What a beautiful park to skate in the winter! Many Christmas lights up around the area, and rangers have lit fire pits all around for visitors to stop and warm up and enjoy all around the park area. Skating is free of bring your own skates. Can also rent gear by the hour. Charming and natural setting to enjoy a family skating night! read more

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Wonderful park! We did a little bit of kayaking, took the train, and walked around the park a bit. It got pretty crowded as the day got a little later (it was on a Saturday). Calgary truly has some beautiful parks! Everything was clean and the workers at the kayak place were very nice. read more

Bowness Park - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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If I could give zero stars to the cafe there I would. We came in for lunch and we're told the restaurant was "packed" and they couldn't serve us by the blonde server. We must have different definitions of "packed" because the entire inner dining area was empty and there were at least three empty tables on the patio for two people. We were a party of two. The waitress who said they were packed...was cleaning an empty table seconds before we spoke with her. Doesn't seem like they're interested in having customers. ‍ We won't waste our time there again. read more

I don't got much to say but bowness park is so fun especially its great for picnics and bike rides.

Wow. First time to this city park and it is very impressive. Clean, large, and lots of trees. New playgrounds for kids yes more than one! Very green and lots of picnic tables and staff are super friendly. Great for family and friend outings! Repeat visitor for sure! Highly recommend!!! read more

Bowness Park - Fire pit - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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A huge park with so many places to picnic or walk. The water front is nice and you can canoe or go boating. A bunch of ducks gathered near the pier and there were a lot of kids feeding them- very family friendly. read more

Bowness Park - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Getting to Bowness Park is so easy; it is just a pleasant bus or car ride on Bowness Road along the Elbow River. I took my sparkling students there for a picnic this summer and what eventually turned out to be a comical canoe ride. Bowness Park is just off of the Bow River and offers a hodgepodge of seasonal options. During winter time it offers ice skating and cross country skiing and during the summer, canoe and paddle boat rentals as well as mini golf and train rides. We as an intrusive group of teenagers (I will include myself in this title) decided to monopolize the miniature train ride which I found out later is only for two year old and unders and their parents. Sporting our smug smiles, the train had to be delayed an extra 10 minutes so we could be escorted off the train as we did not have or buy tickets. I frequently had to hide my face from every two year old I met that day in case they would recognise me as one of "The Others". We eventually settled on ice cream cones served at the concession stand and two $20 an hour canoe rides. My two canoe mates helped me settle my arthritic self into the center of one canoe and I relaxed immediately into place. The other canoe however did not have the luxury of a good steering or helms person and we constantly heard screams as this canoe would crash into other canoes along the way as well as crashing into tree branches hanging overhead. Already embarrassed by our mini train antics, our canoe decided to try to lose its faithful friends by paddling forward every time our mates were stuck against a river bank edge. But we could never lose them and we would always smile innocently as they approached us with news of their "just happened collision". Needless to say I have never laughed so much in my life as I did in Bowness Park that day. Park hours are 5am to 11pm daily. read more

Bowness Park - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Such a great place for outdoor ice skating! I went in the evening for my first ever experience of outdoor ice skating and had such a good time, it's a super cute place. There's plenty of parking and there wasn't even that many people there when we arrived around 7pm. It's a short walk from the car park to the skating rink, which has fire pits and wooden benches on a rubber mat surface. There was also music playing on a loudspeaker - think 80s power ballads (!) but it was fun and added to the atmosphere. There are about five steps that you walk down to get to the rink, and the first few metres of ice was really slushy when we went! I almost stacked it a few times getting out to the ice but other than a few slushy spots, the ice was really good given the warm weather lately. Apparently sometimes there are other iced over parts of the water that connect but they weren't open at the time. There was a great mix of people there, from a few young kids playing with a ball on the ice, to a few families with really young kids, to couples, to friends just hanging out together. It was a really relaxed atmosphere and most people were just leisurely making their way around the lake. We rented skates from Sports Rent - I think each pair was about $12/day, and you have until 10pm to return them (on a Saturday anyway). This was perfect because the park closes at 10pm! read more

Bowness Park - Looking down at the skating rink, past the wooden benches and fire pits - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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I always forget this place and really have no excuse since I live in the NW. We were invited to a BBQ for my child's sporting event team as a year end party. I didn't know what to expect, but did think it would be a bit of a nightmare during rush hour to get too. Arrived and ample parking. Always a bonus and something that makes me happy. The site the BBQ was at, was easy to find and plenty of space for allot of guests (70+ adults and kids). It was near the play ground and lots of grass for the kids to run and burn some energy too. Noticed a few people on canoes and petal boats which looked so relaxing and fun. Plenty of tree's and hard to believe this gem is in the city? Feels like it should be some where else? A nice park year round. Skating in the winter and taking that raft down the river in the summer. Will be back!!!! read more

Bowness Park - Bowness Park - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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They've done something incredible with this place. I remember coming here as a kid to rent the pedal boats and now with the new water park I'm sure it's going to be much busier. read more

I love Bowness park. I've been going there pretty much since I was born. Every Christmas we go down for a family skate where we meet up with friends and family and have an awesome time on the Lagoon with the fire pits, the Christmas music... couldn't ask for anything better!! Since it's been reconstructed from the flood it looks awesome beautiful view of the Lagoon in the summer time. read more

