Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park

Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park is the perfect combination for a summer day. The Spray Park provides lots of fun water spraying fixtures, and the playground has climbers, slides, swings, and even trucks to play with. Here’s our review so you know what to expect when visiting (+more family-friendly activities at the end).

When we lived in Crescent Heights, I often visited Rotary Park to do outdoor yoga. Nowadays, we visit with our son for the playground.

Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park has been our all-time favourite this summer. We park next to Spray Park, cool off under the sprinklers, and then move next door to the playground.

This post is part of the series about the best playgrounds in Calgary.

I also like that this area has walking/biking paths with picnic tables and a nice view of Calgary’s skyline at Mount Pleasant viewpoint.

The best thing is that the playground and spray park are never busy, and we have visited at least a dozen times by now.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park.

Info about the Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park:

Location: Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park are accessible from 1 Street NE & 5 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6R2, Map
Parking: Free 3-hour parking along 1 Street NE
Age range: all ages
A seasonal washroom is available at the Spray Park

Rotary Park Playground & Spray Park

Spray Park features

The Spray Park is right by the road; therefore, it’s fenced all around, with two access gates.

Several water fixtures and sprinklers make it a lovely place for kids of all ages. We visited the first time when our son could barely walk, and he played with the small ground sprinklers.

At two years old, he liked to run around the little fountain and through the sprinkler tunnel.

I saw older kids enjoyed the water umbrella and tipping buckets the most.

An important thing to note is the functioning of all the fixtures. Because the Spray Park has vibration sensors, the water runs only when there’s movement throughout the water area. There’s no movement when you don’t see water, so they pause. All you need to do is tap the two short posts (painted red on top) and the one on the tower with tipping buckets to turn the water back on.

Rotary Spray Park is free and open daily from 9 am to 9 pm from mid-June to September (it usually closes on Labour Day). You can check the current opening status on the City of Calgary website.

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Playground features

The play area is right next to Spray Park but is not accessible directly because of the fence. The huge playground with a gravel floor provides many climbers and fun structures for all ages.

Small toddlers have the most extensive structure, with a ramp and several activity panels along the way to the slides. Next to the main structure is a colourful wavy metal climber, a rope climber, a spinning seat, a motorcycle bouncer, a two-seat bouncer, a dinosaur, a car structure, and a storage box with trucks.

Our son spent the most time either riding the car, climbing the wave or loading the trucks with gravel. This playground was hands down the most interesting to him this summer, and he played independently for a long time.

Then there are swings – two regular and two baby swings.

The next climbing structure is higher, with a climbing ladder, a climbing wall, and monkey bars. It’s intended for older kids, but our 2-year-old already loves climbing up the ladder. The tire swing is fun as the chains let you spin and swing simultaneously.

Relax options

Several benches are located around the playground, but I always hang out on the grass.

You can go for a walk around the park, see the flower gardens close to Centre Street next to the off-leash dog park or sit on the bench with a view of Calgary’s skyline and the former Centre Street lion sculpture.

What’s close by

If you visit the playground in spring, make sure to walk down along the Bow River to see the cute little ducklings on Prince’s Island Park, which also has a cowboy & train-themed playground.