Last updated: October 7, 2026
Prince’s Island Park is the big island park on the Bow River just north of downtown Calgary, and it is one of the best free outings in the city. It has walking paths, a lagoon, a playground, picnic areas, a wetland, and one of Calgary’s best restaurants. It also hosts the biggest outdoor festivals in the city, including the Calgary Folk Music Festival every July.
This guide covers everything: how to get there and where to park, what to do, winter activities, the full history timeline, and the biggest acts to ever play the island.
Important note: It is not called “Princess Island Park”. Prince’s Island was named after Peter Anthony Prince, more on that below.
On This Page
Quick Facts
Address: 698 Eau Claire Ave SW, Calgary (also listed as 4 St and 1 Ave SW)
Hours: 5 AM to 11 PM every day.
Admission: It’s a city park, no cost. Festivals/events held on the island may be ticketed.
Size: 20 hectares (about 49.5 acres)
Run by: City of Calgary (Calgary Parks)
Named for: Peter Anthony Prince, the lumberman whose mill shaped the island in the 1880s
Good to know
- Dogs must stay on leash, and dogs are not allowed at all on Canada Day and Heritage Day because of the crowds.
- Alcohol is currently prohibited in Prince’s Island Park, officially. The only time alcohol is allowed to be consumed is at licensed festivals and events hosted on the island.
- Picnic areas are first come, first served unless you book a site through the City’s Live and Play system.
- There is construction in the area from time to time, which can change how you get onto the island. They’ll put signs out if so.
Getting There and Parking
The island sits in the Bow River right at the north edge of downtown. You cannot drive onto it the way you would a normal park. Most people arrive on foot or by bike over one of the footbridges: the Jaipur Bridge from Eau Claire to the south, the red and white Peace Bridge to the west, or the north bridge to Memorial Drive and Crescent Heights. The Bow River pathway system runs straight through the park, so it connects easily to the rest of the river pathway network.
By transit, the closest CTrain access is the downtown 7th Avenue stations in the free fare zone, a short walk south of the island. Sunnyside station on the Red Line is north of the river, about a 15 to 20 minute walk. Several bus routes stop near the island as well.
Driving is actually the harder option. You can’t drive on to the island itself but you can get pretty close. Most people park on free street parking and just walk in. You can find numerous paid parking options nearby. Street parking across Memorial Drive is another option, with a short walk over the bridge onto the island, but pay attention to the signs in that area, don’t park on private property.
Things to Do on the Island
Note: there are no fire pits on Prince’s Island Park.
If you head north from the island, across the north bridge over Memorial Drive, up the pathway a little bit, you’ll find a large staircase heading up the hill. Take it! If you can. There is a normal bike path that goes up the hill as well if you prefer. The views from the top of McHugh Bluff are worth it. It overlooks Prince’s Island Park, Sunnyside, and it has a wonderful view of downtown.
Some people call this Crescent Heights Lookout Point or the Crescent Heights stairs.
Prince’s Island Park in Winter
The park stays open all winter and it is worth visiting. The lagoon freezes into an outdoor skating rink (seasonal, weather permitting). The whole lagoon is opened for skating, not just the stretch by the bridge. The ice is free to use and hockey is not allowed, and there are fire pits to warm up by. There are no staff on site, so you skate at your own risk. When the lagoon is frozen, SI Rentals runs a skate hut at Prince’s Island: $15 for two hours covers all skates, with helmets $5, skating aids $10, and skate sharpening $10; debit and credit only. Skates for kids 12 and under come with a helmet while supplies last. Note: the hut is closed for the 2025/26 season and reopens next winter. The City has added cross country ski trails and crokicurl, a winter all terrain wheelchair pilot program runs in select parks including this one, and the public washroom under the River Café stays open year round.
Frost-covered trees over the pathway
Skating through the frost
The lagoon skating area
Skaters on the frozen lagoon
Winter on the lagoon
A busy day on the ice
Events and Festivals
This is Calgary’s festival island. One practical warning first: big festivals can close off large parts of the park, so if you want a quiet visit, check what is on before you go. The annual lineup:
- Calgary Folk Music Festival, late July. The flagship event, on the island since 1980. Four days, 70 plus artists, eight stages. The only break in its island run was 2020.
- Canada Day, July 1. The City’s free main stage concert runs the afternoon and evening on the island, with a beer garden and food vendors.
- Expo Latino, mid August. Western Canada’s largest Latin festival.
- Pride on the Island, early September. Calgary Pride’s festival weekend, with a ticketed Saturday night and a free all ages Sunday.
- Oxford Stomp, Stampede week. The long running corporate outdoor concert on the main stage.
- Roundup MusicFest, Stampede week. Two nights of rock on the main stage, 18 plus.
- Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, August. Stand up on the island’s main stage.
