The weather was relatively warm (as in not freezing), the sun was starting to sink, and I hadn’t really exercised much in the week since I moved to Calgary. What a perfect time to take a stroll in the park and maybe catch a beautiful sunset, this city seems to have a lot of those.
Nose Hill is the largest park within the city of Calgary and perhaps the biggest city park I have ever visited. No, definitely the biggest park I’ve ever visited. It is apparently three times bigger than Stanley Park in Vancouver.
When I arrived at one of the few parking lots that allow entrance into Nose Hill, I had plans of walking to the other side to snap a sunset photo of the downtown core skyline. I had about an hour and change to get there and figured I’d arrive well before the sun reached its optimal position low in the sky. Well, simply put, I was wrong. In fact, I only got about halfway to where I wanted to be before I realized I’d not only be missing the sunset, but I’d also be walking back in complete darkness. Walking at night is generally safe and hassle-free in many Canadian city parks, but Nose Hill is massive (sorry to reiterate) and lacks lamp posts to guide your way. The park’s pathway system is also a confusing web, which is nice in one respect, giving you many route options instead of walking the same old path every day, but confusing when you are trying to get back to your car at night.
I’m not trying to be negative about the park. It was really my fault for underestimating its vastness and perhaps arriving too late. Onto the positives, The wide-open expanses of Nose Hill give a perfect taste of the western prairie right in the middle of a bustling city. At a certain point around the middle of the park, you can forget altogether that there are several malls within walking distance. Its seemingly endless fields of various types of grass, interspersed with clusters of Aspen trees were unlike anything I’d seen back in Ontario.
Nose Hill seems to be very popular with dog owners and I was charmed by about a dozen curious canines during my walk. They were not the only wildlife I encountered. Jumping out from a gully was a huge White-Tailed buck, then another, then another. Although I didn’t get the shot I came to get, my first visit to Nose Hill began to feel like a success. I got the dose of pristine nature I generally look for when visiting a park and I can’t wait to visit again.
