Walk Edmonton through the river valley
Edmonton has an enormous green river valley running straight through it, laced with trails. FOG keeps the map dark until you walk it, and that valley turns into the most interesting part of the map.
The valley
The North Saskatchewan River winds through Edmonton in a deep valley that has been kept almost entirely as parkland, one of the largest connected urban park systems in North America. Trails run along both banks and up and down the slopes, crossed by bridges at intervals.
Downtown sits on the north rim, with the Alberta Legislature on its edge overlooking the valley. A funicular links the top of the bank with the river paths below.
Across the High Level Bridge
The High Level Bridge crosses the valley with a walkway on each side. On the south bank is Old Strathcona, centred on Whyte Avenue, a long street of shops, bars and a farmers market in an old bus barn, with the University of Alberta to the west.
A good loop of around ten kilometres: downtown, the Legislature grounds, down to the river, across the High Level Bridge to Whyte Avenue, and back through the valley on the other bank.
Seasons and coverage
Winters are long and very cold, summers warm with long evenings. Many trails are used year round.
Downtown and Old Strathcona fill as two grids on the rims. The river valley becomes a mesh of curving lines between them, which is a satisfying thing to see appear.
Bring the walks you already did
An empty map is a slow start in a city you already know. FOG Unlimited imports Google Timeline exports and GPX files, so years of past walks in Edmonton clear straight onto the map, and you open the app to a real picture with obvious dark gaps in it. It is one purchase, never a subscription.
From then on FOG records by itself, with the app closed, and the trail never leaves the phone. No account, no ads, no tracking. The logbook writes a page for every month and year you were out, with the new ground and the new places you set foot in.
Questions people actually ask
Can you walk across the High Level Bridge?
Yes, it has walkways on both sides between downtown and the south bank.
How big is Edmonton's river valley park?
It is one of the largest connected urban park systems in North America, with many kilometres of trails.
Is my location uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no account and no cloud. The map is stored only on your phone, and you can export a GPX backup yourself.
Start with a dark map.
FOG is free to explore. No account, no subscription, and your map never leaves your phone.
free to explore · one purchase unlocks everything · never a subscription