Parks and athletic fields

Lead time for requests: minimum five business days lead time

To apply for use of streets, sidewalks or parking, click here to proceed to Step 3 of our application process. (Make sure you don’t miss steps 1 and 2.)

 

Calgary is filled with amazing parks that offer a great deal of choice for production, with features such as shallow lagoons, access to the Bow River, pedestrian foot bridges, major athletic fields, wading pools and more. 

A few highlights of Calgary’s parks offerings

  • We have the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America, with approximately 1000 kilometres (about 621 miles) of multi-use pathways for walking and cycling. That’s more than twice the length of the Grand Canyon.
  • More than 8,500 hectares of parkland and about 96 kilometres (59 miles) of trails (unpaved paths).
  • Over 1,100 playgrounds, and hundreds of fields for soccer (indoor and outdoor), baseball, football, cricket, lacrosse and rugby.
Bowness Park

Things to consider when requesting to film in a park or field

  • Our goal is to accommodate filming requests; however, we must also consider access and availability for members of the public that use these resources. Filming options will be limited if production would greatly affect public access or an event has been previously booked.
  • Filming may not be permitted in natural areas and wetlands in order to preserve their ecosystems.
  • Filming permits must follow federal migratory bird regulations that safeguard migratory birds including their eggs and nests. If wishing to film in potential nesting areas, the production must hire a certified ecologist to do a walkthrough assessment to ensure protected resources will not be disturbed. The report must be provided to the Film Friendly team before permits may be provided.  
St Patrick Island

Fees relating to parks

All fees are subject to change
 

A $4.75 risk management fee is applied to all bookings/rentals.
*Effective Jan. 1, 2025, this fee will increase to $5.75.

  • Each application will incur a non-refundable $26.25 administrative fee upon processing the application.
  • Most park fees vary based on amenities, the day of the week and the time of year. Our Film Friendly team will help you identify suitable locations and provide quotes.  
  • Some Parks properties have set rates, as follows:
Type Fee

Green spaces

(manicured areas that are maintained but not designated parks)

$56.62 and up per day

Pathways

(paved pathways that are part of our city-wide network and secondary pathways located in communities)

$56.62 and up per day

Community playfields – natural surfaces

(grass fields and ball diamonds, minimal maintenance and no staff on site)

$4.94 and up per hour

Athletic park sport fields – natural surfaces

(grass fields and ball diamonds, staff on site)

$59.20 to $119.20 per hour

Athletic park sport fields – artificial surfaces

(indoor and outdoor spaces, staff on site)

$155.17 to $682.50 per hour

Athletic Park Specialty Spaces

(Velodrome/Track and Field, staff on site)

$26.78 to $109.70 per hour