10 Best Family Parks in Calgary
Children love playing in parks and playgrounds, and parents enjoy connection time with each other. Sometimes it’s challenging to find a family park that has everything you’re looking for. Yet Calgary is home to some of the most innovative and creative parks globally. Check out these family-friendly parks in Calgary. In these parks, you’ll find more than just play areas – they’re beautiful places to spend the day.
1- Prince’s Island Park:
Location: 698 Eau Claire Ave SW, Calgary, AB, Canada
A beautiful park in downtown Calgary, Prince’s Island Park hosts multiple significant events throughout the year, such as the Canada Day celebration and the Calgary Folk Festival. It is arguably one of Calgary’s largest playgrounds. This destination has plenty to offer its visitors since it sits on the Northside of one of Calgary’s most beautiful parks. There is a wading pool near Eau Claire, and it is easily accessible.
The landscape is impressive, with rolling hills, grassy areas, and mature trees. Several Calgary-themed play structures are available to kids of all ages, including a cowboy hat swing set and a Fort Calgary climber. Along the pathways, parents can enjoy a stroll or bike ride.
2- Bowness Park:
Location: 8900 48 Ave NW, Calgary, AB T3B 2B2, Canada
The Bowness Park is located between Stoney Tr and 85 St N.W. Its southern edge features a shallow lagoon, famous for paddle boating in the summer and ice skating in the winter. Picnics are a popular activity at Bowness Park and access to the Bow River.
View this post on Instagram
Kids will love running up and down the toddler climber and train structure in this facility. There’s also a more prominent climber, a slide, a small rock wall, and stairs suitable for older kids. Children also love the two saucer swings and the Apollo spinners, part of the playground. You can picnic with your family or friends using the nearby picnic tables. You can park in the playground’s free lot and reach the wading pool in a few minutes.
3- Nose Hill Park:
Location: 5620 14 St NW, Calgary, AB T3K 2P6, Canada
Nose Hill Park occupies 11 square kilometres in northwest Calgary, surrounded by 12 suburban communities. Several spots around the hill give the impression that it looks like a nose, which is the most likely explanation for its name. You can often see deer, hawks, and gophers roaming the area. It is even possible to see the Rocky Mountains from the top.
On the Canadian prairies, Nose Hill Park preserves one of the best examples of the grassland ecosystem. In contrast to fescue grasslands, the trees, shrubs, and wildflowers found in coulees are very different. Nose Hill Park has several hiking trails and areas where dogs are allowed off-leash. Slow down as you stroll down the hill and appreciate the rough, fescue grassland that you are passing through.
4- South Glenmore Park:
Location: 24 St SW, Calgary, AB T2V 3N8, Canada
Weaselhead Natural Area is part of South Glenmore Park, which covers the south side of the reservoir. The playground entrance is adjacent to ample free parking. There is also a Variety Children’s Park in South Glenmore Park, a play area and water park that can be accessed by children who are disabled. The kids will likely enjoy the playground and spray park at Variety Children’s Park the most.
View this post on Instagram
Additionally, there is a much smaller and more traditional playground if that one is a bit crowded. The area also has more benches and picnic tables nearby, so it’s an excellent place for a picnic and a little playtime. Several new trees and plants, a multipurpose stage, and outdoor instruments can be found in the nearby musical garden.
5- Prairie Winds Park:
Location: 223 Castleridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3J 1P6, Canada
Prairie Winds Park is central to the northeast communities of Calgary. With the playscape and upgraded wading pool, this large destination park was redeveloped in 2016/17. On the Northside of the park are a wading pool and lazy river with a spray park nearby and an accessible playground on the south side of the park. The flight of any device is not permitted in Prairie Winds Park due to its proximity to Calgary’s airport. All balloons, kites, model planes, drones, and other devices meant to fly are included.
This is one of the largest recreational parks in North East Calgary. This park is beautiful due to its many trees and green spaces. However, the hill is its most noticeable characteristic. This can be a perfect spot to observe airplanes if the wind patterns are suitable.
6-Pearce Estate Park:
Location: 1440 17a St SE, Calgary, AB T2G 4T9, Canada
A wetlands park located in Calgary, Alberta, named Pearce Estate Wetland. The Bow River Park borders the Bow River east of downtown Calgary and occupies 21 hectares. The community is situated along a curve in the Bow River, which flows through the southeast corner of Calgary. The park contains a reconstructed wetland of 15 hectares and holds both a fish hatchery and a visitor center.
