From our corner of Calgary
Our favourite parks to picnic in Calgary
Five parks, what each is actually good for, and where to eat afterwards.
The BetterDay KitchenUpdated 2 min read
Worth leaving the house for
Pack up the kids, grab lunch to go, and take advantage of the roughly eleven weeks a year Calgary makes this pleasant. These are the five we keep coming back to.
01 / Calgary
Bridgeland
The community centre green space fills up with every age group on a sunny afternoon, and it sits close enough to the Bow that you can walk or ride the river pathway afterwards. Bridgeland also has the densest cluster of good food in the northeast quadrant, so when the sun drops, UNA Pizza + Wine is a two-minute walk.
02 / Calgary
River Park
An enormous off-leash area on the ridge above the Elbow, and effectively dog Disneyland. The grassy field along the top is the picnic spot, and the view down the valley is the reason to go. Neighbour Coffee is close enough to grab something on the way in.
03 / Calgary
St. Patrick's Island Park
Rebuilt after the 2013 flood and now the best-designed park in the city. It sits in the middle of the Bow with bike trails, walking paths, a proper hill and a playground that keeps kids busy for a long time. Cross the bridge into Bridgeland on the way out and finish at Village Ice Cream.
04 / Calgary
Pearce Estate Park
Restored wetland along the Bow with boardwalks running through it, which makes it the best of these five for actually seeing wildlife. The Bow Habitat Station on site explains the river ecosystem and is a genuinely good rainy-afternoon option with kids. It connects into the wider pathway network, so it works as a start or an end point.
05 / Calgary
Griffith Woods Park
On the southwest edge of the city, and the quietest park on this list. Old spruce forest, soft trails, and the Elbow River running through it. Go here when you want the version of a picnic where nobody else is around.
Photo credits
Photograph by davebloggs007, used under CC BY 2.0. Cropped for this layout.
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