Very fun place to take the kids on a hike Natural park…read more Water spring water Trails Natural woodsy park Me Trial trees are planted there too

Hike in the woods along the stream and then climb the hill up to the flower fields. The hill is a…read morelittle steep but do able. Finish off with a picnic at the picnic tables right when you enter.

Nose Creek Park is a great park. It has a beautiful built-in stage with bench-type seating. Great…read moreopen space. Plenty of parking. There is also a small little concession stand with an area for eating under a pergola. So if you are looking for an outdoor space to host an event (birthday party, reunions, group picnic, etc) this is one of the best parks in Airdrie. In the winter, this is also the location where they set up the Airdrie Festival of Lights. Do you need a leash free zone to bring your little fury friends? Nose Creek has a large leash-free zone so your pet can come too! We really enjoyed walking in this park and playing on the playground. I highly recommend this park.

If you ask around for hiking suggestions near Calgary, you'll get sent several hours deep into the…read moreRockies. If you're not looking to spend half the day in the car, this park is just outside of Calgary's city limits. The trails are very well marked and maintained. One of the trails leads up to a ridge with views overlooking the city on one side and the mountains on the other. The 12km of trails make for loops of varying lengths.

Lack of parking is a big problem. Parking lot needs to be expanded now they won't allow road…read moreparking

I'm so glad that Wendy reviewed this on Yelp! I didn't realize I could review parks (didn't think…read morethey had a specific address). I love Sandy Beach! I say this as a cyclist. This park is on the Elbow River Pathway between Stanley Park and the Glenmore Reservoir. When cycling through this park I have a few tips for you. #1 - Keep to the west side pathway. There are two paths that pass through the park, one of which is closer to the river. The one closer to the river is busiest with pedestrian traffic. #2 - Dismount on the suspension bridge, especially if there is another cyclist on the bridge. It's super narrow. There are signs that say to do this. #3 - When riding Southward there is a large steep hill at the end of the park. Go ahead and put yourself into low gear and challenge it! It's a toughy, but short and worth it! I always feel like Superman after I hit the top! I have visited this park a few times to use the outdoor grills. I typically bring charcoal briquettes because I'm cycling or walking in which is light and more compact that bringing firewood. I'd suggest using firewood when possible if you want to cook faster or your food is very raw, like steak. I typically bring hot dogs, marshmallows and quick to heat items. There are bon fire pits as well but you need to get there in the early afternoon in peak times to secure one. Be sure to bring your bathing suit! The beach is beside the suspension bridge which isn't particularly sandy, but a nice cool shallow dip in the Elbow River!

This is one of the best parks in Calgary! It is very central, quiet and on the Elbow River!…read more Being a regular dog walker, this off leash is a haven for letting your pup go for a big run. There are loads if dogs and lots of room for them to safely chase each other around. By sticking to the ridge, cars are a long way off and the gravel pathways keep cyclists and rollerbladers away, ensuring safety for your dogs. There are doggie water fountains and lots of trees and smells! Parking along the park is ample and easy to get to. Overall a mist visit!

Nice, neat, and relaxing. We were at the Farmers market and looked up on parks nearby. I'm so glad…read morethat we went here. It was covered with snow but the walk way was clear of snow. You could walk upto the Bow and listen to the relaxing sound of water. This is not an off leash park. I met a few furry friends who were on leash, of course. Park is better than a mall, no doubt:)

A really nice park on the Calgary / Bow River pathway system. All season. Skating in the winter…read more People seem to like Kayaking here as well. I've seen several people on the bigger pond kayaking around. Always good for people walking, jogging, spending time with family, kayaking, and taking pictures. Lots of people walk their dogs here, and as an In the fall, the changing colours are lovely to see here. It goes quickly though, so make sure you get down there when the leaves start to turn as they won't wait for you. It's a good area to see birds too. Geese are here it seems all year round. I think there are other seasonal / migratory birds which pass through the area as well. White American Pelicans summer along this stretch of the river during the summer. I've seen whitetail deer in this area a number of times. It's highly probably that there are occasional coyotes in the area and so like in many Calgary parks, be watchful of your dog. It's a wonderful park if this is your area.

I visited Prince's Island Park while on a work trip in Calgary. Wow. What a beautiful park. I went…read moreon a jog from downtown Calgary where my hotel was and it is so nice to have a large park so close to the city. I think there's ~50 acres of land with plenty of well-maintained walkways for walking, jogging, biking. This seems like a perfect place to go on a date, walk around a bit during a work break, read a book on the many places to sit there, or just walk/jog like I did. There is also a cafe located near the center in the park. Unfortunately it was closed when I visited but I heard it's good!

