We’ve been living in Calgary for several years but haven’t visited Bowness Park until we started a family. Bowness Park is the most family-friendly park in Calgary. There are playgrounds, picnic sites with barbeques, and a lagoon for boating in summer and ice skating in winter.
And there’s much more.
Keep reading, and you’ll find out everything you need to know about skating at Bowness Park.
Read next: Outdoor ice skating in Calgary: a breakdown of all options
Where’s Bowness Park?
Bowness Park is located in the northwest part of Calgary. It sits along the Bow River between Stoney Trail and 85 Street NW (across the Baker Park). The lagoon for ice skating runs along the southern edge of the Bowness Park.
For directions to Bowness Park, set up your GPS to 8900 48 Ave NW or click here for the map.
When is the best time to go ice skating at Bowness Lagoon?
The Bowness Park hours (and skating hours) are 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily, and depending on weather, the lagoon is ice-covered from mid-December to mid-March.
It’s an extremely popular park year-round, so if you’d like to avoid the crowds, come to Bowness Park during the week or in the evening when the ice is lit with LED lights.
Ice skating at Bowness Park
The seating area at the lagoon has plenty of benches to put your skates on. It’s lined with rubber mats so you can easily walk in your skates to the lagoon. When you get cold, take a break by the fire pit to warm up.
You can skate on the huge lagoon or follow the new 1.6 km ice trail around the park.
If you’re ready to try a new activity, Bowness is the best place to start. Calgary is the first Canadian city to offer ice biking from December 2020.
You can see why it’s one of the best outdoor skating rinks in Calgary.
Skate rentals at Bowness Park
Bowness Park Skate Shop provides rentals of skates, ice bikes, skate-aid (stabilizer for small children), skate sharpening, and helmets (free).
See their website for current pricing.
What else is at Bowness Park?
- Tea House – offers sandwiches, cupcakes, coffee, and hot chocolate. See the below picture for the menu and pricing.
- Seasons of Bowness Park – restaurant and grab & go offer dine-in or take-out options; click here for their menu
- Shinny Ice Rink
- Curling rink
- Fire Pits and BBQs – a great option for a picnic after the skating session
- Washrooms – open during winter
Essential details about ice skating at Bowness Lagoon
- Bowness Park is open during the Covid-19 pandemic; check out the ice conditions here before you head out
- Rinks and ice trail are free to use
- Hockey sticks, toboggans or sleds are not allowed on the ice; strollers are allowed
- Surfaces are maintained and flooded during low usage hours
Lace up and have fun!
Winter day trips from Calgary
- Ice skating on frozen mountain lakes
- Dinosaur museum in Drumheller
- Frozen winter wonderland in Johnston Canyon
- Hiking up the Sulphur Mountain in Banff
- Cross country ski trails in Banff
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