- Salsa by the River, Wednesday evenings in summer. Free outdoor salsa dancing at the platform beside Jaipur Bridge, 7 to 10 PM, weather permitting. No partner or experience needed.
Official festival dates and tickets are on each event’s own website; the City also posts access notices on its Prince’s Island Park page.
Extra Reading
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The Biggest Acts to Ever Play the Island
The island’s main stage, the permanent Enmax Stage built in the late 1990s, has hosted an improbable number of huge names. Most came through the Calgary Folk Music Festival, which has a habit of booking legends and future legends side by side, and through the Stampede week rock concerts.
Calgary Folk Music Festival headliners over the years include: Feist, k.d. lang, Blue Rodeo, Emmylou Harris, Alabama Shakes, St. Vincent, The Roots, Billy Bragg, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Chris Isaak, and Corb Lund.
Stampede week rock on the main stage: Billy Idol, David Lee Roth, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, and Foster the People have headlined Roundup MusicFest, and Oxford Stomp has brought Sheryl Crow (twice, including 2025), Arkells, Portugal. The Man, and Tom Cochrane.
Afrikadey past headliners (retired): Common, K’Naan, and Angelique Kidjo.
Canada Day main stage: recent headliners include Walk off the Earth with Kardinal Offishall (2026).
History
Prince’s Island was named after Peter Anthony Prince, a lumberman from Quebec who came to Calgary in 1886 and founded the Eau Claire Lumber Mill. The Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company dug a channel (now the lagoon) to get logs from Kananaskis closer to the Calgary sawmill, resulting in an island.
In 1889 Prince formed the Calgary Water Power Company to supply electric streetlights to the town. Despite its name, the company used steam generators powered by sawdust until 1893 when Prince built Calgary’s first hydro-electric plant near the east end of the lagoon. After his death in 1925 the mill was still operational until 1944. The land was purchased by The City from the remaining Prince family in 1947 for development of park land.
Timeline
- Long before Calgary (PDF) : the Bow River valley is a travel corridor for Indigenous peoples, and the Calgary area is the traditional territory of the Treaty 7 peoples (the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Stoney Nakoda, and the Tsuut’ina Nation) and homeland to the historic Northwest Métis. In Blackfoot the area is called Mohkinstsis, “elbow”, for the river confluence.
- 1877: Treaty 7 is signed, covering the Calgary area.
- 1883: the Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company is chartered in Wisconsin to cut timber on the Bow, Kananaskis, and Spray rivers. Peter Anthony Prince runs the operation.
- 1885 to 1886: the company’s sawmill is built on the Bow’s south bank, and a channel is dug between the island and the bank so logs can reach the mill. That channel becomes the lagoon, and the digging is what makes the island an island.
- 1886: Peter Prince moves to Calgary to run the lumber operation.
- 1887: the first log drive runs down the Bow. Log drives continue into the 1940s, and the east end of the island is used to store lumber and sawdust.
- 1889: Prince forms the Calgary Water Power Company and signs a contract to supply the town with electricity. It is Calgary’s only power source until 1906.
- 1893: Prince builds Calgary’s first hydro electric plant near the east end of the lagoon.
- 1916: Prince steps down as manager of the lumber company.
- 1925: Peter Prince dies. His family keeps the island lands.
- 1944 to 1945: the last log drives run and the Calgary sawmill closes, ending the lumber era.
- 1947: the City of Calgary acquires the island from the Prince family and begins developing it as a public park through the 1950s.
- 1980: the Calgary Folk Music Festival moves onto the island, where it has been held every year since except 2020.
- 1988: Shakespeare by the Bow is founded, giving the island a summer Shakespeare stage.
- 1990s: Afrikadey and Expo Latino begin on the island, and the permanent Enmax Stage replaces the old temporary tent stage in the late 1990s.
- 1999: City Council approves a major renovation: wetland construction and native plant restoration on the east end, the project that creates the Chevron Learning Pathway.
- 2005: southern Alberta flooding hits the Bow River corridor in what was then Calgary’s benchmark flood.
- 2012: Santiago Calatrava’s Peace Bridge opens just west of the island, linking it to Sunnyside. Theatre Calgary takes over Shakespeare by the Bow.
- 2013: the June flood completely submerges the island. Canada Day moves off the island, but hundreds of volunteers clean up in time for Folk Fest weeks later. River Café closes for 52 days with six feet of water in the basement, then reopens in August.
- 2020: Folk Fest is cancelled as a live event for the only time since 1980 and goes digital for a year.
- 2023: the City cancels Canada Day aerial fireworks, then reinstates them after public backlash and a 12,000 signature petition.
- 2024: Theatre Calgary puts Shakespeare by the Bow on hiatus, citing financial constraints; its most recent run was the 2023 “Shakespeare on the Go” tour.
- 2026: Canada Day keeps its free main stage show on the island while fireworks launch from Stampede Park, and Calgary Pride announces Pride on the Island for the park.
