With kids · Calgary · Canada
Calgary with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Grungaloo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Calgary is an easy family stop with a large zoo, a hands-on science centre, a living-history village with a steam train, and river paths flat enough for young cyclists. The Stampede midway and grandstand show are a highlight for older children. Top picks: Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park Historical Village and TELUS Spark Science Centre. Families usually base themselves in East Village.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 8
- Best area for families
- East Village
- Rainy-day options
- 4
- Busiest months
- July
Best things to do with kids
Zoo · Inglewood
1.Calgary Zoo
Run by the Wilder Institute on St. George's Island in the Bow River, the zoo is known for its Canadian Wilds area, a Prehistoric Park of life-size dinosaur models and an indoor gorilla and tropical habitat. In winter it hosts a large Christmas light display.
Arrive by CTrain (Zoo station) to avoid parking queues on summer weekends.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Historic site · Southwest Calgary
2.Heritage Park Historical Village
One of Canada's largest living-history villages sits on the Glenmore Reservoir, with relocated historic buildings, costumed interpreters, a working steam train and a paddlewheel boat on the reservoir. Gasoline Alley Museum, open year-round, displays vintage cars and petrol pumps.
Village rides and the steam train run in the summer season; outside it, Gasoline Alley is the main indoor draw.
- Time needed
- Half a day to a full day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
- Outdoors
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Museum · Northeast Calgary
3.TELUS Spark Science Centre
Calgary's science centre has hands-on galleries on energy, the human body and engineering, a large creative-kids area, an outdoor Brainasium playground and a dome theatre.
Combine with the zoo, a short drive away, for a full family day.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
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Museum · East Village
4.Studio Bell, National Music Centre
This curved, terracotta-clad building houses Canada's National Music Centre, with a large collection of instruments and recording gear, including the Rolling Stones' mobile studio and the TONTO synthesizer. Hands-on zones let visitors play instruments and record, and halls of fame honour Canadian musicians.
Allow time for the interactive rooms on the upper floors; children and adults spend longer there than they expect.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
- Art
Experience · Stampede Park
5.Calgary Stampede
Billed as 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth', the Stampede is a ten-day festival every July with professional rodeo, evening chuckwagon races, a grandstand show, a midway fair and a parade through downtown on the opening Friday. Free pancake breakfasts pop up across the city throughout the festival.
Buy grandstand tickets for the rodeo or the evening show well ahead, and go to a community pancake breakfast for a free taste of Stampede spirit.
- Time needed
- 1–2 days
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Hotels and grandstand seats sell out months in advance; book as soon as the dates are announced.
- Iconic
- Kids
- After dark
- Food
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Architecture · East Village
6.Calgary Central Library
Designed by Snøhetta and opened in 2018, the library wraps the CTrain line inside its wooden archway entrance and rises through a timber-lined atrium. It is free to enter, with reading rooms, a large children's area and views from the upper floors.
Stand under the cedar-lined entrance arch for the best photo, then take the stairs up through the atrium.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Photo spot
Park · South Calgary
7.Fish Creek Provincial Park
A long wooded valley across the south of the city, Fish Creek is one of Canada's largest urban parks, with paved and gravel trails, a swimming beach at Sikome Lake in summer and historic ranch buildings near Bow Valley Ranch.
Cycle the paved trail from Bow Valley Ranch along the creek for an easy half-day ride.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Active
- Kids
Experience · West Calgary
8.Canada Olympic Park (WinSport)
Built for the 1988 Winter Olympics, the park on the city's western edge still has its ski-jump towers and bobsleigh track. In winter it runs a small ski hill and tube park; in summer, mountain biking and other activities take over the slopes.
Even if you don't ski, drive up for the view of the ski jumps and the city on the way to Banff.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Active
- Outdoors
- History
Rainy-day ideas
- Studio Bell, National Music Centre — Allow time for the interactive rooms on the upper floors; children and adults spend longer there than they expect.
- Calgary Central Library — Stand under the cedar-lined entrance arch for the best photo, then take the stairs up through the atrium.
- TELUS Spark Science Centre — Combine with the zoo, a short drive away, for a full family day.
- Devonian Gardens — Reach it through the +15 skywalks in winter without going outside.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for culture, families and first-timers
East Village
East Village has been rebuilt over the past two decades into a district of condo towers, riverside promenades and landmark architecture, including the Central Library and Studio Bell. The RiverWalk pathway, St. Patrick's Island and a handful of newer hotels make it a convenient base on the edge of downtown.
- Good
- Next to two of the city's best buildings; Riverside paths and playgrounds; Walk to downtown
- Watch out
- Still developing in parts; Quieter evenings
- Nearby
- Studio Bell, Calgary Central Library, St. Patrick's Island, Fort Calgary
Family travel tips
- Children aged 12 and under ride Calgary Transit free.
- The Central Library's children's floor has play structures and is free.
- Many Stampede pancake breakfasts are free and family-friendly; arrive early to avoid long queues.
- Book a hotel with a pool in winter; it makes cold evenings easier with children.
- Pack sunscreen and hats in summer; the high, dry prairie sun burns quickly.
Day trips for families
- Banff (About 1 hour 30 minutes by car) — The mountain town inside Banff National Park has the Banff Gondola, the Upper Hot Springs, Bow Falls and the Fairmont Banff Springs.
- Canmore (About 1 hour 15 minutes by car) — Canmore sits just outside Banff National Park below the Three Sisters peaks, with hiking trails, the Canmore Nordic Centre from the 1988 Olympics and a walkable main street of cafés and restaurants.
- Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum (About 1 hour 45 minutes by car) — Drumheller lies in the Badlands of the Red Deer River valley, with hoodoo rock formations and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, one of the world's leading palaeontology museums with dozens of dinosaur skeletons.
- Kananaskis Country (About 1 hour 15 minutes by car) — A network of provincial parks south of Banff with lakes, hiking trails and wildlife; quieter than the national park.
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (About 2 hours by car) — A UNESCO World Heritage Site where Blackfoot peoples drove bison over a sandstone cliff for thousands of years.
- Dinosaur Provincial Park (About 2 hours 30 minutes by car) — A badlands landscape and UNESCO World Heritage Site where many important dinosaur fossils have been found.
When to go with children
The best months overall are June–September. July is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Calgary good for kids?
Calgary is an easy family stop with a large zoo, a hands-on science centre, a living-history village with a steam train, and river paths flat enough for young cyclists. The Stampede midway and grandstand show are a highlight for older children.
+What can kids do in Calgary?
Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park Historical Village, TELUS Spark Science Centre, Studio Bell, National Music Centre and Calgary Stampede.
+Where should families stay in Calgary?
East Village: Redeveloped riverside district with the Central Library and Studio Bell.