Calgary parks
Baker Park and Bowness Park with your dog
Baker Park and Bowness Park sit across the Bow River in northwest Calgary. The City calls Bowness one of its most popular parks, with a lagoon for paddle boats in summer and free skating in winter, wading pools, a tea house and picnic sites. Baker is promenades, archways, a grass amphitheatre and a disc-golf course, and the City's most popular park for outdoor weddings. Both are leash-on; the differences decide the route.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
Two parks, one bylaw
Leashed on both banks, with the wading pools off limits.
Both parks are built around people rather than dogs, and the City's pages read that way. Bowness lists a lagoon, wading pools, a tea house, boat rentals, pathways, firepits and barbecue stands. Baker lists picnic areas, promenades, a river observation point and a disc-golf course. Neither appears in the northwest section of the City's off-leash locations list, which names Bowmont Park among its entries but not these two. So the bylaw applies as written: a leash at all times unless a posted sign says otherwise.
The differences start with water. Bowness has wading pools, and the City's no-dog list includes wading and swimming areas, with a five-metre buffer from wading pools and play structures whether or not a sign is posted; we route around them rather than past them. Baker's page lists no wading pool but does give posted hours, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and a disc-golf course, so discs cross the grass. On the pathways in either park the leash is capped at two metres.
- Leash on in both parks
- Five metres from wading pools
- Pathway leash two metres max
- Baker closes at 11 p.m.
Choosing the visit
Pick the bank that matches the dog you have today.
Summer Bowness is paddle boats on the lagoon, firepits, barbecue stands and picnic sites: food at nose height. In winter the lagoon turns into a rink and the distraction becomes skaters and the scrape of blades. Baker has its own crowds: outdoor weddings, the amphitheatre and discs in flight. For a dog still learning, we choose the emptier bank, keep to the promenades away from the picnic areas, or come back on a weekday morning. Staying home that day is a fair call too.
Training for these parks is training around food, people and moving objects on a leash. On-Leash Foundations, a two-week one-on-one board and train at $1,865 plus GST, works on loose-leash walking, heel, sit, stay, down and place around everyday distractions. Day Training, $650 per week plus GST, runs Monday to Friday with a one-hour go-home lesson each week, for owners who want the dog home at night and the paths to practise on. The consultation is where we recommend one, or something smaller.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Are dogs allowed at Baker Park?
Yes, on a leash. Baker Park has no entry on the City's off-leash locations list, and its City page lists picnic areas, promenades, a river observation point and a disc-golf course without a dog area, so we walk it leashed throughout. Posted hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Are dogs allowed at Bowness Park?
Yes, leashed. Bowness Park is not on the City's off-leash list, which leaves the general bylaw in force, and its wading pools fall under the City's no-dog areas. We give the pools a wide berth, at least the five metres the bylaw sets, and keep to the pathways.
Is Bowness Park off leash?
It is not. The northwest section of the City of Calgary's off-leash locations list does not include Bowness Park. It does include Bowmont Park, which is a separate park with its own entry, so we do not treat the two as interchangeable.
Is there an off leash area at Baker Park in Calgary?
No. Baker Park does not appear on the City's off-leash locations list, and nothing on its City page describes an off-leash area. We keep the leash on across the promenades, the grass amphitheatre and the disc-golf course, and no longer than two metres on the pathways.
Keep reading
Steady on either riverbank
Tell us which park you walk and what pulls your dog's attention there. Book a consultation and we will say which option fits.
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