This beautiful, 50 acre"urban park" is found on the north side of downtown Calgary by the Eau…read moreClaire neighborhood and is a fantastic place to get out in nature - even though it's in such close proximity to the city. There are paved walking paths and gravel trails - all very well maintained. We saw lots of geese and ducks and butterflies too - it was surprisingly peaceful! I imagine this would be a great place for migratory bird watching when the time is right! Lots of articles call this park the "heart" of Calgary...it certainly is popular but I can see why. It's lovely - there's tons of flower gardens, some native bee habitats, and it's surrounded by the Bow river on all sides and even has a lagoon that you can ice skate on in winter. Calgary holds lots of festivals here. There are picnic areas and playgrounds and even a cute little cafe. Several bridges connect it to downtown Calgary and one of them connects you to the other more northern side as well. It's very walkable and easy to access - I'd definitely say it's handicap accessible as a good portion of the paths are paved and flat. There are lots of info signs dotted around the island as well. Definitely a must see when visiting the city! We loved it!

For those who are wondering about Nose Hill Park... it's a large park within the city (15 min drive…read moreaway) that covers 11 square kilometers! There are a LOT of trails up there which make it great for hiking and biking. I've gone multiple times this year and really enjoy it. There are also chances to see wildlife while up there (I've seen a coyote, but haven't seen the white tailed deer yet). It is also a great place to see the city from, and an amazing sunrise location! Super cool seeing it rise and light up the sky surrounding Calgary. Note that it typically is pretty windy up there.

When I first got to Calgary, I assumed Nose Hill Park would be like NYC's Central Park or Toronto's…read moreHigh Park in that you could easily walk into it. Sure, there might be certain entry gates, but they'd be easy to find. Nope! Not in Calgary, which is technically a walkable city, but has the soul of a highway interchange. The charming streets of Caglary's downtown have six lanes of one-way traffic, so of course there are several lanes of cars speeding around Nose Hill. There are quite a few pedestrian tunnels, just don't expect them to be easy to see with your eyeballs if you're in the area or think they'd be marked on Google Maps. Obviously, it's easy enough to get into the park. Lots of people manage it every day! If you have a car, if you get anywhere near the park you can enter any number of clearly marked parking lots. If you're on foot, however, you need to plan ahead in order to find a tunnel or an overpass. Don't assume there will be a way to enter the park or any sort of crosswalk. Once you've made it into the park, it's surprisingly lovely. There are gorgeous views of downtown, the Rockies on a clear day, and the surrounding farmland. Once you're in the park there's a ton of signage and clear paths. Plus, it's hard to get lost when you can see the whole city! Several of the parking lots offer toilet facilities and trash cans. It's interesting to see the grasses and wildflowers shift throughout the year. There's a surprising diversity of terrain for what appears at first glance to be a big hill. There are also historical sites within the park. There's a large off-leash dog area. If you're hoping to pet some stranger's dogs, alas, there is too much space and not enough dogs for it to not be a little weird. If you step off the trails, pay attention for poo and gopher holes. We're in Calgary, so the weather can turn at any moment. There are very few trees, so you'll be in the sun the whole time. Be prepared for it to be windy.

We went on Saturday late afternoon and it's was crazy packed. Parking was a little rough. There are…read morekids literally everywhere so be prepared to be surrounded by families. The lake is pretty huge and we stayed in the initial sandy/grass area. Once you're in the water, there's man-made steps that can be pretty slippery. Its deceivingly deeper than you would think.

This beach is somewhere to go when you need a fast good cold down in the NE. Mostly used by small…read morekids and their families who live in Chestermere. The water and drop is fast there are steps to walk down into the water. Yeah.. There is some seed weed that floats on the water but no big deal. Enough space to park at the community hall from the beach. It's better to bring your food and picnic here... Sometimes there is a truck to buy cold drinks and slush. It's a place for a cool down when there's nothing else...

This is a nice little escape inside the city. There are no joggers, cyclists, dogs being walked…read more We saw a lot of Canada Geese and deer frolicking in the water and near by bushes among other small birds. It's free to enjoy and the paths are well kept. The building houses some information on the birds that we might come across as well as it offers rest rooms and a water fountain. It's just too bad Deerfoot is surrounding it to take away from the peacefulness and drowns out the sounds of nature.

This is one of those places that once you go to, you feel lucky our city has it…read more Just like Wendy P. mentioned, this place rules for stopping off for an afternoon walk on a wintery day. We spent an hour or so walking around here and exploring the area. It's an easy walking area, it would be suitable for anyone really. There was also a helpful bird lady (probably not the proper name for her - ha ha!) that was setup as a resource on behalf of the centre. She had her bird book and gave us some wicked information about birds we had seen and the ones we had questions about. All in all - super fun place to spend a few hours outside. Yelp Kicks Butt: 2/10