Seasons is the place where community connects with nature as the bright, airy dining room invites the outdoors as a welcome guest.

Relaxed, knowledgable servers bring food presented as artfully as the views to the lucky visitor of this well loved park.

Historic Bowness Park has charms for all the seasons and our menu reflects this with seasonal changes and nods to the picnic culture of its past.

The deck overlooking the water is perfect for that summer Sunday Brunch or sharing your favourite beverage while catching up with friends.

Wether you live in the city or are visiting, Seasons of Bowness Park is certain to have something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming you!

Taking the concession out of concession stand!
With todays health conscience individual in mind, our market offers a healthier alternative to what is commonly known as a park concession stand. We offer a variety of in house made snacks, light lunches and beverages both hot and cold.

Recognizing the beauty in our surroundings, we encourage the grab and go aspect of our market for those who want to get out and explore the park while enjoying our take out offerings.

Seasons is also happy to provide you with your very own Picnic in the Park. Our made to order picnic lunches come complete with blanket, picnic basket for 2 and frisbee!

At Seasons of Bowness Park we strive for excellence. We have assembled a team we believe can deliver that to our guests. From front of house to back of house to our Market, you can always expect a friendly smile, warm welcome and a great dining experience. We believe in family at Seasons and consider our team to be a part of ours.

There is one thing that has become abundantly clear over the years having run the concessions in Bowness Park. Almost everyone we meet has a story about their time in the park. It’s been a weekend destination since the early 1900s. To some, it was the spot to picnic, some would hop on the trolly and head to Bowness Park to dance each weekend and to others it was a day of amusement with swimming, carousel rides and boating.

Thanks to a man named John Hextall, what we now know as Bowness Park, and what we have all shared in over the years, is all possible.

It is the most enduring of John Hextall’s inspirations, although it really started as the result of a land trade he completed with the City of Calgary in 1912. Hextall’s efforts to bring the Calgary Municipal Railway service into Bowness, for reasons of real estate development, secured the success of Bowness Park. The Calgary Municipal Railway provided Calgarians with affordable access to an outdoor recreation park outside City limits. This was an era when mobility was limited by the economic hardships imposed by the Great War (1914-1918) and the Depression of the 1930’s, and before automobiles started becoming affordable.

John Hextall and the City of Calgary Municipal Railway signed an agreement on October 12, 1911. They agreed to supply regular streetcar service from the centre of the City to the Park and to turn the island land into a picnic and recreational area complete with swimming pool, refreshment centre, dance hall and boating lagoon. Beginning in 1913, the Calgary Municipal Railway began carrying Calgarians to Bowness Park.

In the days just after the war, Bowness Park’s gate charge was 5 cents per person and 5 cents per vehicle and a streetcar ticket would buy a 5-minute merry-go-round ride. For 25 cents, one could swim all day. Children under 14 could swim for a charge of two for 25 cents or 15 cents each. Towels were 5 cents each and swimming suits 10cents. Boats and canoes rented at 50 cents per hour. Cabins were rented at $20.00 per month or $5.00 per week. Tent space was 1.00 per week, with free firewood provided.

In the 1930s Bowness Park became holiday grounds for Calgarians. Calgary Municipal Railway dispatched two streetcars and a trailer every 15 minutes to shuttle visitors to and from Bowness Park. A miniature golf pad also came to Bowness Park in the 1930s.

After many facelifts and a few disastrous floods Bowness Park has been completely restored with its earlier glory in the forefront of its redesign. The new teahouse is reminiscent of the original teahouse with its large deck overlooking the lagoon. Boating and skating are still very important components to the park, and swimming has been reintroduced as a water element by providing a water spray park in the parks east end, complete with refreshment stand. Picnic sites are still a large part as is the ever popular miniature train.

There is no doubt about it, Bowness Park was in 1930 and still is today a premier destination offering something for everyone…no matter what the age!