Live in Forest Heights
A 1959 inner-southeast community on Memorial Drive, immediately north of Forest Lawn and its International Avenue.
Forest Heights was established in 1959, just north of Forest Lawn — the former town Calgary annexed in 1961, which gives the wider area its "Greater Forest Lawn" name. It is small and built out: 1.50 km², bounded by Memorial Drive, 36 Street SE, 8 Avenue SE and 52 Street SE, with Marlborough across the road to the north and Penbrooke Meadows next door to the east. At the 2021 census it held 5,985 residents, down from a civic count of 6,496 two years earlier, and 41% of residents were recorded as immigrants — well above the citywide 32%. This is what living here is actually like.
An established inner-southeast address, one block off Memorial Drive
Bordered north by Memorial Drive, west by 36 Street SE, south by 8 Avenue SE, and east by 52 Street SE. Ward 9.
Forest Heights was established in 1959, just north of what was then the separate town of Forest Lawn — annexed into Calgary in 1961. That annexation is why the wider area is still known as Greater Forest Lawn, a grouping that also includes Southview, Penbrooke Meadows, Dover and Albert Park/Radisson Heights.
It is a small, fully built-out community: 1.50 km², bounded by Memorial Drive to the north, 36 Street SE to the west, 8 Avenue SE to the south, and 52 Street SE to the east. Marlborough sits directly across Memorial Drive, and Penbrooke Meadows is next door to the east.
Housing and income. Median household income was $79,000 against a citywide figure of $98,000, and 25% of households spend 30% or more of income on shelter — both above the city average. Population has slipped from 6,496 at the 2019 civic count to 5,985 at the 2021 federal census.
Who lives here. 41% of residents were immigrants at the 2021 count, well above the citywide 32%, and 66% of that immigrant population is of Asian descent. That character shows up immediately south on International Avenue — the 17 Avenue SE business strip — one of Calgary's principal multicultural retail and dining corridors.
- Homes are mostly original 1960s stock — roofs, furnaces, windows and wiring are at or past design life
- Aluminum wiring was common in this construction era; have it inspected specifically
- Median household income sits well below the city median, and a quarter of households are shelter-cost burdened
- Population has been declining slightly through the 2010s and into the 2021 census
- No junior or senior high inside the boundaries — Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High are a bus or drive away
- International Avenue immediately south is a genuine multicultural retail strip, not generic suburban shopping
How Forest Heights got here
- 1959Forest Heights is established as a community in southeast Calgary, just north of the town of Forest Lawn.
- 1961Forest Lawn is annexed into the City of Calgary, placing Forest Heights within the wider "Greater Forest Lawn" district that also includes Southview, Penbrooke Meadows, Dover and Albert Park/Radisson Heights.
- 1974Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre opens in neighbouring Forest Lawn, becoming the area's anchor indoor recreation facility.
- 2014–2019City civic census counts hold in a narrow band, from 6,406 to 6,648 residents.
- 2021Federal census records 5,985 residents, down from the 2019 civic count of 6,496, with 41% of residents recorded as immigrants — 66% of them of Asian descent — against a citywide immigrant average of 32%.
- 2020sInternational Avenue, the 17 Avenue SE business revitalization zone immediately south, continues to operate as one of Calgary's principal multicultural retail and dining corridors.
A community park at the centre, and Elliston Park a short drive away
Forest Heights has no river valley or provincial park of its own. Its open space is the community's own Forest Heights Park, with sports fields, a playground and a flooded outdoor rink in winter, plus Elliston Park — home of the Globalfest fireworks — eight to twelve minutes southeast.
The resident's angle: the nearest stretch of the Bow River pathway is reached west along Memorial Drive to Pearce Estate Park and the Bow Habitat Station, ten to fourteen minutes away — not walkable, but a genuine option for a longer ride or run. There is no equivalent here to the river-valley communities further west.
20 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 20 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. Most day-to-day needs here are unusually close — Marlborough Mall, the CTrain and several schools are all under five minutes — while the mountains are a genuine haul from this side of the city.
Every gym within reach
The area is served by one long-standing city facility rather than a dense cluster of private clubs, plus the community's own free option inside the boundaries.
