Live in Bonavista Downs
A small 1973 southeast community next to Lake Bonavista, sharing its neighbour's name and street-naming convention but none of its private lake.
Bonavista Downs is a small, triangular community annexed to Calgary in 1961 but not platted and registered until 1973 — originally under the name "Lake Bonavista Downs," before it was shortened to keep it distinct from its much larger neighbour. At 0.592 km² it is one of the smallest communities in the southeast, and despite the borrowed name and the Great Lakes street names it shares with Lake Bonavista, it sits outside that community's private-lake association entirely. This is what living here is actually like.
A small triangle next to Lake Bonavista, with none of its lake
Bounded north by Anderson Road, east by Bow Bottom Trail, and west and south by the natural hill that separates it from Lake Bonavista and Fish Creek Provincial Park. Ward 14.
Bonavista Downs was annexed to the City of Calgary in 1961, more than a decade before anyone built on it. The land wasn't platted and registered until 1973 — originally under the name Lake Bonavista Downs, before it was shortened to keep it distinct from its much larger neighbour.
It is small and triangular: 0.592 km², bounded north by Anderson Road, east by Bow Bottom Trail, and west and south by the natural hill that separates it from Lake Bonavista and Fish Creek Provincial Park.
No lake access. Despite the shared history and the borrowed name, Bonavista Downs sits outside the Lake Bonavista Homeowners Association boundary. Residents here are not members, do not pay the LBHA's annual fee, and have no rights to either of the two private lakes next door.
Housing mix. Ninety-nine percent of the community's 345 occupied dwellings are single-detached houses, and 99% of them were built between 1961 and 1980 — essentially a one-generation build-out that has barely changed since. 83% of households own rather than rent, and median household income was $93,000 in 2020.
Who lives here. The population peaked at 1,474 in 1982 and has fallen by nearly half since, to 830 at the 2021 census — an aging population (18% are 65 or older) in an aging housing stock, with an average household size of just 2.4. Only 8% of residents are immigrants, against 32% citywide.
- Almost the entire community was built 1961–1980; roofs, furnaces, windows and wiring are at or past design life on most homes
- No lake access of any kind — confirm this before you buy on the strength of the name alone
- No school inside the boundaries; every designated school is a walk across the hill into Lake Bonavista
- Population has fallen by nearly half since its 1982 peak, in the same footprint — a shrinking, aging household size, not vacant land
- Very little retail of its own; Lake Bonavista Promenade and Southcentre Mall carry the everyday shop
- Getting to the mountains means the full width of the city first — budget well over an hour to Kananaskis
How Bonavista Downs got here
- 1961The land is annexed to the City of Calgary as part of a wider southeast annexation, more than a decade before anyone builds on it.
- 1973The community is platted and registered — originally as "Lake Bonavista Downs," before the name is shortened to separate it from its larger neighbour.
- 1975The Bonavista Downs Community Association is formally registered, on 2 February.
- 1982Build-out completes and the population peaks at 1,474 — nearly double what the same 0.592 km² holds today.
- 2019Municipal census counts 928 residents, already well down from the 1982 peak.
- 2021Federal census records 830 residents in 345 occupied dwellings — 99% of them single-detached houses, 99% built between 1961 and 1980, with a median household income of $93,000.
Fish Creek over the hill, and someone else's lake next door
The community's southern and western boundary is a natural hill, and Fish Creek Provincial Park lies just beyond it — 13.5 km² and 100+ km of trails, reachable without leaving the neighbourhood on foot. Willow Park Golf & Country Club sits close by to the west.
The resident's angle: the honest comparison here is with Lake Bonavista next door — this community shares its street-naming convention (the Great Lakes) and a chunk of its history, but has no rights to either of its neighbour's private lakes. Fish Creek Park is the real, free, year-round outdoor amenity; the lake view from the hill belongs to someone else.
21 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 21 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of this small community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Because Bonavista Downs has no school, shopping or transit stop of its own, almost everything on this list is technically next door — in Lake Bonavista, Willow Park, or further out.
Every gym within reach
A small community with no gym of its own — the outdoor rink and courts at the community hall are the only on-site recreation. Everything else means a short drive into Lake Bonavista or Willow Park.
