Live in Country Hills
A 1990 community above West Nose Creek, with the golf club that shares its name and Vivo minutes away.
Country Hills was established in 1990 on land annexed in 1979, in the first wave of communities north of Beddington Trail. It is modest in size — 3,728 residents in 1,426 dwellings at the 2012 civic census — and comfortable in the numbers: median household income of $70,237 at the 2000 count, 7.4% low income, and just 6.8% rental. This is what living here is actually like.
Above the creek, beside the golf course
Bounded north by Country Hills Boulevard, south by Beddington Trail and east by Harvest Hills Boulevard, with West Nose Creek along the community. Ward 3.
Country Hills was established in 1990 on land annexed in 1979, in the first wave north of Beddington Trail. It stayed small — 3,728 residents in 1,426 dwellings at the 2012 civic census on 1.9 km².
The numbers are quietly comfortable: $70,237 median household income at the 2000 count, 7.4% low income and only 6.8% rental — settled family streets almost end to end.
The community's two edges define it: the Country Hills Golf Club (1999) and West Nose Creek green its northern side, and the Country Hills Boulevard retail — including Vivo, the recreation centre and library — carries the everyday across the road.
- Early-1990s builds can carry late-era poly-B plumbing — verify it
- Original roofs and furnaces are at replacement age where not yet done
- No CTrain: the planned Green Line north leg remains a plan — budget for the bus or the drive
- Airport flight paths cross the city's north — listen at different times of day
How Country Hills got here
- 1979The land is annexed by the City of Calgary.
- 1990Country Hills is established north of Beddington Trail.
- 1999The Country Hills Golf Club opens along West Nose Creek.
- 2012Civic census records 3,728 residents in 1,426 dwellings.
A creek, a course and the big hill beyond
West Nose Creek threads the community with a valley pathway, the golf club keeps the north edge green, and Nose Hill Park is eight to twelve minutes southwest for the full grassland experience.
The resident's angle: the creek pathway is the underrated one — it connects south toward Confluence Park and the Nose Creek system, flat enough for small bikes the whole way.
11 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 1–11 of 11 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of the community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. North-central geography: the airport reads close, downtown reads far, and Centre Street does the daily work.
Every gym within reach
Vivo across the boulevard does the heavy lifting. Confirm hours before you count on anything.
- Freshly expanded, with the Country Hills Library inside
- Thornhill Aquatic is the second city facility, south on Centre Street
- The golf club covers the summer season
- The creek pathway is the free option
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Vivo for Healthier Generations open | The north-central anchor — pools, gymnasium, fitness floor, climbing and a library branch, freshly expanded. | 3–6 min |
| Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre open | City-run pool, gymnasium and fitness centre on Centre Street north. | 7–11 min |
| Country Hills Golf Club open | Semi-private course along the creek — the community's namesake recreation. | 2–4 min |
| West Nose Creek pathway open | Free option: the creek-valley pathway connects toward Confluence Park. | 1–3 min |
Vivo membership is the practical default here — it is closer than any commercial club.
Designated schools sit in the neighbouring communities
Country Hills is small enough that its designated schools sit around it — Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills and the wider north-central cluster — including North Trail High School for seniors.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary designations nearby | Calgary Board of Education | Country Hills students are designated to schools in the surrounding north-central communities. Confirm for a specific address. |
| St. Clare Elementary | Calgary Catholic | Catholic elementary in neighbouring Coventry Hills. |
| North Trail High School | Calgary Board of Education | Senior high in Coventry Hills serving the north-central communities. |
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 — north-central designations have shifted with growth.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Vivo carries the winter — pools, track and library under one roof
- Priority snow routes keep the main roads clear
- Indoor recreation carries the season
- Long dark evenings, but rarely for weeks at a stretch
- Ski traffic west on the Trans-Canada peaks on Friday and Sunday
- Coldest snaps usually break with a chinook
- Noticeably longer light by month end
- Indoor pools at their busiest
- Melt and refreeze on the side streets — ice cleats weather
- Pathways reopen as the snow goes
- First patio afternoons on the warm chinook days
- Street sweeping begins late in the month
- Last hard frosts — planting waits for the May long weekend
- Pathway and park season opens properly
- Garden centres open across the quadrant
- Migratory birds return to the parks
- Long evenings — sunset past 9pm by month end
- Lilacs and crabapples through the older streets
- Field sport seasons start on the community greens
- First genuinely warm stretches
- Peak daylight at the solstice — over 16 hours
- School year ends and the parks fill
- Evening thunderstorms begin building over the foothills
- Farmers' markets open for the season
- Calgary Stampede — about 25 minutes south
- Hottest month, with cool nights at this elevation
- Evening thunderstorms roll off the foothills
- Canada Day events in the parks
- Folk Festival on Prince's Island mid-month
- Kananaskis and Banff at their best, straight west
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- Smoke from western wildfires is possible
- School year restarts and morning traffic thickens
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Poplar and aspen colour begins
- Evenings shorten fast
- Peak autumn colour through the older tree-lined streets
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on across the quadrant
- Nose Hill's grasses turn gold
- Ski season opens west on the Trans-Canada
- Dark by 5pm
- Freeze sets in for good
- Holiday retail season begins
- Chinook arches over the western skyline on clear days
- Holiday lights through the community streets
- Outdoor rinks open when the freeze holds
- Quiet, short days between the holidays
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, seasonal, Alberta-wildlife and day-trip photography from the site's shared library. Nothing here is presented as a photograph of Country Hills itself.