With the Rockies as its backdrop, the history of the 1988 Winter Olympics in its wake, and the rowdy Calgary Stampede rodeo known worldwide, Calgary’s sprawling urban metropolis has a lot to offer. It was even named Canada’s cultural capitol in 2012. Its got a young vibe and enough variety it its art, music, sports, and dining scene to find something you’ll enjoy.
Prior to heading to Calgary, I’d flagged these things as interesting options:
- The Calgary Stampede – Also called “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, the Calgary Stampede attracts millions of visitors every year who join the locals in July to dress up for this more-than-a-rodeo event in jeans and every style cowboy hat imaginable.
- Calgary Tower – Like Seattle, Calgary’s Tower is a notable landmark in the city skyline at 191 meters tall. Its 360-degree views show off the nearby Rocky Mountains, the prairie landscape, and the bustling city.
- Skyline Luge at Winsport Olympic Park – Not only can you learn some history about the Olympic events that took place here, but you can check out the ski jumping platforms and bobsledding track before psyching yourself up for the main event, downhill karting on the luge track! There are more than 50 twists and turns that sweep down the over the 1,800 meter (~5,900 ft) continuous downhill trajectory, dropping over 100 meters in elevation, making this the longest track in the world.
- Multiple Canadian Cultural Centers
- Fort Calgary – Fort Calgary was a northwest mounted police outpost located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers that are central to modern day Calgary.
- Heritage Park – The Heritage Park is a large, outdoor, living-history museum that showcases western Canada’s history from the 1860s to the 1950s.
- Hangar Flight Museum – This museum focuses on the history of Canadian aviation and western Canada in particular. Canadian pilots who fought in WWII started the museum.
- Studio Bell Music Center -. This national museum has five floors of exhibits dedicated to Canadian music history with interactive areas includes the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
- Esker Foundation – Esker Foundation is a privately funded contemporary art gallery.
- Devonian Gardens – 500 trees, 50 types of plants, a 900 sq.ft. living wall, fountains and fish make up this unusual botanical garden housed inside a mall.
- Glenbow Museum – This art and history museum focuses on western Canadian history and culture, including its indigenous people.
- Stephen Avenue – This pedestrian mall is lined with fun shops and bustling restaurants.
- Central Library – This building was built over the top of the a train line, has great architectural elements (natural light, huge windows with views of downtown, an unusually grand entrance that includes an intricate staircase and ship like shape), and a “bookscalator” (i.e. a giant escalator just to transport books back to level 2 for sorting back into the racks).
- Peace Bridge – Spanning the Bow River, this uniquely designed bridge is designed for cycling and walking. The locals call it the “Finger Trap Bridge” because it looks similar to that puzzle.
- Prince’s Island Park – This is a large 50-acre green space located on the north side of downtown Calgary. The park is on an island in the Bow River. The island has great paths for cycling and walking and in the summer, offers outdoor concerts and plays.
What I wasn’t expecting was an event that ended up being my favorite thing about visiting Calgary – a dinner hosted by a fraternity brother that Doug hadn’t talked to or seen in over 20 years! But before I get to the details of that here’s how we spent our short trip to Calgary.
DAY 1
We had to restock and refuel. I grabbed a last minute pedicure while there.
We checked in to our Harvest Host for the evening (Skunkworks Distillery) and enjoyed moonshine cocktails, before heading to the home of Doug McNeil and his wife, Karen. Doug McNeil was one of Doug’s Oregon State fraternity brothers, but he hadn’t seen him in over 20 years.
This had the potential to be a really awkward evening, but Doug and Karen were THE most gracious and inviting hosts! Not to mention, they threw down an hors d’oeuvre platter rivaling a red carpet Oscars event and Karen cooked a Gordon Ramsay style meal sans the yelling and cursing.
The Dougs talked a bit of engineering. Karen told the story of how she and Doug met and gave us a little bit of info on what sounds like 3 amazing daughters. We, in turn, tried to give them a sense for what its like to live in an RV full time.
It was a wonderful evening. I just loved it and didn’t know that it would end up being my favorite part of Calgary, but I knew, even then, that it was going to be hard to top.
Our night on the curb at the distillery was uneventful…which is exactly what you want on city street in an RV.
DAY 2
We headed for Edworthy Park to park the RV and unload the bikes. We rode along the Bow River headed towards Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island Park (#8 and #9 above with pictures below).
Next stop? The Central Library (#5 above), followed by a quick ride through the Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall (#6 above). Pictures of both below.
We stayed the night in the Southcenter Mall parking lot, which allows overnight RV camping with permission / reservations. Too funny.
DAY 3
There’s a reason the mall allows RVers to stay there…they’re looking to increase traffic and we did our part. I had shoes on my list for a wedding that was just a few weeks away. Doug purchased a pair of shorts.
Given that it was the weekend and unbeknownst to us, Canada Day, we headed south of Calgary to the smaller town of Okotoks and an RV park that was within walking distance to its downtown.
Our weekend in the area included some much needed down-time; a flash hailstorm (an emergency alert hit the phone and less than 3 minutes later the sky was dark and it dumped, hard); and some old fashioned, gourmet ice cream at Big Dipper.
We enjoyed our short stay in Calgary, but looking back at this July trip, I have 4 real regrets about the visit:
First, Calgary is known worldwide for the Stampede so purposely avoiding this party (we left the area a week early), rather than planning to be there during the rodeo was probably not a great idea.
Although touristy, I think we should have gone to the top of Calgary Tower. It’s iconic and I’m sure the views are great.
Some Canadian culture at either the Heritage Center, the Fort, Hangar Flight Museum, Glenbow Museum, or Studio Bell and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame was a missed opportunity!
Not completing the Luge is something Doug, if not I, may regret at death’s door!
Looks like we have a lot more to see and do in Calgary so I hope Doug and Karen don’t mind seeing us again in less than 20 years!