- Southcentre and Willow Park add GoodLife, Anytime and Orangetheory within about ten minutes
- Willow Park Golf & Country Club is the closest membership of any kind, a few minutes west
- Fish Creek Provincial Park's trails, just over the community's own hill, are the free option
- The community hall's outdoor rink, tennis and basketball courts are the only recreation actually inside the boundaries
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Trico Centre for Family Wellness open | Community-owned recreation centre: pool, arena, fitness floor, gymnasium and a full program schedule. | 8–12 min |
| Bonavista Downs community hall & outdoor rink open | Free option: the community's own outdoor rink, tennis and basketball courts, and sports field. | 1–2 min |
| GoodLife Fitness — Southcentre open | National chain club at Southcentre Mall. | 8–11 min |
| Anytime Fitness — Willow Park open | 24-hour access chain gym in the Willow Park retail area. | 8–12 min |
| Orangetheory Fitness — Willow Park open | Heart-rate-based group interval training studio. | 8–12 min |
| Willow Park Golf & Country Club open | Not a gym, but the closest membership of any kind — a private championship course a few minutes west. | 3–5 min |
| Fish Creek Provincial Park trails open | 100+ km of trails just over the community's own hill, free and open year-round. | 3–6 min |
There is no lake membership to price in here. Unlike Lake Bonavista next door, Bonavista Downs pays no annual facility fee and has no beach, boating or skating rights of its own — the community hall's outdoor rink is the closest equivalent, and it's free.
No school of its own — every designated school sits over the hill
Bonavista Downs has no school inside its boundaries. Designated students attend Andrew Sibbald for public elementary and Nickle for public junior high, both in neighbouring Lake Bonavista, with St. Boniface and St. Bonaventure covering the Catholic side.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Sibbald School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated public elementary. Bonavista Downs has no school of its own; this and the entries below sit across the hill in Lake Bonavista. |
| Nickle School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated public junior high, off Bonaventure Drive in Lake Bonavista. |
| St. Boniface School | Calgary Catholic | Designated Catholic elementary in Lake Bonavista. |
| St. Bonaventure School | Calgary Catholic | Designated Catholic junior high in Lake Bonavista. |
| Senior high designations | Both boards | Designated senior highs sit further out. Confirm the current designation for a specific address with the board before you buy — a community this small can be reassigned as enrolment shifts nearby. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Confirm the current designation for a specific address with the board before you buy — a community this small can be reassigned as enrolment shifts nearby.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- The outdoor rink at the community hall on Lake Ontario Road is the only sheet of ice inside the boundaries — no private lake here to skate on
- Route 29 buses to Anderson Station run the same winter schedule as the rest of the south
- Chinooks reach this part of the south later than the inner city, but still break up most cold snaps
- Fish Creek's trails over the hill stay open on packed snow
- Family Day brings the community hall's rink and courts to their busiest week
- 1960s and 70s furnaces face their hardest month — a real cost in homes this age
- Willow Park Golf & Country Club stays closed for the season
- Deer move down off the hillside into yards overnight
- Melt and refreeze on Lake Huron Crescent and the other Great Lakes-named streets
- Ice comes off Lake Bonavista next door before it's safe to notice from here
- Fish Creek's south-facing slopes are the first bare ground in the area
- Spring break sends families to Southcentre and Trico Centre
- Fish Creek Park reopens fully as trails dry out over the hill
- Willow Park's golf season starts
- Andrew Sibbald and Nickle both restart outdoor programs for the students who fill this community's school-age population
- Goslings appear on Lake Bonavista, visible from the hill but not accessible without a membership
- Long weekend marks the real start of golf season next door
- Community hall courts and the sports field come back into regular use
- Hail season begins — the southeast sees more of it than the west side of the city
- Route 29's ridership climbs with the longer light
- School year winds down at the designated schools in Lake Bonavista
- Thunderstorm season fully under way, with hail a real risk for cars and roofs
- Fish Creek's trails are at their busiest of the year
- Longest daylight of the year — light past 9:30pm
- Calgary Stampede, about 20 minutes north via Macleod Trail or the Red Line from Anderson
- With no lake here, the drive to Sikome Lake in Fish Creek Park is the public swimming option
- Willow Park Golf & Country Club at its busiest
- Evening storms roll off the foothills most weeks
- Hottest stretch of the year, with little shade on the hill's south-facing streets
- Quietest weeks before the school year restarts next door
- Saskatoon and chokecherry picking along the Fish Creek trails
- Community hall bookings pick up for end-of-summer events
- School year restarts at Andrew Sibbald, Nickle, St. Boniface and St. Bonaventure — all outside this community's own boundaries
- Fish Creek's aspens begin turning along the valley below the hill
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Willow Park's golf season starts winding down
- Peak colour in Fish Creek Park, visible from the hill without leaving the community
- Snow tires go on ahead of the first real snowfall
- Golf season ends at Willow Park
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Community hall rink prep begins once temperatures hold below freezing
- Indoor season starts at Trico Centre
- Route 29 and the Anderson connection carry the heavier winter commute
- Community hall rink usually holds ice by mid-month
- Holiday quiet across the community's short blocks
- Chinooks, when they arrive, can strip the snow overnight
- Lake Bonavista's private lake freezes next door — visible from the hill, off-limits without membership
36 photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed and served from this app — nothing loads from a third party. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 36 photographs.
Honesty note. This page uses only the general Calgary, Fish Creek, seasonal, Alberta-wildlife and transit photography from the site's shared library — nothing here is presented as a photograph of Bonavista Downs itself, and no image of Lake Bonavista's private lake is used, because this community has no rights to it.