The best picnic spots in Calgary and Airdrie

Tomorrow is International Picnic Day, and what a perfect weekend to take in some of the beautiful parks and landscapes in Calgary and Airdrie, with Father’s Day coming up as well. Calgary alone is blessed with 3,211 picnic tables and 416 barbecue sites, and that doesn’t even include Airdrie! If you’re wondering where the best places are to enjoy a picnic or barbecue with family and friends, here’s some of the best spots for picnics in Calgary and Airdrie.

CALGARY

• Bowness Park: 30 hectares with parks and trails, including picnic and BBQ areas. Spray park new for this summer! 8900 – 48 Avenue NW, more details here.
• Edworthy Park: this 169 hectare park is for the nature lovers! Picnic and BBQ spots, located at 5050 Spruce Drive SW, more info here.
• Nose Hill Park: this park is massive, with 1129 hectares of amazing landscape and parkland. Perfect spot for a walk and a picnic. Located at 5620 – 14 Street NW, more details here.
• Prince’s Island Park: host to many outdoor concerts and festivals, with amazing river access, this park has a lot to offer your next picnic. Located at 4 Street and 1 Avenue SW, details here.
• Riley Park: complete with cricket fields, a wading pool and rock garden, this is a perfect place for a picnic. Located at 800 – 12 Street NW, more details here.
• Sandy Beach: located along the river, with picnic and BBQ sites along lots of parkland. Located at 4500 – 14A Street SW, details here.
• South Glenmore Park: there’s so much to do at this park—boating, hiking, spray park and lots of trails. And of course, plenty of picnic shelters. Located at 90 Avenue and 24 Street SW, more info here.
• Stanley Park: 20 hectares of activities and park space including river access, outdoor pool, tennis courts, picnic and BBQ spots. Located at 4011 – 1A Street SW, details here.

AIRDRIE

• Chinook Winds Park: tons for the family to do—skate park, spray park, baseball all in addition to the many picnic spots. Located at 2853 Chinook Winds Drive SW, more details here.
• Nose Creek Park: this park has a lot to offer and has ongoing construction this summer as upgrades happen, but you can still visit for a picnic. Follow the signs from downtown and find out about upgrades here.

For more picnic spot ideas in Calgary or the mountains, check out this great guide from Avenue Magazine. And for even more ideas on how to spend summer days in Airdrie, we put together a list of options here.