Live in Huntington Hills
A big, practical 1967 community between Nose Hill and Nose Creek — six schools and the Thornhill pool inside its own boundaries.
Huntington Hills was established in 1967 and is one of the north's biggest established communities: 13,213 residents in 5,580 dwellings at the 2012 civic census, across 4.4 km² from Nose Hill's edge to the Nose Creek valley. It keeps an unusual amount inside its own lines — six schools, the Thornhill Aquatic Centre, a full retail strip on Centre Street. This is what living here is actually like.
Thirteen thousand people between the hill and the creek
Bounded north by Beddington Boulevard, east by Deerfoot Trail and Nose Creek, south by 64 Avenue N, and west by Nose Hill Park and 14 Street W. Ward 4.
Huntington Hills was established in 1967 and filled fast: 13,213 residents in 5,580 dwellings at the 2012 civic census, from Nose Hill's edge to the Nose Creek valley.
Its argument is self-sufficiency: six schools including a senior high, the Thornhill pool, an arena and a full Centre Street retail strip — all inside the community's own boundaries. Few Calgary communities of any era keep this much in-house.
It is honest, mixed housing — 34.2% rental, median income $53,168 at the 2000 count — the practical north at its most complete.
- Late-60s/70s stock: aluminum wiring era — inspect electrical
- Centre Street and Deerfoot carry real traffic on two edges
- A third rental means variable street upkeep
- Airport flight paths cross the north — listen at different times
How Huntington Hills got here
- 1967Huntington Hills is established between the hill and the creek.
- 1970sBuild-out at scale — the community fills its 4.4 km² within the decade.
- 2012Civic census records 13,213 residents in 5,580 dwellings.
The park boundary and the creek valley
Nose Hill is the community's western boundary — direct access, no road to cross at several points — and the Nose Creek valley pathway runs the eastern edge.
The resident's angle: hill on one side, creek on the other: pick your daily walk by the wind direction.
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. Almost everything is inside or adjacent; the airport across Deerfoot is the quickest big run.
Every gym within reach
Thornhill is the anchor and it is yours. Confirm hours before you count on anything.
- The community centre adds arena and curling
- The Winter Club is the private upgrade at the corner
- Nose Hill and the creek are the free options
- Six schools' worth of gyms programme the evenings
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre open | City-run pool, gymnasium and fitness centre on Centre Street north. | 1–3 min |
| Huntington Hills Community Centre open | Arena, curling rink and community programming. | 1–3 min |
| Calgary Winter Club open | The private option at the community's corner — waitlists common. | 2–4 min |
| Nose Hill and the creek pathway open | Free option: the park on one edge, the valley on the other. | 1–3 min |
Nobody in Huntington Hills drives to recreation — that is the community's whole pitch.
Six schools, K–12, inside the lines
Four public elementaries, Sir John A. Macdonald junior high and Diefenbaker senior high — plus Catholic options — all within the community.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Four public elementaries | Calgary Board of Education | Alex Munro, Catherine Nichols Gunn, Dr. J.K. Mulloy and Huntington Hills schools. |
| Sir John A. Macdonald School | Calgary Board of Education | Junior high. |
| John G. Diefenbaker High School | Calgary Board of Education | Senior high inside the community. |
| St. Helena and St. Hubert | Calgary Catholic | Catholic options serving the community. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Confirm internal catchments — with four elementaries, the street decides the school.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Thornhill pool and the arena carry the winter without leaving the community
- 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 — ten days across the city
- 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 Huntington Hills itself.