Beneath the Icy Depths is set in Bowness Park.
In its early days, the park was a bustling recreational hub featuring a variety of attractions including a swimming pool, lagoon for canoeing and boating with musical accompaniment, a large dancing pavilion, a merry-go-round now housed in Calgary’s Heritage Park, picnic areas, swings, teeter-totters, camping sites, and rentable cabins. From the 1920s to 1946, families often rented summer cottages there for retreats. However, many of these amenities gradually disappeared over time.
During the warmer months, visitors can enjoy paddle boating on the shallow lagoon, wading pools, boat rentals, and a children’s train ride. The park is also equipped with numerous pathways, and firepits and BBQ stands, making it a popular spot for picnicking along the Bow River. In winter, Bowness Park transforms into a hub for outdoor skating on the lagoon.
The author recalls family reunions and church activities at the park, eating BBQ and playing in the playground and on the zip line. In her early years in Calgary, there was a small midway. In the winter months, she remembers skating, warming herself by the fires, and drinking hot chocolate.
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