Big, blue and beautiful

“Big sky, open sun, early morning Edmonton.” 

So sings Halifax musician Rose Cousins on Edmonton. It’s a bittersweet roots-folk ditty from her 2006 album, If You Were for Me. She started writing the song during her first visit to the city. 

“I woke in a hotel room and opened the curtains to see what became the first line—’big sky, open sun,’” says Cousins. “It was such a different sensation to be able to see so far, so clearly, and it immediately stood as the metaphor for the relationship struggle I was reflecting on. 

“I couldn’t believe how much sky you could see all at once. I finally understood the connection people born in the prairies have to the open space. I feel that way about the ocean.”

Big blue skies are a hallmark of the prairies and the Edmonton area, thanks in part to the city’s river valley, wide footprint, and long summer days. We get up to 17 hours of daylight in the summer, making Edmonton one of the sunniest cities in Canada. (Maybe we should change our name to Edsunton?)

“If we go by historical records, most of the lists I’ve looked at have Edmonton in the top five,” says Josh Classen, chief meteorologist for CTV News Edmonton. 

We also get our share of clouds, but Edmonton gets fewer of them. Clouds are created by moist air and our dry, land-locked city doesn’t have as much of it as other parts of Canada. 

“We’re just not close enough to a large body of water to provide all that moisture,” says Classen. “The prairies get more hours of sun than coastal areas, where it’s a little more frequent that you have cloud cover hanging overhead.”

All those big blue skies are good for your mental health, says psychologist Dr. Noelle Liwski Hanson. She’s an assistant clinical professor at the University of Alberta and co-owns a private practice, Blue Sky Psychology Group in St. Albert.

“I think one of the things that people, myself included, love about living in a place with a big expanse of sky is that they feel like they can breathe easier. Whereas sometimes when you’re in a densely wooded area or a very dense city, it can feel a little enclosed or claustrophobic.” 

Blue skies, of course, also mean a lot of sunshine—hello, Vitamin D!—which makes it easier to get motivated to go outside. Even in the dead of winter, when Edmonton only gets about 7.5 hours of daylight, those blue skies always make it look warmer than it is.

“I really love the beauty of the snow and that’s because of all the sunlight and the big sky,” says Liwski Hanson. 

“Research shows that sunlight has more to do with mood than cold temperatures—and what we have is a lot of sunlight. So, get the good gear, suit up and get outside. We know being active and getting out in nature is good for mental health. ” 

Edmonton’s expansive skies also have some advantages at night. They’re great for viewing constellations—such as Ursa Major, which also contains the Big Dipper, and never dips below the horizon—and the northern lights. 

“We’re sort of at the right location for seeing the northern lights throughout the entire year,” says Frank Florian, senior manager of planetarium and space sciences at the TELUS World of Science.

Edmonton’s skies are also great for seeing noctilucent clouds, which are located about 80 kilometres or so above the Earth’s surface and are usually spotted between the end of May and early July. 

“They’re best seen around the summer solstice when the sun is not too far below our northern horizon during the evening, so we get a bit of that perpetual twilight glow,” says Florian. “If you look up a little higher in the sky, you’ll see these bluish, purpley clouds. They move, too—they’re quite dynamic. 

“In fact, there are only certain latitudes where these clouds can be seen and Edmonton is actually the ideal location for viewing them in the summer. There’s a lot of plusses about living in our latitude.”

Big skies mean big sunrises and sunsets. Check out these spots for some of the best views in Edmonton.