After being closed for an extensive three-year rehabilitation, William Hawrelak Park is open again.

Beginning Friday, visitors were allowed back into much of the 68‑hectare river valley park to enjoy the various upgraded amenities such as a new playground, a new lakefront promenade, a modernized pavilion and updated washrooms.

“There’ll be a lot of new features that people will be experiencing,” said Matt Everett, a supervisor with the City of Edmonton’s facility infrastructure delivery department.

“The shared-use paths, the lakefront walk, a lot other benches, upgrading the shelters to where we can now have four seasons and washroom facilities that will be open in the winter time.”

Updates were made to the main pavilion structure and plaza’s finishes, fixtures, skate flooring, commercial kitchen, mechanical and electrical systems, and gender-neutral washrooms were added.

On Friday, the city also announced local restaurant Tiramisu Bistro has been selected as the food and beverage operator for the pavilion.

Operating year-round as “Lift Me Up on the Lake,” the city said menu offerings are in development and the eatery will begin providing services later this spring. Seating will be available both inside and outside the pavilion.

“Tiramisu roughly translates to ‘lift me up,’ and that idea has always inspired what we’ve been doing at Tiramisu Bistro for the past 15 years,” said Seble Isaac, owner of the restaurant on 124 Street.

“We’re bringing that same Lift Me Up experience to Hawrelak Park — creating a destination where Edmontonians and visitors can spend the whole day, from freshly roasted coffee and brunch to lunch, tapas, dinner and sunset drinks by the lake.”

There are also new ways for people to enjoy the outdoors.

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“We’ve got a beautiful new lakefront walk that takes you from the main pavilion over to the boathouse and Community League Plaza, offers beautiful views of the lake, places to sit and linger,” said Juanita Spence, the director of river valley and horticultural facilities with the City of Edmonton.

In Hawrelak Park’s open spaces, the playground and paddle boat dock were replaced. Sediment from the bottom of the five-hectare lake was also dredged.

The city added more lighting, bicycle parking and shared-use paths. There’s also a new perimeter path in the park along the North Saskatchewan River and multi-use trails are fully paved.

“There’s a new trail system throughout the park, takes you (on a) about two-kilometre loop around so you can enjoy the different sides of the park,” Spence said.

“We have new picnicking areas, new furnishings, and you’ll notice even just some new finishings and things.”

The Heritage Amphitheatre also saw several changes: new outdoor seating and finishes as well as lighting, structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades, along with the addition of family/gender-neutral washrooms and increased storage.

The green room and back-of-house access have also been reconfigured.

While Hawrelak Park is now open for casual use, the city said people may notice some lingering construction work to address deficiencies, commissioning and warranty-related activities.

“We have a little bit of work within the amphitheatre area, and that area right now is closed and contained within the perimeter fence,” Everett said, adding that construction will be done in time for the grand opening two months from now.

Hawrelak Park has been closed since 2023 for an above and underground overhaul that addressed outdated utilities, transportation, open spaces and facility infrastructure throughout the entire space.

Most of the infrastructure in Hawrelak was original to the park since its opening in 1967 and had exceeded its lifespan.

“We had (to) make sure that we addressed those to make sure the events and festivals and user experience for current and future needs were met,” Everett said.

A large part of the work involved digging up and replacing underground lines and pipes.

The city has replaced the entire waste and storm water sewer systems, irrigation and water systems and upgraded power, gas and telecommunications.

It also expanded water service to provide firefighting coverage in several areas of the park.

Before finalizing the rehabilitation plan, there was extensive debate in the city over which route to take: take down portions of the park and complete the work over a decade while maintaining limited access, or undertake a complete three-year closure to get it all done at once.

The city elected the latter, despite an outcry from some community groups.

The work should leave the massive river valley park updated for decades to come.

An official reopening party will take place later this year on Saturday, May 30.

The city said festivals, events and picnic bookings will return to William Hawrelak Park beginning June 1.

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Hawrelak Park set to re-open this winter after major rehabilitation

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