Prince's Island Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

in the city of

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is developed on an island on the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

, immediately north of

downtown Calgary Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central Calgary, Alberta. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided in ...

. It was named after Peter Anthony Prince, the founder of the Eau Claire Lumber Mill. The park was built on land donated in 1947 to the city by the Prince family. It is often incorrectly referred to as "Princess Island Park". The park is open from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. every regular day. The island has a surface of 20 hectares and is linked by three bridges to

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

and downtown Calgary and a north bridge to Memorial Drive and the community of Crescent Heights. It is part of the pathway and hiking trail system lining both sides of the Bow River. The southern arm of the river has been landscaped, while the eastern end of the island re-creates a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

environment.

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North ...

and

mallard ducks The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

are common birds found in the park.

Transportation

Primary access to the island can be attained by a number of footbridges as part of the

Bow River pathway The Bow River pathway is a Trail, pathway system developed along the banks of the Bow River in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Calgary. It contains a network of pedestrian and bicycle paths connecting parks on both sides of the river. The p ...

and limited access is available to vehicles from the Prince's Island Causeway that connects to the corner of Eau Claire Ave and 6th Street and delivers traffic to the west end of the island. A limited number of parking stalls are available in the park. However vehicle access to the park is restricted during events.

Festivals

The park hosts many festivals, as well as

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

events. *

Calgary Folk Music Festival The Calgary Folk Music Festival (also known as "Calgary Folk Fest", or CFMF) is a Canadian music festival held on the fourth weekend of July each year at Prince's Island Park (Calgary), Prince's Island Park, Calgary, Alberta. The four-day event fe ...

Shakespeare in the Park Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This conc ...

* Carifest *

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

celebration * Heritage Day celebration * Afrikadey * Expo Latino About 150,000 visitors attended these festivals in 1996.

Gallery

File:Prince's Island Park.jpg, Lawn in Prince's Island Park File:Prince's Island Pedestrian Bridge, Calgary, northwest view 20240818 1.jpg, Princes Island Bridge to Memorial Drive and Sunnyside File:Ped Bridge PIP.JPG, Bridge over Princes Island lagoon File:Calgary1-Szmurlo.jpg, Park and

Downtown Calgary Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central Calgary, Alberta. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided in ...

References

External links

CalgaryArea.com Photos

Calgary real estate

Prince's Island Park information
{{Calgary landmarks Parks in Calgary Islands of Alberta Tourist attractions in Calgary Festival venues in Canada

Transportation

Festivals

See also

Gallery

References

External links