Canada Olympic Park, Calgary

Canada Olympic Park provides activies for individuals and families all year long. During the winter it is a small ski hill where the kids can learn to ski and snowboard. There is also a luge/bobsled track. Here you can watch the professionals practice or take a ride yourself on the "Bobsled Bullet".

In the summer the hill turns into a mountain bike all terrian park. There are a number of adult and childrens programs and summer camps available.

I don't have a huge interest in the Olympics but a visit to the Olympic Park in Calgary was definatley worth it. You get a audio tour for about $15, although I didnt really listen to it. The $15 entitles you to walk through the Olympic museum, complete with a video of the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, infomation on previous Olympics, Olympic memorabilia such as torches from all round the world, old ice skates, and the bobsleigh from "Cool Runnings".

Also you can walk to the start of the Bobsleigh track, go up the Skijump towers (highlight), and stand exactly where Eddie the Eagle stood in 1988! Plus you can get the ski lift down which is a bonus after the long (optional) walk up (you can also drive).

Not much vertical, but a great place for kids to start learning before they take on the mountains. There is also night sking.
Have a look at the ski jump on th left of the picture, but be afraid, be very afraid. No just kidding, go for it!

In the winter time there's sking, snowboarding, luge, bobsled, cross country sking. In the summer you can take your mountain bike on the chairlift and ride down.

The picture is a summer shot with the Ski Jump of the Olympic Park in the background. Picture taken with 10X zoom from Nosehill Park.

Come see the fireworks on July 1, Canada Day.

Take the 95kph 4 man bobsleigh at Canada Olympic Park. You will run on the same track that the 1988 Olympic teams used, the only difference is that you are pushed off the start line, rather than having to clamber into the slightly modified bobsleigh. This experience is not for the faint hearted as at high speed the body gets quite a pummeling being pushed from right to left and back again in fractions of a second. Great fun !

If you are interested in the legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics, you can do a tour of the past olympic venues in the city.

The Olympic Oval Located in the University of Calgary, the oval was the first covered speed skating oval built in North America. It is still internationally renowned for it's training facilities, and many elite athletes from around the world come here to compete and train. If you've never seen a speed skating oval before, it's quite an impressive sight. (2500 University Drive NW, phone 220-7890 -- www.oval.ucalgary.ca)

Canada Olympic Park This area was formerly a small skiing hill, called Paskapoo. When Calgary won it's bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics, the place was redesigned to be the venue for ski jumping and bobsled/luge. There is a museum/interpretive centre, the 90 metre ski tower, and a chance to actually ride a bobsled with some fellow tourists. A hair-raising experience, I am told -- haven't worked up th courage yet to attempt it. The ride costs around $30.00. Tours are held on a regular basis, and skiing is available in the winter, with mountain biking in the summer. (88 Canada Olympic Road SW, phone 247-5452--www.canadaolympicpark.ca)

Visit the olympic ski hill. Wow, they go off that???
Also, try and get a look inside the Olympic oval skating rink at the University of Calgary. There you may get a chance as seeing some of the best speed skaters in the world do thier stuff around some of the fastest ice in the world

There is an Olympic ski hill, so if you go in the winter months skiing and snow boarding are always an option.
And as you are in the praries I suggest hitting up a ranch and going hourse back riding.

China town in Calgary is small, but it does have a small historical building that you just can't miss down there. I truly suggest going down there and paying the $2 or $3 dollars and seeing all the asain and asian Canadian art, it is absolutely beautiful.

Canada Olympic Park
The site of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. Visitors can walk through the entire bobsled and luge tracks, enjoy summer luge rides, go on guided tours, and experience ski jump and bobsleigh simulators.

Snowboarding, Skiing, X-Country skiing, Bobsledding, Skeleton all at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. If you don't want to travel an hour and a half to some of the best skiing in Canada - Lake Louise, Sunshine, Kananaskis Country...why not go for a blat in the city...that's right in the city! Canada Olympic Park was completed in 1986 in preparation for the 1988 Olympic Games. The facilites include 2 ski jumps, downhill slopes, bobsledding & skeleton facilites and cross country skiing trails. Does this bring back memories of characters like 'Eddie the Eagle' and the 'Cool Runnings' Jamaican bobsledding team who encompassed the Olympic spirit in what remain as some of the most inspiring moments in sports history. This is where it all happened!! An absolute must whilst in Calgary.
I think the most unique opportunity is definitely the bobsledding. This costs about CAD$45.00, which seems a bit, but to hurtle down the 1.5km bobsled track in under 2 minutes is definitely an experience worth the money. This is the very same track which the Jamaican bobsled team inspired the making of the movie 'Cool Runnings' and showed the courage and sportsmanship which is what the Olympics are really all about! Don't pass up the opportunity.

The premiere site the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. The picture shows the ski jump tower and its runway. There are three ski jump towers in the park with different heights.

If you are driving into Calgary from the west, you'll be able to see the 90m ski jump at Canada Olympic Park.

Used during the XV Winter Olympic Games, Canada Olympic Park is Calgary's year-around sport and tourist attraction.