Bowness Park - Grand re-opening after the flood - Parks Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Awful! We booked a picnic site here and honestly thought that our space was going to be respected by other park users...WRONG. People paraded though our organized games area and our KIDS were told by strangers NOT to play near them even though we were IN our allotted space. Not only was our group intruded on but an item went missing. I understand the city of Calgary runs this facility so to improve it I would suggest that picnic boundaries be properly marked by Park staff or via permanent structure or fencing & CLEAR signs be posted. read more

Bowness is a great neighbourhood, but it seems sometimes they get a bit of a bad rap. Bowness Park is really no different. For some reason I have it ingrained in my brain that Bowness Park is a little sketchy. I picture plenty of drunks and teenagers doing unspeakable things in the picnic shelters, but every single time I've been, it has been nothing more than happy families and groups of all ages to prove my terrible prejudice wrong. This place is wonderful. In the summer, this is a great place for loading you raft on to the river. Man-made rock outcrops make large current free zones for playing in the water or an easy location to hop in your boat. Being on the west side of the city, it makes for a wonderful float through the city, down to Inglewood. It's very nature-y feeling! Even though it's in the middle of the city, having a fire in on of the pits and cooking up some hot dogs and smores makes it feel like camping. There are picnic shelters for groups or when the weather gets nasty. While there's no sport setups like goal posts, etc. There is plenty of mowed lawn space for playing catch, throwing frisbees and just general summertime merriment. For winter, they're really upped their skating game. The've always had a wonderfully larger natural skating area. I also really like the skating pathways that branch out from the main pond. There a really nice padded area (so you can walk on it with your skates) complete with several gas fire pits, seating, and light strung up. Beautiful. A nice park year round and good destination for a summer cruise. Pick up some soft serve at Angels Drive In and head down to the park. read more

I was going a little stir crazy the other day and happily accepted an invitation for a promenade over at Bowness Park. Because it's still a little chilly, Bowness Park is the ideal place to go walking because of the huge trees that protect walkers from the wind currents. I will warn y'all however; The washrooms aren't open yet this early in the season, and the train isn't running, BUT it's still beautiful, fresh and the perfect place to escape. If you love the lake, walk along the lake. If you love the trees, walk along the trees. It's got something for everyone - Puppies, People and Players (the sport-playing kind, not the annoying kind) alike. Happy Trails! read more

Bowness park is a great place for the family and kids. It's so beautiful and plenty of space to hold any event. We always see people taking engagement and wedding photos at this park because of the amazing scenery. Plenty of BBQ units and safe playground areas for the kids. I would recommend hanging out at this park if you get a chance, very relaxing and plenty of fresh air. Feels like you're out of the city and in the mountains. read more

Are you kidding me? How have I not been to this hidden oasis? How have my Calgary friends not suggested this place to me? I had to attend a business meeting here and I was in shock. It's just beautiful. Lots of water within view, trees and open space. It's nice that there are gazebos for shelter if necessary. I must say that I wasn't impressed with the massive pot holes I had to drive through when entering the parking lot (sorry, not sure which one it was). And for some reason, I thought that as a first time visitor, finding the park and where I needed to go was a bit confusing, even though I generally pride myself in being good with directions. I think there could be bigger and/or better signage. You know how it is when you try driving somewhere you've not been before. Overall, my first impression is that I may enjoy this park more than Princes Island. Time will tell with another visit. read more

BBQs, rafting launch points, pathways, trees, grass, lazy summer days... (or active winter days with the outdoor skating rink, but we're no where near winter at this point). Bowness Park is a gorgeous park to spend the day with some friends or family or even just for a walk or run through the shady pathways. I love all of the trees in here, mature and offering up a great haven from the sun. Parts of the park could definitely use some upgrading... but it looks like the city's on it! It's been undergoing some redevelopment since last year. Looks like the main parking lot will be closed for awhile too. I think I'm going to need to find a different spot to hop on the river this summer! read more

Such a nice park it is seriously breath taking I love the activity's that they have year round such as paddle boat in the summer and skating during the winter they have a cute little store to grab hot coco and refreshing drinks in the summer. They also have little fire places set up which is amazing to cozy up to. I really love this park great for family friends and dates :) read more

We had a FANTASTIC time at Bowness Park. We skated on the Lagoon, even stopped and had some Hot Chocolate. A very cheap and fun place to spend some time with family or friends read more

Awesome winter skating on the pond, though parking is a bit hairy. Hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards. Bliss!

Coffee shop and new restaurant does NOT cater to families. Very overpriced and a bit pretentious. Bring back the family old-school cafe and burger joint!! The skating however lovely and the city did a fine job of extending the skating area along the lagoon. The outer space very nice and accessible to rink with sturdy rubber matting and nice benches, fire pits. Although I liked the old firepits and benches that were right in the skating pond. read more

Just want to give a huge Thank You to those who overhauled the Train. I did a lot of work on the train as well as the track prior to the flood. The train was getting on in years just like myself and even though it passed it's annual inspection parts were getting harder to find. I always had a vision of what I would do to the dear thing if I ever had the chance and I think the crew that just finished her restoration went into my head for a lot of my plans. You guys have insured that the TRAIN will live on in the glory it deserves. Thank You and ALL Aboard read more

Parking is horrible and the signage is not clearly visible. Drove around 1/2 hour and then parked on the side which was perfectly fine except to get a 75$ fine. Park is very expensive. Restaurant service was slow slow slow and costly for what you get. Staff was friendly. Slow in the kitchen. I would not go back. read more