Urban Trek: Nose Hill Park & Huntington Hills

This in-town hike has two personalities. For a time you’ll take in the far-reaching green space that is Calgary’s much loved Nose Hill Park. Go deep inside and you’d never know you were in the city – how pleasant. Another section has you in a 1960s/1970s era neighbourhood, full of Brady Houses and quite a bit different in vibe. Along the way, it’s a mix of dirt or paved pathways and city sidewalks. There’s coffee stops and eateries to have lunch if you didn’t bring your own (we don’t always when doing the urban thing). It’s a push regaining Nose Hill on the return leg, but otherwise it’s pretty easy stuff.

Park at the lot, top of the hill off Shaganappi Trail @ Edgemont Drive, east side at the lights. Take the main path heading west. Nose Hill here is broad and flat and soon the noise and bustle of Calgary are behind you. Just past a grove of trees (reminder: it’s mostly grasslands here), bend hard right, then soon after take a secondary trail heading away left in a southeasterly direction. By this point, the crowds at the start will have probably dispersed. For us, for a time, it’s as though we had the entire place to ourselves. That it’s so big helps spread out the users.

There’s a maze of trails, some official, many not, and to help with the former there’s maps here and there to guide you along. Still, it’d be easy to get off track or lost. You can mix it up as you like too, taking what ever route pleases you, keeping in mind there’s only a select few exits points on the 14th Street side of the park (tunnels or road crossings). You’ll want to aim carefully should you wish to follow our route beyond that point.

After a while start dropping down, mostly a gentle grade but a bit steeper as you reach the pedestrian tunnel. In spite of being busy with people, a lot of animals live on Nose Hill. Deer, coyotes and birds of all kinds can often be spotted in wooded coulees to your right. Rose hips, a low bush with bright red fruit, can be found in abundance in sheltered hollows and is food for some of those critters. Once in a while, there’s a bench where you can sit and relax and take in nature. You don’t always need to go-Go-GO and take the time to put your feet up too.

Cross underneath 14th Street and continue on the pathway, here in a green belt separating two neighbourhoods. That’s Huntington Hills on your right, which you’ll loop around almost in its entirety and Beddington Heights opposite. Meet up with Beddington Boulevard (snack/java options across to your left) and continue east. At 4th Street, turn right then almost immediately left at Bedfield Gate and drop down to the Nose Creek Pathway.

Paralleling the railway, continue south. No trains showed for us this day. Just before 64th Avenue take the route heading up to your right. On hitting the streets, here’s some more food places. Pho sounds good! Continue west down 64th, Huntington Hills is now on your right and Thorncliffe from the 1950s on your left. Pass John A MacDonald School and soon after 4th Street (NW) marks the start of an up-grade. At 14th Street go hard right. There’s a pathway beside the road, but we choose a parallel alley as it was further back from all the busy and so less noisy.

It was mid-winter on our visit with the sun perpetually low in sky and we have some fun with long shadows. It was a crisp -10c to 15c on our visit, incidentally. No much stops us, but the cold slows down at times. We have kid-fun making snow angels at a playground – young at heart, that’s us.

Duck under 14th Street and take the path heading up on the left side of the gully. It’s a short, steep push for a time with the grade easing near the top. On a point looking out over the city: “I’m King of Nose Hill!” (& have the nose to prove it – also holding title in Bolertown). To the south it’s the downtown skyline but it’s soon out of view as you head in deeper. Go north for a wee bit before turning west on a obvious trail. Where it starts bending south, take the well beaten path to your right. Here Nose Hill is flat, featureless and higher in elevation than most of the surrounding communities and one would be hard pressed to believe there’s a population of over a million surrounding you, just out of sight. This is an urban trek? Sure doesn’t look like from here!

Coming over a low rise, the city reappears off in the distance and the illusion of being in the middle of nowhere is shattered. Soon join up with another well-trodden path, pass that grove of trees seen early on, followed by a hard left, then in no time you’re back at the car. With a whole bunch of trails converging, it’s busy along this last section.

Nose Hill is one of the biggest urban parks on the whole continent and comes in at eleven square kilometres. There’s hundreds of clicks of trails, many of them informal. At the south end scars from a gravel pit operation are evident – you won’t see them on this adventure. There were plans to turn the hill into a residential community prior to 1980, but fortunately the land was set aside for the people to enjoy instead. It’s little developed and is very much a natural grassland and home to a huge number of plant and animal species.

Watch this site for more new content coming.

They’re saying…

”One of the great places to see great places, online! Wonderful work Chris and Connie…!” Greg Herman.

More…
Urban Trek: Elbow Park-Mission-Beltline.
Urban Trek: Bowness Road.
Ice Cold Urban Hiking.

If you wish more information about this route, by all means contact us!

Date of adventure: December, 2019.
Location: Calgary, AB.
Distance: 16km loop.
Height gain maximum: 200m.
Height gain cumulative: 250m
NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports.

Nose Hill Park, nature in the big city.

The park is surrounded by a million plus people.

No doggies today.

It was cold & crisp.

To help guide you on the maze of trails.

A place to sit down & relax.

Rose Hips grow in little hollows..

Vintage concrete blocks.

Along Beddington Blvd.

Holiday time!

On a bombing run.

The low sun of winter.

On the Nose Creek Pathway.

Along 64th Avenue.

The neighbourhood here dates from the ’60s.

One day…one day…

An alley adventure.

Too cold to play.

Long shadows.

Under busy 14th Street.

A short steep push.

Soon out of view.

King of Nose Hill!

Close to topping out.

Yes, this is an “urban trek”.

The journey nears its end.

Part park, part city hike.