From the parking lot off 52nd St. N.W., the entrance of Dale Hodges Park is located on the Bow River Pathway. For your safety and for the protection of the vegetation and wildlife, we ask that you stay on the designated trails as you explore this park.

The Dale Hodges Park viewpoint is a great stop to look out over the Bow River. On warm summer days, small boats, kayaks, and canoes will likely move through the waters. Many bird species, such as Canada Geese, Mallard ducks, and various gulls, frequent this area.

Did you know that Calgary is the summer home to 16 different species of gulls? A few common gulls on the river are the Ring-billed gull, California gull and Franklin's gull. Under the water, fish species use this area of the Bow River to spawn. Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Mountain Whitefish and Burbot are common.

As you walk along the Bow River Pathway, you find that you are walking through the riparian forest. This forest naturally grows beside and depends on a body of water, creating a treed habitat along the riverbanks. The vegetation here has deep root systems adapted to seasonal flooding and help stabilize the riverbank, preventing erosion.

Along the pathway, you will see mature deciduous trees such as Balsam Poplar, Cottonwood Poplar, Willow and Aspen, and large coniferous species like Blue Spruce and Englemann Spruce. Some shrub species that also grow in the riparian forest are silverberry, saskatoon berry, and wild rose.

The Riverine habitat is an area to look for various bird species that call it home, such as Cedar waxwing, House finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Yellow Warbler (pictured), and Hairy Woodpecker. You may even see some birds of prey, such as an Osprey (pictured). You will likely hear these birds even if you don't see them.

Welcome to Dale Hodges Park.

This unique natural environment park is both beautiful and environmentally functional. It is named to commemorate Alderman Dale Hodges, who played a pivotal role in transforming this former gravel pit into the natural oasis you are about to experience. Dale Hodges was Calgary's longest-serving Alderman, serving the citizens of Ward 1 for 30 years. 

In 2021, Dale Hodges Park won a Jury's Award, a national landscape design award, for Large Scale Public Landscape. The park consists of many different ecosystems, providing food, water, shelter, and living space for various birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. It incorporates innovative and creative design aspects with a level of environmental and social awareness.

As you continue your walk, you will see that as the forest ends, a wide-open grassland begins. This area along the slopes is populated by native grasses, such as rough fescue and Parry’s oatgrass. In contrast, needle grasses, wheat grasses, June grass and Blue grama grass dominate the open areas. During the warmer months, you'll be overwhelmed by the smell of wildflowers, such as alfalfa, sweet clover and blue flax.

Many pollinators can be seen in this grassland area. Did you know that over 300 species of bees, including over 30 species of Bumblebees, are native to Calgary? Calgary became a Bee City in 2020 through Bee City Canada, showing our commitment to providing pollinators with the necessary habitat.

This is where the park's specialty unfolds — integrating stormwater management systems with natural features. Feel the calm serenity as you walk over the still waters amongst nature's filters: the cattails, bulrushes, and sedges.

In the spring and summer, you will be greeted by dragonflies, damselflies, and mayflies, as well as the many songs of the wetland birds hiding among the emergent wetland plants. Watch for boastful Red-winged Blackbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

As you return to the pathway and continue along the long wetland's edge, count the unique sounds you hear and consider what that means for the diversity of species in this park. 

From here, the Bow River Pathway system continues back into Bowmont Park. However, we will veer north to the start of the water's journey through Dale Hodges Park's wetland features.

Each time you walk these paths, the experience will be different. There is so much to discover. Did you hear any new or unusual birds or insects?

Through the narrow bushes to the left, you will find a secret and most intriguing aspect of this park: the Nautilus Pond. 

The pond gets its shape and name from the ancient marine mollusk, the Nautilus, which has a round shell similar to the shape of the pond when seen from above. This unique feature is the start of our stormwater journey.

Every rainstorm and snowmelt, the water that flows over the streets is directed into the storm drains. The stormwater from the surrounding communities is then channelled into the Nautilus Pond, a crucial forebay in our stormwater management system. This circular pond serves as a holding area, allowing larger sediments and debris to settle at the bottom before the water filters down and continues its journey. 

You can find many waterfowl enjoying the serenity of the pool, including Mallards, Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes. Take a stroll around the Nautilus Pond before continuing to the next stop.

From the Nautilus Pond, the stormwater continues its cleaning journey to the Polishing Marsh. The plants found here play a vital role in Phytoremediation.

Cattails, bulrushes, sedges, and other wetland plants take smaller contaminants from the water into their root systems, where they stay stored or are broken down. Bacteria in the water also help to breakdown some nitrogen-based chemical contaminants into less harmful compounds in a process known as Nitrification.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can walk along the path and boardwalk through the wet meadow and return to the main path between the wet meadow and the stream.

The next stage in the stormwater management system is the wet meadow, where the stormwater continues the natural filtration processes. The Wet Meadow is a type of wetland that becomes wetter or drier depending on the rainfall and snowmelt levels.

The soil is generally always wet, even if water is not visible on the surface. As the water moves through the wet meadow, it is filtered through the plants and spongy soil and eventually flows out to the stream a little cleaner than when it first entered the system. 

This area provides a great habitat for ground-nesting birds, songbirds, and waterfowl, such as the Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot.

Some of our smaller wetland mammals, like the muskrat, may be munching away on the cattails. The muskrat is often mistaken for a beaver. They both belong to the Rodentia order and share many similarities. However, two big differences are the body size and tail formation. Muskrats are much small than Beavers. The tail of a beaver is flat and wide, whereas the tail of a Muskrat is more rounded and slender, similar to a rat's tail.  

After the stormwater has been filtered through the polishing marsh and wet meadow, it flows to a stream that carries it to the river. This stream roughly follows the route of an old side channel to the Bow River that existed before the gravel pits. The water deposited into the river is now cleaner than when it first arrived at the Nautilus Pond. Each step of the system is doing its part to improve the water quality, which ultimately enhances the river's health as well. 

Looking off into the distance, you’ll see the escarpment or cliff approximately 50 meters in height, consisting of a dramatic drop of about 45 degrees or more. The geology of the escarpment is the result of millions of years of erosion and deposition by rivers, lakes, and glaciers.

Do you see anything diving around up there? This area has become home to a thriving bank swallow population that returns every spring. You may glimpse some of these super cute little songbirds zooming in and out of the bank nests. These small birds arrive in Calgary early to mid-spring and will migrate to the southern states in late summer to early fall. Bank Swallows were listed as a threatened species in 2017, so this escarpment and many like it along the Bow River are essential habitats for survival.

Here is the final step of the stormwater journey. The water that was naturally filtered through sedimentation in the Nautilus Pond and phytoremediation and nitrification in the polishing marsh and wet meadows is returned to the Bow River, completing the process.

We hope that this walk has provided you with some new and interesting information about this unique landscape park combining function with beauty.