Live in Rosscarrock
A 1954 community squeezed between the West LRT and Shaganappi Point golf course, where apartments now outnumber the original bungalows.
Rosscarrock was established in 1954 between 33rd and 45th Streets SW, immediately west of Shaganappi Point golf course: 1.1 km², 3,490 residents in 1,540 dwellings at the 2021 census, with 65% of that housing rental. Westbrook Mall and the community's own West LRT stop sit in the northeast corner, and roughly six in ten occupied dwellings are apartment units rather than the postwar bungalow the founding date suggests. The community's own public elementary, Rosscarrock School, closed permanently in 2021 after years of declining enrollment — a real marker of how far the population has shifted from young families toward renters and turnover. This is the densest and most transient of the three communities along this stretch of Bow Trail. This is what living here is actually like.
A 1954 community that went from bungalow to majority-rental
Bounded by Bow Trail to the north, 33 Street SW to the east, 17 Avenue SW to the south, and 45 Street SW to the west. Ward 8.
Rosscarrock was established in 1954 between 33rd and 45th Streets SW, a narrow strip that runs from Shaganappi Point golf course on the east to Westgate on the west. At 1.1 km² it holds 3,490 residents in 1,540 dwellings at the 2021 census — and 65% of that housing is rental, the highest share of the three communities along this stretch of Bow Trail.
The apartment tells the real story. The bungalow the 1954 founding date suggests is now a minority: roughly six in ten occupied dwellings are apartment units, mostly walk-ups built through the 1960s and 70s rather than the original single-family stock. Median household income sat at $68,500 in 2020, well below the other two communities on this belt.
The school closed. Rosscarrock School, the community's own public elementary, shut permanently after the 2020–21 year on declining enrollment. It is the clearest marker of how far the population has shifted from young families toward renters who move on a lease cycle rather than a school cycle.
What stayed is the location: Westbrook Mall and Westbrook Station sit in the community's own northeast corner, and Shaganappi Point's 36 holes border the eastern edge. This is a dense, transit-anchored pocket first and a bungalow community a distant second.
- 65% of housing is rental — this is the most transient of the three communities on this stretch of Bow Trail
- Rosscarrock School, the community's own public elementary, closed permanently in 2021 on declining enrollment
- Bow Trail and the West LRT trench bring real traffic and train noise to the northern blocks
- Original 1950s stock is now a minority — most of what you'll view is 1960s-to-2000s apartment or duplex
- Thin single-family inventory; a bungalow listing moves fast when one does appear
How Rosscarrock got here
- 1954Rosscarrock is established between 33rd and 45th Streets SW.
- 1960Rosscarrock School opens, with a two-storey addition following in 1965.
- 1964Westbrook Shopping Centre opens; it is enclosed and renamed Westbrook Mall in 1971.
- 2012Westbrook Station opens on Bow Trail as part of the West LRT extension.
- 2021Rosscarrock School closes after declining enrollment, the same year the census records 3,490 residents in 1,540 dwellings, 65% of it rental.
The golf course on the border, Edworthy Park a short drive north
Shaganappi Point runs 36 holes over two courses directly along Rosscarrock's eastern edge — the second municipal course built in Canada. Edworthy Park's Bow River valley and Douglas Fir Trail sit a short drive north, across Bow Trail.
The resident's angle: the golf course is a border, not a backyard — a handful of streets back onto it, but most of the community is a five-minute walk or drive from either green space rather than adjacent to it.
13 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 13 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. Westbrook Mall and the LRT stop are close enough to walk; most of the rest of the list assumes a car.
Every gym within reach
No large recreation centre sits inside Rosscarrock. Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre is the closest full facility, with the golf course and Edworthy Park's pathways as the free options.
- City pool, gymnasium, fitness centre and weight room
- Shaganappi Point's 36 holes sit on the community's own eastern border
- Edworthy Park's Bow River valley pathways are the free option north across Bow Trail
- Westbrook Mall's district has a cluster of commercial gyms within walking distance
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre open | City pool, gymnasium, fitness centre and weight room, east in Killarney. | 5–8 min |
| Shaganappi Point Golf Course open | 36 holes on the community's own eastern border. | 2–4 min |
| Edworthy Park pathways open | Free option: the Bow River valley trail network north across Bow Trail. | 4–6 min |
| Westbrook Mall district clubs open | Commercial gyms in and around the mall. | 1–3 min |
The LRT does the heavy lifting for the pool crowd — most residents ride Westbrook Station out to Killarney rather than drive.
