1. Calgary Spray Parks and Wading pools
The City of Calgary’s spray parks, wading pools and outdoor pools are typically a top choice – they usually open in mid-June.
2. Kiddy Pool
Pull out a plastic wading pool for some easy water fun in your own yard. You can get a little inflatable pool for less than $20 but in a pinch your kids will also have a good time with a plastic rubbermaid or superstore bin.
3. Olympic Plaza
Olympic Plaza is not an official wading pool, but you can wade in the waters and it opens earlier than the other city wading pools. There are also bathrooms on site.
Note: The pool is not filled during stampede week as it is used for entertainment
4. Central Memorial Park and Thomson Family Park
Central Memorial Park is not an official spray park, but the beautiful park has water sprays along one of the walk ways that are a lot of fun to play in.
5. Go down by the river
Calgary has some great spots where you can dip your feet in the river and have fun throwing rocks. Be careful if you are playing along the Bow River as it is big and fast especially early in the season. My favourite spot right now is the river wading area at St. Patrick’s Island. Always check water conditions before you wade in.
6. Set up the sprinkler
It doesn’t matter whether your sprinkler is shaped like Elmo or actually designed for watering the grass, it’ll be a sure fire hit with the kids.
7. Take a trip to a nearby city’s water park
Many nearby towns have their own spray parks. Some also open earlier than Calgary’s so they are perfect destinations for an early season hot day.
8. Water balloons
Grab some leftover party balloons and fill them up with water. You should probably be prepared to end up getting wet yourself too!
9. Go to the beach at Sikome Lake
Sikome Lake now charges admission but it is open to the public and offers a fun beach experience inside the city limits. Sikome is actually more of a giant swimming pool with a sand bottom – the water never gets very deep so is warmer than most lakes and the water is both tested, filtered and chlorine treated to ensure it is safe to swim.
11. Go swimming
Calgary’s outoor pools open in Mid-June. Calgary has lots of indoor pools with public swimming times too.
12. Have a playdate with a friend with access to a community water feature
There are a number of lakes and spray parks in the city that are community run. Most of these are not accessible to the general public, but people who live in the neighbourhood can often sign in friends with their pass.
What is your favorite way to beat the heat in Calgary?