Live in Haysboro
A 1958 community on Harry Hays's old dairy farm, bisected by Elbow Drive and bordering the Glenmore Reservoir.
Haysboro was established in 1958 on land annexed in 1956, once the dairy farm of future Calgary mayor Harry Hays: 2.7 km², 6,960 residents in 3,440 dwellings at the 2021 census, with 43% rental. Elbow Drive runs straight through the middle of the community, the Glenmore Reservoir forms the western edge, and Heritage and Southland CTrain stations bracket it to the north and south. It is the largest of the four communities in this Macleod Trail belt, with a real run of apartment stock along Elbow Drive rather than the single-family blocks its bungalow streets suggest. This is what living here is actually like.
A 1958 dairy farm turned into the largest community on the strip
Bounded by Heritage Drive to the north, Macleod Trail to the east, 98 Avenue to the south, and 14 Street W and the Glenmore Reservoir to the west. Ward 11.
Haysboro was established in 1958 on land annexed two years earlier — once the dairy farm of future Calgary mayor Harry Hays, who sold the remaining land to developers in 1959 partly to fund his own campaign. At 2.7 km² and 6,960 residents in 2021, it is the largest of the four communities in this Macleod Trail belt.
The spine and the edge. Elbow Drive runs straight through the middle of the community, carrying a real run of low-rise apartment stock rather than the single-family blocks the bungalow streets suggest. The Glenmore Reservoir forms the western edge, and Heritage and Southland CTrain stations bracket the community north and south.
The housing mix backs this up: 43% rental at the 2021 census is a meaningful share for a community built mostly of 1958–1959 bungalows, and it concentrates heavily along the Elbow Drive corridor rather than being spread evenly through the community.
What it costs. Median household income was $78,500 in 2020, below the city's $98,000 but ahead of the more rental-heavy communities immediately north — Haysboro sits in the middle of this strip on price as well as on the map.
- 43% rental, concentrated along the Elbow Drive apartment corridor rather than spread evenly
- 1958–1959 originals carry the era's full inspection list — check foundations and knob-and-tube wiring
- Two CTrain stations bracket the community, which also means two sources of platform and park-and-ride traffic
- Rockyview General Hospital's ambulance traffic is audible from the community's western blocks
- Largest of the four communities on this strip, so the school and amenity list is genuinely bigger
How Haysboro got here
- 1956Harry Hays's dairy farm land is annexed by the City of Calgary.
- 1958Haysboro is established.
- 1959Hays sells the remaining land to developers, in part to fund his campaign for mayor; Haysboro Elementary and Woodman Junior High both open.
- 1966Rockyview General Hospital opens nearby, on the Glenmore Reservoir's north shore.
- 1981Heritage and Southland CTrain stations open, bracketing the community on Calgary's original South Line.
- 2021Federal census records 6,960 residents in 3,440 dwellings, 43% rental.
The reservoir as the community's western wall
The Glenmore Reservoir runs the full length of Haysboro's western boundary — sailing and rowing in summer, a drawdown each autumn, and pathway access the length of the community. Heritage Park sits on the reservoir's shore a short drive south.
The resident's angle: the reservoir is a real amenity for the western half of the community and a much shorter drive for the eastern half nearer Macleod Trail.
16 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 16 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. Being the largest of the four communities here, the range from nearest to farthest is also the widest.
Every gym within reach
Southland Leisure Centre and the Trico Centre both run seven to eleven minutes from Haysboro's centre; the reservoir pathways are the free option along the western edge.
- Wave pool, water slides, two ice rinks and a fitness centre
- Trico Centre for Family Wellness is a comparable option near Southcentre Mall
- Chinook Centre's own gyms sit five to eight minutes north
- Glenmore Reservoir pathways are the free option along the western edge
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Southland Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, water slides, two ice rinks and a fitness centre. | 7–10 min |
| Trico Centre for Family Wellness open | Community-run fitness centre and pool near Southcentre Mall. | 8–11 min |
| Chinook Centre area clubs open | Commercial gyms in and around the mall. | 5–8 min |
| Glenmore Reservoir pathways open | Free option: reservoir and Elbow Drive pathway network along the community's western edge. | 3–6 min |
The reservoir does real work here — it is genuinely walkable from Haysboro's western blocks.
