Who says you need to travel far for a little family adventure? For the third edition of our A Few Hours Well Spent series, we’re exploring a few favourite spots in Ellerslie and nearby Beaumont! From delicious coffee creations and an incredible playground to colourful public art and a little hands-on creativity, this outing has something for everyone.
We started with a cozy café visit in Ellerslie before heading to Beaumont for some playground fun and a beautiful community mural. Then it was back to South Edmonton to get creative with pottery painting! Along the way, we discovered some fun seasonal surprises and plenty of reasons to revisit these local gems throughout the year.
⏰ A Few Hours at a Glance
4 HOURS · 4 STOPS · ELLERSLIE & BEAUMONT
☕ Delicious coffee creations
🛝 An epic playground adventure
🎨 A colourful community mural
🧁 Hands-on pottery painting
📍Ellerslie → Élan Beaumont → Central Beaumont → Ellerslie
🩷 BONUS STOP: Visit Dewey the Axolotl at the Beaumont Library!
Dewey the Axolotl, Beaumont Library
☕ Stop 1: Coffee & Cozy Vibes at Brown Butter Cafe
📍1528 91 Street SW, Edmonton
We kicked off our adventure with a visit to Brown Butter Cafe in South Edmonton’s Ellerslie area, and what a lovely little spot to start the day! Between the beautiful artwork, abundance of greenery, and even a plant propagation station, there was plenty to admire while we enjoyed our drinks. The friendly staff made the experience even better!
We visited during the Halloween season, so I couldn’t resist their festive Iced S’mores Latte, complete with adorable marshmallow ghosts decorating the cup! My husband opted for the Banana Bread Latte, and we would highly recommend both. Brown Butter Cafe is known for its creative, rotating drink offerings, so there’s always something new to look forward to, no matter when you visit. They also offer a selection of delicious food options, including their signature Bunwiches, if you’re looking for a bite to eat.
Iced S’mores Latte, Brown Butter Cafe
🛝 Stop 2: Epic Playground Fun at Parc Réunis
📍72 Street & 52 Avenue, Beaumont
With coffees in hand, we headed to Beaumont for some outdoor fun at Parc Réunis in the beautiful Élan neighbourhood! We’ve visited this incredible playground before, and it’s definitely become a family favourite. Designed and installed by Park N Play Design, the playground features amazing natural wood play structures from Earthscape, including a massive three-storey climbing tower with ropes, nets, and some seriously impressive slides that make it worth the visit!
One of our favourite things about Parc Réunis is that there’s more than one playground to explore! Several play areas are connected by walking paths, with smaller slides and climbing features for younger children and more challenging structures for adventurous older kids. There’s even outdoor fitness equipment for adults who want to join in on the fun. With plenty of room to play and something for a variety of ages and abilities, it’s a fantastic spot to spend an hour (or longer!) enjoying the fresh air.
Parc Réunis Playground, Beaumont
🎨 Stop 3: Colourful Community Art at the Chantal Bérubé Youth Centre
📍5202 50 Street, Beaumont
After all that playground fun, we made a quick stop in central Beaumont to check out the beautiful new murals at the Chantal Bérubé Youth Centre (CBYC)! Created by Edmonton artist Josh Harnack, this colourful collection of artwork is filled with whimsical characters, wildlife and little details that make it fun to explore.
What makes these murals even more special is the story behind them! Commissioned by the City of Beaumont, the project brought local youth and residents together through community consultations and creative workshops, with their ideas and artwork helping shape the final designs. We love seeing public art that not only brightens a neighbourhood but also celebrates the people who call it home. Our son’s favourite detail was the adorable axolotl, which made this stop a memorable one.
BONUS STOP: Have an axolotl fan in your family? Head over to the Beaumont Library to meet Dewey, their resident axolotl, in real life!
Mural by Josh Harnack, Chantal Bérubé Youth Centre (CBYC)
🧁 Stop 4: Get Creative at Clay & Cupcakes
📍429 Parsons Road SW, Edmonton
For our final stop, we headed back to the Ellerslie area for some hands-on fun at Clay & Cupcakes! This colourful pottery painting studio was a hit with our whole family, and we loved browsing the huge selection of pottery pieces before settling in to create our own masterpieces. We visited during the Halloween season and had fun choosing some festive pieces to paint, but there’s plenty to choose from throughout the year!
Once you’ve picked your pottery, the studio provides everything you need to bring your creation to life, including paints, brushes, stencils and other fun tools. When you’re finished, they’ll glaze and fire your masterpiece for pickup at a later date. And, as the name suggests, you can even enjoy a sweet treat while you paint, including delicious cupcakes from local favourite Flirt Cupcakes!
Family Fun Tip: Walk-ins are welcome, but booking ahead is recommended for weekends and holidays. Homeschool families can also take advantage of the 10% student discount with proof of homeschooling.
Pottery Painting at Clay & Cupcakes
A Few Hours, Very Well Spent
By the time we headed home, we’d enjoyed some delicious coffee creations, climbed and played at one of our favourite playgrounds, discovered colourful community artwork and spent some quality time getting creative together.
And we’d done it all in just a few hours! From our first coffee stop in Ellerslie to our final pottery painting adventure back in South Edmonton, we packed a little bit of everything into one fun family outing.
That’s exactly what A Few Hours Well Spent is about.
This outing through Ellerslie and Beaumont was a great reminder that family adventures don’t have to involve elaborate plans or expensive full-day excursions. Sometimes all it takes is a few free local discoveries, a favourite treat and something fun to do together!
For this adventure, our itinerary looked like this:
- 9:30 a.m. – Brown Butter Cafe
- 10:15 a.m. – Parc Réunis
- 11:25 a.m. – Chantal Bérubé Youth Centre Murals
- 12:10 p.m. – Clay & Cupcakes
A little coffee. A lot of play. Some colourful art. A chance to get creative. And another reminder that some of the best family adventures are waiting to be discovered close to home.
Flirt Cupcakes
Bookmark this itinerary for your own family adventure through Ellerslie and Beaumont, mix and match the stops to suit your family, and keep an eye out for the next edition of A Few Hours Well Spent as we share more mini family adventures and local gems in Edmonton and beyond!
We know life gets busy, and finding time for family adventures isn’t always easy. This series is all about making the most of the time you do have, even if it’s just a few hours on an otherwise ordinary day.
✨ Looking for another adventure? ✨
A Few Hours Well Spent: Art, Treats & Hidden Gems in Edmonton
Catch up on our first A Few Hours Well Spent adventure! We packed an afternoon with interactive art, an epic cinnamon bun, quirky local finds and a FREE hidden gem while exploring Downtown Edmonton and the 124 Street District.
A Few Hours Well Spent: A Fall Family Adventure in Southwest Edmonton
Explore Southwest Edmonton with five fun stops featuring colourful Edmonton Mural Festival artwork, fantastic playgrounds, a scenic river valley walk and delicious treats from a favourite local bakery. A little art, outdoor fun and plenty of beautiful scenery, all in just a few hours.
