Elliston Park — Attraction in Calgary

A beautiful little park with a nice man made lake that doubles as a storm drain overflow for the City of Calgary The land was donated by the Ellis family Some of the earliest settlers to farm the land ,after the native tribes who once called it home also. Now home for a Birthplace Forest planted by volunteers with many indigenous species of trees. A living homage to Gods purest creations. Several pairs of Canada Geese, a few Drakes and Mallards and some other type of duck with a funny little slick back, spiky kind of plummage make the lake their home. Plenty of Magpies, Crows, Robin's and Sparrows also nest and make use of the trees ringing the perimeter of the park. . Dogs are welcome to run off leash as long as they are properly socialized and you are diligent about picking up after them. I have heard that the water is not clean enough for dogs to drink from ,so to be safe, bring water for them . Please use the garbage cans in the park as the amount of plastic and garbage that ends up ringing the entire circumfernace of the lake is mindblowing and frankly a disgusting, and shameful commentary on us as Canadians. We think of ourselves as one of the cleanest countries on earth. If that is the case then this planet is in a state of sure distress. There is a small parking lot on the south end as you come from downtown on 17th Ave and another if you turn right on 68th Ave Se on the gravel road that leads to the City sanitation plant and landfill In the summer. A gas powered, remote control, speed boat hobby group, meet on weekends to race on a small section of the lake near that parking lot. It's fun to watch as they reach speeds of, I would estimate at least 60 miles an hour. Good for jogging and family walks. There is a children's play park near the parking lot on the southern end. Also this park is host to the Globalfest international fireworks festival. Something definitely worth the ticket price. Firework displays by competing nations set to music with beer and wine tents, as well as cuisine from the host countries which changes every night they run the festival. Tickets available at...

Absolutely beautiful park, many different paths around the lake and a ton of mature forested areas with many different tree species which makes it very interesting. Dog friendly with a playground for kids and parking never seems to be an issue. Elliston is not a very busy park which makes for a nice quiet walk. Perfect place for beginner runners to train since one loop around the lake is basically 3 km which is a nice distance for starting out and for more intermediate runners simply run 2 or 3 laps instead. It really is the only park of its kind in Calgary. Global Fest is held here once a year during which there are nightly fireworks for about a week. The artificial lake attracts a lot of different water fowl and other bird species which can be quite entertaining to watch. Tied for first place in my opinion with nose hill park, which is ofcourse a very different experience. One of the few places in Calgary with...

After 20 years of enjoying walking my dogs at this park, I am sad to say it is no longer a good experience. The city allows tenters in the park who, as they move around the park, leave refuse behind that spoils the natural areas and creates safety hazards for people and their dogs. One of these "campers", set up on the path in the off-leash area, told me to take my dog and get out of the park.

Fox glove, very dangerous for dogs proliferates along thei off-leash pathways and more garbage surrounds the lake, left there when the water recedes after a rain.

There is not adequate dog park signage along the road indicating on and off-leash areas so people entering the dog park are unaware that they have, This causes problems between dog owners and joggers/bikers and others who are not comfortable around dogs. I have witessed several...