View this post on Instagram
Its many amenities are a playground, picnic sites, seasonal washrooms, cross-country skiing paths, walking trails, and kayak rapids access. Naturalized, reconstructed wetlands line the pathways in Pearl Estate Park, which includes ponds and streams.
7-Riley Park:
Location: 800 12 St NW, Calgary, AB T2N 0S2, Canada
In the northwest part of Calgary, Riley Park is a beautiful destination park within walking distance of the Kensington shopping district. In addition to the rock garden, the park has a cricket pitch and a swimming pool. Most of the year, spray parks, wading pools, and outdoor pools are open between mid-June and early fall.
View this post on Instagram
Riley Park has an excellent playground that is fun for kids of all ages. Younger children can enjoy the ramps and slides, while older children can test their balance on the rope bridge or the suspended balance beams. During the summer months, Riley Park is very popular with families. It’s been great fun to play at the park and swim in the pool many times. There is a small free parking area at the North end of the park, right beside the wading pool, just after the pay lot. Wading pools have different depths, islands in the middle, and many trees. The southwest corner of the park is a stage where summer concerts are held and a playground.
8-Edworthy Park:
Location: 5050 Spruce Dr SW, Calgary, AB T3C 3B2, Canada
In southwest Calgary, Edworthy Park lies in a valley along the Bow River and boasts the magnificent Douglas Fir Trail and historic Lawrey Gardens. A picnic at Edworthy Park is hands down one of the best picnic spots in the city. Thanks to the trees surrounding the picnic areas, you can often feel quite secluded from other groups at the park. Edworthy Park, located near the Bow River and the community of Wildwood, is a large and diverse park that is a beautiful place to visit year-round.
View this post on Instagram
A nature watcher’s paradise, Upper Edworthy State Park also has hiking trails, and an off-leash dog park to the south. The Lowery Gardens and Douglas Fir Trail can be found on the Bow River Pathway to the East. The river is home to both Rainbow and Brown trout. This nature adventure is suitable in the city. Edworthy park sits right along the river, yet there are few places where you can access it or see it. Both sides of the bridge have spots where you can get right up next to the river. Above is the east one, which is smaller and easier to get to than the west one.
9- Elliston Park:
Location: 1827 68 St SE, Calgary, AB, Canada
Located in the deep southeast along 17th Avenue, Elliston Park contains a stormwater retention pond measuring 20 hectares. This incredible park has a rich history and an intriguing past that displays what an international community of cities can achieve & build when working and living together as one ‘ City’. This public park features a pond, a rose garden, playgrounds, picnic shelters, and off-leash dog areas.
View this post on Instagram
Elliston Park hosts the GlobalFest fireworks competition annually and houses the BP BirthPlace Forest. Many types of trees live side by side in Elliston Park, creating an ecosystem of various trees from which one forest has been formed. This Self-Guided Nature Walk offers an accompanying ‘Name Game’ and a self-guided nature walk in Elliston Park.
10- Shouldice Park:
Location: 4900 Monserrat Dr NW, Calgary, AB T3B 1H9, Canada
Calgary’s Shouldice Park is an athletic park and a neighbourhood park all rolled into one, as it surrounds the Shouldice Aquatic Centre and the Shouldice Arena. A new playground has been added to Shouldice Park. This playground has an extensive ramp system. The wide ramps allow you to do things and get to different places.
View this post on Instagram
Small children will have no problem getting around with the recycled tire flooring and ramp system. Shouldice Park has soccer, baseball, and tennis fields that the public can rent. There is also a sizeable rope-y structure that older children will enjoy. It also offers unique features, such as a roller slide, a double swing where you can swing facing a partner, a giant globe spinner, and musical elements.
Final Thoughts:
Check out these great parks to brighten up your children’s day. Get to know Calgary’s parks, which feature more than 8,000 hectares of space. You can try your hand at tennis, soccer or cricket in the beautiful natural areas around you. Getting into the great outdoors is easy when you drive from Calgary to visit one of these parks.
Read more about 6 Best Arts Education Schools in Calgary
