley as you walk it.

The problem with rock labyrinths on grass is that they're impossible to mow and keep groomed, unless you have a dedicated team of grounds people with whipper-snippers. Consequently, such labyrinths tend to get very overgrown and shaggy looking.

But clearly, many people do walk the Louise McKinney labyrinth on a regular basis because the grass in the circuit paths was quite trodden down.

But, after all is said and done, this labyrinth is still located in a downtown urban core setting. At its sacred centre, the only offerings present were . . .

. . . two crushed Kokanee beer cans.