Explore Mill Woods’ Woodvale

Normally I’m a coffee drinker. So when I spotted Koffee Cafe on 28 Avenue on my way to Woodvale, a community in Mill Woods, I pulled in. But on a whim, I ordered a chai latte. It felt warm and decadent.

The café itself is a straightforward spot for coffee, chai, a sandwich or Indian food. Yellow walls, black ceiling, sports photos on the walls. There’s more room inside than you might expect at first glance, and the food and drink are neatly written on blackboards above the counter, rounding out the classic sandwich-joint vibe. From the café I head over to the Jackie Parker Recreation Area, an expansive green space in the Woodvale community, on the north side of Mill Woods.

Mill Woods got its start in 1971 with the Mill Woods Development Concept, which imagined it as a city within a city, and divided into eight communities (further carved into four neighbourhoods) situated around a town centre. Woodvale is one of those original eight and more than half of it is occupied by the green space of the recreation area. It’s home to the area’s golf course and the prosaically named Woodvale Facility, the building from which the Woodvale Community League operates.

Tea before tee

It’s an overcast morning at the park. Aside from mine, there are a few other cars scattered around the parking lot, their drivers sipping their own hot beverages. It’s obvious that this is a place where people gather. Right now they’re fighting off the morning chill, but they’re here for a reason, whether it’s a walk like the one I have planned, or to pass a few minutes before their tee time at the nearby Mill Woods Golf Course.

The recreation area has trails that loop around the park and along the edge of the pond, picnic sites with seating, fire pits, the main building with its even bigger fireplace. Oh, and a seriously impressive playground and climbing wall that made my inner child jealous.

A round of golf and fine dining

The Mill Woods Golf Course is one of Edmonton’s public courses, which means you don’t need a membership to play but it fills up fast. The course is fully walkable, with 18 championship-style holes with wide greens, trees, sandtraps and water features. Par 72, it was designed for everyone to enjoy no matter their skill. Affectionately called “Milly,” the course balances a premium feel with accessibility, providing a welcome entry point for people new to the sport without feeling like a beginner’s course.

The highlight, however, isn’t the fairways. Inside the Woodvale Facility — a building that is part community centre, part golf clubhouse — you can find the Woodvale Room, the Mill Woods Golf Course restaurant. It has old-world charm, dark wood tones, book shelves, low lighting and wide windows overlooking the course. The name of the game is atmosphere, and the Woodvale Room transports you somewhere luxurious without leaving town.

The restaurant serves plates inspired by the Canadian landscape, and its signature dish, the Campfire Molcajete, is piled high with beef striploin, lobster tail, octopus, chicken, mussels and shrimp, as well as rice, herbs and a tomatillo broth. It feeds two from its namesake molcajete stone bowl. The drink menu is forest-themed, from old classics like a spin on the Moscow Mule called the Molech’s Mule (cucumber vodka, lime juice, ginger beer and lime garnish) to more adventurous drinks with fantastical names like the Whispering Spruce (dry gin, red vermouth, maraschino liqueur, angostura and chocolate bitters, finished with birch syrup).

City living

Mill Woods is city-sized, home to more than 118,000 people, and even has its own ring road. For perspective, that’s a little bigger than Red Deer. The community of Woodvale defied my expectations and made me want to grab another cup of chai and check out some of the other area communities.

The Woodvale Room
Mill Woods Golf Course | 4540 50 street NW, Edmonton | thewoodvaleroom.com

Koffe Cafe
Tawa | 6120 28 Ave NW, Edmonton | 780.461.2233