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool adds a seasonal outdoor option a few minutes south
- Genesis Centre is the northeast's larger hub — gymnasiums, fitness centre and indoor courts, further north
- Max Bell Centre adds twin arenas nine to thirteen minutes west
- Forest Heights Park's own fields, pathways and outdoor rink are the free option, inside the community
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City-run pool, weight room and group fitness in Forest Lawn, open since October 1974. | 4–7 min |
| Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool open | Seasonal outdoor pool in Forest Lawn, open through the summer months. | 4–7 min |
| Forest Heights Park pathways & rink open | Free option: the community's own sports fields, pathways and flooded outdoor rink in winter. | 1–3 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's anchor recreation facility: gymnasiums, fitness centre, indoor courts and community programming. | 11–16 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Twin arenas and community recreation space, west along the rail corridor. | 9–13 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, arena, fitness space and a library branch, further north. | 12–17 min |
Confirm hours before you count on any of them. Bob Bahan is a long-established city facility, but programming and pool hours shift seasonally — check ahead, especially for the outdoor pool.
Elementary options on both sides of the boundary, junior and senior high further out
Penbrooke Meadows School serves the public side immediately east, with Marlborough School across Memorial Drive to the north; Holy Family and Holy Trinity cover the Catholic side in the neighbouring communities. Junior and senior high — Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High — both sit outside Forest Heights itself, in the wider Greater Forest Lawn area.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Penbrooke Meadows School | Calgary Board of Education | Public K–6, immediately east in Penbrooke Meadows. |
| Marlborough School | Calgary Board of Education | Public school immediately north across Memorial Drive in Marlborough. |
| Holy Family School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic K–6, in neighbouring Radisson Heights. |
| Holy Trinity School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic K–6, in neighbouring Forest Lawn. |
| Ian Bazalgette Junior High | Calgary Board of Education | Public junior high serving the Greater Forest Lawn area. Confirm the current designation for a specific address. |
| Forest Lawn Senior High | Calgary Board of Education | Public senior high serving the Greater Forest Lawn area. |
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 — attendance boundaries across the Greater Forest Lawn area have shifted before.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Forest Heights Park's flooded outdoor rink is the community's own option for backyard hockey and skating
- Chinooks reach this side of the city later and weaker than in the inner core
- Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre's pool and fitness classes carry the indoor season
- Memorial Drive and 17 Avenue SE get priority plowing as arterial routes
- Family Day programming runs at the Forest Heights Community Centre
- Marlborough Mall stays the closest indoor option on the coldest days
- A chinook can turn the outdoor rink to slush within an afternoon
- Longer light is noticeable by month's end
- Melt and refreeze on the community's older side streets
- Forest Heights Park's rink closes as the ice goes soft
- International Avenue's storefronts start their spring turnover
- Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High post their spring break dates
- Spring break sends families to Bob Bahan's pool and to Marlborough Mall
- Last hard frosts before planting
- Forest Heights Park's sports fields dry out and reopen
- The Forest Heights Community Association's annual general meeting typically falls this time of year
- Long evenings — sunset past 9pm by month's end
- Community league soccer and ball seasons start at Forest Heights Park
- Hail season begins, as it does across the city's east side
- International Avenue's restaurant patios open for the season
- Peak daylight at the solstice — over 16 hours
- Penbrooke Meadows and Marlborough schools finish for the year
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool opens for the season
- Thunderstorm season is fully under way
- Calgary Stampede — about fifteen minutes northwest via Memorial Drive
- Globalfest fireworks light up Elliston Park most July and August evenings, visible across the community
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- International Avenue's restaurant patios are at their busiest
- Globalfest continues at Elliston Park
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool at its warmest
- Quiet weeks before school returns
- Harvest traffic builds on Memorial Drive and Stoney Trail
- School year restarts at Penbrooke Meadows, Marlborough, Holy Family, Holy Trinity, Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool closes for the season
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- International Avenue's back-to-school retail picks up
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Forest Heights Park's fields close out fall community league sports
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Forest Heights Park's rink gets flooded for the season once the cold holds
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre
- Marlborough Mall's holiday retail season begins
- Holiday quiet settles across the community
- Forest Heights Park's rink and Bob Bahan's pool carry the indoor season
- Chinooks, when they come, arrive later and weaker on this side of the city
- International Avenue's shops keep their hours through 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 — the Fish Creek and Midnapore-specific images used on the southern southeast pages are deliberately excluded, because this is an inner-city community and those are not its surroundings. Nothing here is presented as a photograph of Forest Heights itself.