Summer is winding down and the days are getting shorter, but there is still plenty of time for visitors to enjoy outdoor recreation during a trip to Airdrie.
According to Kevin Brinson, team lead for the City of Airdrie’s Parks department, the community boasts plenty of outdoor attractions that will make for a memorable experience, including 1,500 acres of park space, 76 playgrounds and approximately 130 kilometres of paved pathways for bike riding.
“One of our biggest things was, if you come into Airdrie and want to do some good biking, we’ve tried our hardest to make sure our pathways link up,” he said. “You can get to pretty much anywhere in Airdrie on our pathway system, and we’ve worked very hard on that.”
Airdrie’s parks also boast a variety of outdoor hockey rinks, sports fields and courts, Brinson said, including beach volleyball courts at Chinook Winds Regional Park, pickleball courts near Nose Creek Regional Park and the tennis courts at East Lake Regional Park and in the neighbourhood of Summerhill.
The East Lake tennis courts are one of two options for tennis players in the city, alongside courts in the community of Summerhill. Photo by Scott Strasser/Airdrie City View.The pickleball courts, established in late 2018, have been an immensely popular addition to the city’s outdoor rec offerings, he added.
“I didn’t realize how popular it was until we actually built them,” he said. “There’s a society that helps look after them, and we also have some pickleball lines on [the tennis courts] at East Lake.”
Another popular outdoor destination for families visiting Airdrie is Iron Horse Park. The miniature train theme park boasts a 1.6-kilometre track and multiple small trains – powered by steam or diesel – for attendees to ride.
According to President Ray Verdone, the child-friendly theme park offers visitors plenty of entertainment, as well as opportunities to learn about trains.
“There aren’t that many of these types of parks – miniature railroad-themed parks – in Canada,” he said. “We’re probably the largest in terms of surface area.”
Established in 1997, Iron Horse Park is located on an 11-acre parcel of land. Run by the Alberta Model Engineering Society, the park boasts a replica Canadian Pacific Railway station, a hydraulic scissor lift, six elevated steaming bays, two tunnels, three trestles and a bridge.
“It’s worth a visit, just in terms of being a destination that is very different and to experience a miniature train ride,” Verdone said. “I think it’s as worthwhile for adults as it is for children.”
Iron Horse Park in Airdrie officially opened its doors for the 2020 season Aug. 2. The family-friendly park offers visitors the opportunity to learn about Canada's railway history and take a ride on the park's diesel or steam locomotive miniature trains. File photo/Airdrie City View.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Iron Horse Park postponed its opening date in 2020 – typically, the park opens during the Victoria Day long weekend and runs every Sunday until Thanksgiving, but this year, after implementing new health and safety protocols to help limit the spread of COVID-19, the park opened Aug. 2. Verdone said the venue will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday.
The park’s new health and safety measures include placing two-metre markers where visitors should stand in line, hand sanitizing before boarding the train, extended bars that separate the train cars and sanitizing the train after each ride.
“Even during COVID, it’s a unique activity and it’s inexpensive for families to come by and do something different,” Verdone said.
The outskirts of Airdrie also boast multiple outdoor recreational pursuits. Just north of the city limits, Apple Creek Golf Course (ACGC) provides 18 holes’ worth of fun for the avid golfer.
According to Tyrel Babkirk, ACGC’s director of golf and head professional, what makes Apple Creek special is its rustic atmosphere.
Apple Creek Golf Course, located four kilometres north of Airdrie, is distinct because of its lack of sandtraps and "country feel," according to the course's director of golf.“Our facility is very free of any outside urban influences, so you really get that country feel,” he said.
Another distinct element of the course, he added, is ACGC’s lack of sand traps. That said, Babkirk added the course still offers “environmental hazards” on 14 holes.
“It’s the creek that trickles through the property, and then there are some ponds as well,” he said. “The layout was carved out of some very natural terrain.”
ACGC is also an affordable option for a day of golf, according to Babkirk. He said the weekday rate is $49 to play 18 holes and $35 for nine holes, and includes the use of a power cart.
In the opposite direction, a 10-minute drive south of Airdrie will bring visitors to the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, which has become a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the equine industries in Alberta. The Balzac-based facility opened in 2015 and has been offering live horseracing and betting since 2016.
According to Century Downs’ marketing manager Karen Franco, the 5.5-furlong track is the only A-ranked track in southern Alberta. Since Calgary Stampede Park stopped offering horseracing in 2008, Century Downs is also the only place in the Calgary area that offers the sport in a live setting.
“It’s a few minutes outside the city, so it’s easy to get to, a great opportunity to get some fresh air and see some of the great horses from the area racing,” she said. “Horse breeding is a very important industry here in Alberta, so [coming here] is a great opportunity to see some of the folks who work in and around that industry.”
Standardbred horseracing returned to the Century Downs Racetrack in late June. The races are offered on Saturday and Tuesday afternoons. Photo by Scott Strasser/Airdrie City View.Due to the pandemic, the 2020 racing season was postponed for four months, Franco said, and the track was closed until late June. Since reopening, the track has been offering standardbred harness racing every Tuesday and Saturday afternoon, with races kicking off at 2:15 p.m.
“Anyone visiting our area who might have an inkling about horses will find it really exciting to be here at Century Downs,” she said. “We have great horseracing to offer throughout the summer and into the fall, so anyone planning a late getaway can certainly have some fun here at Century.”
Franco added the casino and racetrack’s reopening came with new health and safety measures to help protect visitors and staff from COVID-19. She said people are mandated to wear masks inside the casino, as well as the racetrack’s viewing area.
Other measures include frequent sanitization of surfaces and touch-points, social distancing directives and a reduced capacity of 200 people in the racetrack’s viewing area, she said.
Although the racetrack is connected to the Century Downs casino, Franco said the track is family-friendly.