Three public schools inside, one Catholic high school nearby
Haysboro Elementary and Woodman Junior High have both served the community since 1959. Eugene Coste School runs a Spanish bilingual program for designated students, and Our Lady of the Rockies High School is the nearest Catholic senior high.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Haysboro Elementary School | Calgary Board of Education | Public K–6 school inside the community, open since 1959. |
| Woodman Junior High | Calgary Board of Education | Public junior high inside the community; catchment also reaches Kingsland, Chinook Park and Woodlands. |
| Eugene Coste School | Calgary Board of Education | Public elementary running a Spanish bilingual program for designated students. |
| Our Lady of the Rockies High School | Calgary Catholic School District | Catholic senior high serving the area. Confirm the current designation for a specific address. |
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 before you buy — Woodman's catchment reaches well beyond Haysboro's own boundary.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Elbow Drive's apartment blocks keep their sidewalks the best-shovelled stretch in the community
- Heritage and Southland platforms both sit exposed to the wind off Macleod Trail
- Glenmore Reservoir freezes solid enough for the odd skater by month's end
- The coldest mornings show in Rockyview's ambulance traffic, audible from Haysboro's western blocks
- A chinook can strip Elbow Drive's snowbanks bare in a single afternoon
- Woodman and Haysboro Elementary both run indoor recess through the cold snaps
- The reservoir's west arm stays skated-on longer than the shallower east end
- Southland's indoor pool runs at its busiest of the year
- Meltwater off the Glenmore Reservoir dam runs high along Haysboro's western edge
- Cleats are the right footwear on the reservoir pathway's shaded stretches
- Eugene Coste's playground reopens as the last ice breaks up
- The apartment blocks facing south onto Elbow Drive shed their snow first
- Garden centres along Macleod Trail and Elbow Drive open for the season
- Glenmore Reservoir's pathway network reopens along the water's edge
- Last hard frosts pass and the community's older bungalow gardens get their first digging
- Field sports restart on the Haysboro Elementary and Woodman greens
- Sailboats reappear on the Glenmore Reservoir on the first warm weekends
- Elbow Drive's apartment turnover picks up ahead of the July 1 rush
- Long evenings, sunset past 9pm by month's end
- Eugene Coste's Spanish bilingual program runs its spring assessments
- School lets out at Haysboro Elementary, Woodman and Eugene Coste within days of each other
- Peak daylight at the solstice, over sixteen hours
- Paddlers and sailors fill the Glenmore Reservoir most weekday evenings
- Evening thunderstorms build over the foothills, visible west past the reservoir
- July 1 is the single busiest lease-turnover day along the Elbow Drive apartment corridor
- Stampede traffic adds to the usual Macleod Trail queue past Chinook Centre
- Hottest month, with the reservoir's west arm noticeably cooler in the evening
- Heritage Park's Gasoline Alley draws weekend crowds a short drive south
- The Glenmore Reservoir's sailing club races most Wednesday evenings
- Back-to-school traffic builds around Chinook Centre before the long weekend
- Quietest weeks in the community before the school year returns
- Wildfire smoke can settle over the reservoir on windless days
- School restarts at Haysboro Elementary, Woodman and Eugene Coste, and morning traffic thickens on Elbow Drive
- First frost usually arrives late in the month
- The reservoir's water level starts its late-summer drop
- Heritage and Southland platforms crowd again with the school-year commute
- Peak colour runs along the Glenmore Reservoir's shoreline
- The reservoir empties for its winter drawdown
- Snow tires go on before the first real snowfall sticks
- First snow is normal, and normally melts within a day
- Dark by 5pm along the Elbow Drive apartment corridor's exposed sidewalks
- Freeze sets in on the Glenmore Reservoir's shallow east end first
- Ski season opens west, reachable via Heritage Drive and Sarcee Trail
- Holiday retail traffic builds around Chinook Centre through the month
- A chinook arch over the reservoir can turn a −20 morning into a +5 afternoon
- Outdoor rinks open in Haysboro's own parks once the freeze holds
- Heritage Park's Once Upon a Christmas draws weekend crowds nearby
- Quiet, short days along Elbow Drive 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 Haysboro itself.