Eating at the Park: River Café
River Café sits right on the island and has been one of Calgary’s destination restaurants since 1991, known for local and seasonal cooking in a rustic fishing lodge style room. It books out, so reserve ahead. It closes each January. The year round public washrooms are underneath the restaurant.
The front entrance of River Cafe on Prince’s Island Park
Located right in the middle of Prince’s Island Park, River Café serves some of the best local and Canadian food in Calgary and is often named one of the best restaurants in the city, which is no surprise given the awards it has won over the years. The menu changes seasonally, and in summer they offer picnic baskets and picnic tables. During festivals on the island, it is the best seat in the park. The staff are happy to answer questions about ingredients, and the restaurant also hosts weddings and other events. Make a reservation at River Café.
River Café
Website: river-cafe.com
E-mail: info@river-cafe.com
Address: 25 Prince’s Island, Calgary, AB T2P 0R1
Phone: 403-261-7670
River Café is a good pick for weekend brunch, romantic date nights, family dinners, out of town visitors, and anyone who loves food. Try the Artisan Cheese & House Cured Charcuterie.
Inside River Cafe: the stone fireplace dining room and bar
The Bow River Pathway just outside River Cafe on Prince’s Island Park
The food: River Café serves lunch, dinner, dessert, and a weekend brunch menu, plus picnic baskets in summer. Ingredients are sourced locally when available and from elsewhere in Canada otherwise, all from sustainable suppliers. Through Mealshare, an eligible purchase provides a meal to someone in need. The restaurant has its own sommelier and a professionally curated wine list.
Weekend brunch at River Cafe, from fresh pastries and french toast to eggs benedict
In the summer of 1991, we set about transforming an aging park concession on Calgary’s Prince’s Island. River Café began as a small full service café, operating summer only, with just a roof sheltering the tables from the elements. In 1995, we transformed the open air space, enclosing it with windows and walls to expand the seating and operate year-round. We repurposed found materials and worked with local artists.
Our vision was to create a unique restaurant that would feel as though it had always existed and that belonged in this remarkable setting along the Bow River. We built a fieldstone fireplace, created an open kitchen with an oven and grill that were fueled by orchard wood, and a bar made from a real boat. We created a large outdoor terrace overlooking the lagoon and landscaped it with mostly native plants which would flourish without irrigation.
Source: River Café, Our Story
River Café also hosts weddings, seating 95 for a full venue rental with the Bow River as the backdrop. See riverweddings.ca for details.
Photos
All photos below are from a visit to the park on October 5, 2026.
The children’s playground
The Jaipur Bridge, looking south toward Eau Claire
The west end of the island, toward the Peace Bridge
The Bow River pathway near the island
Fall colours on the island
The Centre Street Bridge, beside the island
Videos
Videos from around the park.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Prince’s Island Park free?
Yes. It’s a city park. City parks are free, you just go there and have a nice day. Some festivals and concerts on the island are ticketed but you can usually still access the pathways between the north bridge and Eau Claire.
What are the park hours?
Prince’s Island Park is open standard city park hours, 5 AM to 11 PM every day.
Where do I park?
Good question. There is no parking on the island itself, other than for City vehicles. Please don’t try to drive on to the island. You might be lucky enough to find a parking spot on the streets surrounding it (to the south) but there are several paid parking lots nearby.
How do I get there by transit?
The downtown 7th Avenue CTrain stations in the free fare zone are a short walk south. Sunnyside station on the Red Line is about a 15 to 20 minute walk north of the river.
Is it a natural island?
No. The island was shaped in 1886 when the Eau Claire lumber company dug a channel to float logs to its sawmill. The channel is now the lagoon.
Are dogs allowed?
Yes, on leash. There is no off leash area, and dogs are not allowed at all on Canada Day and Heritage Day.
Are there washrooms?
Yes. There is a year round public washroom under the River Café, plus seasonal washrooms in summer.
Is there food in the park?
River Café is a full service restaurant on the island, open since 1991 and closed each January. Festivals bring food vendors.
When is the Calgary Folk Music Festival?
Late July each year, on the island since 1980. Check calgaryfolkfest.com for dates and lineups.
Is there anywhere to swim?
It is not recommended. The Bow River has strong currents and quite a few sharp rocks. Some people do spend time in water during the summer but they do at their own risk. Floating and rafting past the island are popular, swimming is not safe. You cannot swim in the canal either, it’s very shallow and full of bird shit.
Is it stroller and wheelchair accessible?
Yes, all of the city pathways are wheelchair accessible.
Are there any fire pits or BBQ’s?
No, there are no permanent fire pits or BBQ’s or any places to cook food. Please do not start fires on the island. In the winter the City will sometimes put temporary log cage fire pits on the island so people can keep warm.
Discussion
Please leave your comments below. Please try to remain civil.
- What are some of your favourite Prince’s Island Park memories?
- How can they improve the park?