Calgary dog life
Edworthy and Bowmont parks with your dog
Two river parks, one on each bank of the Bow west of downtown, and two very different walks. Edworthy is a valley floor with a working railway through it and an off-leash bench up on the plateau. Bowmont is a north-bank escarpment with cliffs, a waterfall and off-leash strips strung along the slope. Both are gorgeous. Both will find the hole in your recall.
Last reviewed August 26, 2026
Two banks, two parks
Two off-leash maps, one river.
Edworthy Park sits at Bow Trail and Spruce Drive SW, 169 hectares open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Its two off-leash areas are the Spruce Drive side up top and Lawrey Gardens; the Douglas Fir Trail and the rest of the park are on-leash. A working rail line runs through the valley and the City is blunt about it: stay off the tracks, cross only at public grade crossings, and the land 15 metres either side of the centre line is private railway property.
Bowmont Park, listed at 85 Street and 48 Avenue NW, covers 164 hectares of the north bank with the same hours. The City's map shows off-leash strips strung from the west end past Silver Springs and Varsity down toward Dale Hodges Park, and the off-leash list notes one fenced site. Between them are a steep cliff face, the Waterfall Valley outlook above a three-metre waterfall, landscaped steps with hand rails, playgrounds and sports fields, which are no-dog zones under the bylaw.
- Two Edworthy off-leash areas
- Stay off the rail line
- Bowmont has one fenced site
- Pathways and lots stay on-leash
Season by season
What the river does to your recall each season.
Winter is about the edges. Ice forms along both banks and a dog that follows something onto it is not coming back under its own judgment, so near the water the leash stays on until the melt. Spring melt turns the steep sections at both parks into refrozen ice and gravel for weeks, and runoff makes the river fast and cold. Summer brings swimmers, paddlers and heat that can pass 30 degrees on the open plateau at Edworthy and the exposed Bowmont slope.
Edworthy's plateau area is long, open and unfenced near Sarcee Trail, so it wants a recall that works at distance and a dog that stays inside the signed boundary. Bowmont's strips sit on a slope with cliffs, so it wants a leash-on-the-pathway habit, a solid wait at the top of the steps, and a dog that does not bolt downhill. On-Leash Foundations, two weeks at $1,865 plus GST, builds the walking half; Functional Off-Leash, three weeks at $3,030, builds the recall.
The programs
The training behind a good Calgary dog.
Recall, leash skills and calm in public are what make this city fun with a dog. These are the formats that build them.
SW · Weekdays, drop-off 8–10 am · pick-up 5–7 pm
Day Training
Professional training all day, your couch at night.
Includes weekly one-hour go-home lesson, daily structure
NE · 2-week board & train
On-Leash Foundations
If every walk is a wrestling match, pulling, barking, zig-zagging, this two-week program rebuilds the walk from the ground up with foundational on-leash obedience..
Includes handover lesson, follow-up session, lifetime support, slip lead + collar
E · 3-week board & train
Functional Off-Leash
Everything in the on-leash program, then the next level: reliable off-leash recall even around distractions.
Includes handover lesson, follow-ups, Educator remote collar
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Is Edworthy Park off leash?
Partly. The City designates two off-leash areas in Edworthy, one on the Spruce Drive side and one at Lawrey Gardens, and neither is fenced. Everything else, including the Douglas Fir Trail, the pathways and the parking lots, is on-leash.
Are dogs allowed at Edworthy Park near the train tracks?
Dogs are allowed in the park, but the rail corridor is not park. The City says to stay off the tracks and cross only at public grade crossings; the land on either side of the tracks is private property with no-trespassing signs. Keep the leash on anywhere near it.
Is Bowmont Park off leash?
Bowmont has several designated off-leash areas along the north bank, and the City's list notes one fenced site. The rest of the park, including the pathways, the outlook and the sports fields, is on-leash or no-dog. Watch for the entering and leaving signs the City has been adding to mark the boundaries.
Is Bowmont dog park good for a dog with weak recall?
Not the unfenced parts. The slope is steep, the cliffs are real and the river is at the bottom, so a dog that only comes when it feels like it belongs on a leash or in the fenced site. Build the recall first; Functional Off-Leash exists for exactly this.
Sources
- City of Calgary: off-leash areas and rules
- City of Calgary: Edworthy Park
- City of Calgary: Bowmont Park
- City of Calgary: Edworthy Park off-leash area map
- City of Calgary: Bowmont Park off-leash area map
- City of Calgary: off-leash area locations
- City of Calgary: bylaws related to dogs
- City of Calgary: off-leash areas and rules
Keep reading
Two banks, one recall.
Which park, and where does the recall fall apart? Book a consultation and we will map the training to it.
From real owners
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