A Catholic K–9 stayed; the public elementary closed
St. Michael Elementary & Junior High, K–9 with an International Baccalaureate programme, is the only school still operating inside Rosscarrock. The community's own public elementary, Rosscarrock School, closed permanently after the 2020–21 year.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| St. Michael Elementary & Junior High | Calgary Catholic School District | K–9, with an International Baccalaureate programme running since 2009, inside the community. |
| Rosscarrock School (closed 2021) | Calgary Board of Education | The community's own public elementary closed after the 2020–21 year on declining enrollment; the CBE now designates children to Wildwood or Glendale School. |
| Central Memorial High School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated senior high since the 2020 re-designation from Ernest Manning; confirm 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 designation for a specific address — CBE elementary-age children now designate to Wildwood or Glendale School, not to a school inside the community.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Westbrook Station's open platform catches the full wind funnelling down Bow Trail
- Shaganappi Point's fairways along the eastern border sit buried and silent
- Rental turnover doesn't pause for the cold — a mid-lease move is a normal January sight here
- Westbrook Mall's food court is the warmest gathering spot for blocks around
- A chinook can clear the walk to Westbrook Station down to bare pavement in an afternoon
- The fenced yard of the closed Rosscarrock School sits empty under the snowpack
- St. Michael's IB cohort pushes through midterm assessments
- The year's coldest snap more often lands in February than January here
- Meltwater pools in the apartment-block parking courts before the storm drains catch up
- Greenskeepers walk Shaganappi Point's back nine assessing winterkill along the border
- Cleats are the right footwear on the walk to Westbrook Station
- May 1 lease notices start appearing on bulletin boards around the mall
- Shaganappi Point reopens for the season along the community's eastern edge
- Westbrook Mall's parking lot fills for the seasonal retail reset
- Garden centres open along Bow Trail
- Last hard frosts near Westbrook mean planting waits for the May long weekend
- The first of the month brings the year's biggest wave of new leases into the apartment blocks
- Tee times at bordering Shaganappi Point book out fast on the first warm weekends
- Westbrook Station's platform trades ice for shade as riders wait
- Sunset holds past 9pm over the golf course by month's end
- School lets out, though the fenced yard at the closed Rosscarrock School stays empty regardless
- Shaganappi Point's tee sheet runs solid from dawn past the solstice
- Westbrook Mall's outdoor patio seating fills for the season
- Thunderstorms building over the foothills are visible from the golf course's open ground
- Stampede crowds board the West LRT at Westbrook rather than fight Bow Trail traffic
- Shaganappi Point's back nine plays into nine o'clock light along the eastern border
- Bow Trail backs up hardest on Stampede parade morning
- Hottest month, with the apartment blocks' upper floors noticeably warmer than the street
- Rental listings for the September term start appearing before the long weekend
- Round counts at bordering Shaganappi Point peak before the school-return rush
- Wildfire haze from the west can settle low along Bow Trail
- Westbrook Station's platform stays busy through the last weeks of summer commuting
- September 1 brings the community's second big lease-turnover wave of the year
- St. Michael's IB programme starts its new cohort
- Morning riders crowd the Westbrook Station platform again after summer's lull
- Late-season twilight rates at the bordering course start once school is back
- Peak colour runs along Shaganappi Point's fairways on the eastern edge
- The bordering course shuts its gates for the season on the first hard frost
- Waiting for the West LRT at Westbrook gets its first genuinely cold mornings
- Westbrook Mall's holiday displays start going up early in the month
- The bordering fairways sit closed and quiet under the season's first real snow
- Dark commutes mean the Westbrook Station lights come on well before five
- Rental listings start advertising heat-included as the freeze sets in
- Westbrook Mall's holiday retail season is in full swing
- A chinook arch over the bordering fairways can turn a −20 morning into a +5 afternoon
- Westbrook Mall stays the community's warm indoor gathering place through the holidays
- West LRT ridership at Westbrook drops through the holiday break
- Quiet streets around the closed Rosscarrock School under the season's first real snow
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 Rosscarrock itself.