Live in Forest Heights
A 1959 inner-southeast community on Memorial Drive, immediately north of Forest Lawn and its International Avenue.
Forest Heights was established in 1959 under the former town of Forest Lawn, which Calgary annexed on 30 December 1961 and which gives the wider area its "Greater Forest Lawn" name. It is small and built out: 1.50 km², bounded by Memorial Drive, 36 Street SE, 8 Avenue SE and 52 Street SE, with Marlborough across the road to the north and Penbrooke Meadows next door to the east. Seventy-eight per cent of its occupied dwellings went up between 1961 and 1980 and nothing at all since 2010, and only 38 per cent are single-detached: row houses, semi-detached and duplexes make up more than half. At the 2021 census it held 5,985 residents in 2,100 private households, down from a civic count of 6,496 two years earlier, and 41 per cent of residents were immigrants against 33 per cent citywide.
An established inner-southeast address, one block off Memorial Drive
Bordered north by Memorial Drive, west by 36 Street SE, south by 8 Avenue SE, and east by 52 Street SE. Ward 9, in the City's East sector.
Forest Heights was established in 1959, under what was then the separate town of Forest Lawn, itself the product of two villages incorporated in 1934 and amalgamated in 1935. Calgary annexed the town on 30 December 1961. That annexation is why the wider area is still known as Greater Forest Lawn, a grouping that also includes Southview, Penbrooke Meadows, Dover, Red Carpet and Albert Park/Radisson Heights.
It is a small, fully built-out community: 1.50 km², bounded by Memorial Drive to the north, 36 Street SE to the west, 8 Avenue SE to the south, and 52 Street SE to the east. Marlborough sits directly across Memorial Drive, and Penbrooke Meadows is next door to the east.
Housing and income. This is not a bungalow suburb: only 38% of occupied dwellings are single-detached, with 27% row houses, 17% semi-detached and 9% apartments in a duplex. 78% of the stock went up between 1961 and 1980, and nothing at all since 2010. Median household income was $79,000 in 2020 against a citywide $98,000, and 25% of households spend 30% or more of income on shelter, against 23% across the city. Population has slipped from 6,496 at the 2019 civic count to 5,985 in 2,100 private households at the 2021 federal census.
Who lives here. 41% of residents were immigrants at the 2021 census, well above the citywide 33%, and 66% of them were born in Asia, the Philippines and Viet Nam ahead of anywhere else. Wikipedia gives the city figure as 32%; the City's own profile says 33%, and this guide uses the profile. That character shows up immediately south on International Avenue, the 17 Avenue SE business revitalization zone that bisects Forest Lawn, with MAX Purple running its own bus lanes along it.
- 78% of the housing dates from 1961 to 1980. Roofs, furnaces, windows and wiring are at or past design life
- More than half the stock is attached: row houses, semi-detached and duplex apartments together outnumber the single-detached houses
- Median household income sits $19,000 below the city median, and a quarter of households are shelter-cost burdened
- Population has slipped from 6,496 in 2019 to 5,985 in 2021
- No school inside the boundaries at all. Penbrooke Meadows and Marlborough schools each name their own community, not this one: confirm the designation in writing
- International Avenue immediately south is a genuine multicultural retail strip, not generic suburban shopping
How Forest Heights got here
- 1935Forest Lawn and Albert Park, incorporated as villages on 4 July 1934, amalgamate on 1 August 1935 into the town of Forest Lawn.
- 1959Forest Heights is established as a community, under the former town of Forest Lawn.
- 1961The town of Forest Lawn is annexed by Calgary on 30 December, putting Forest Heights inside the Greater Forest Lawn area alongside Albert Park/Radisson Heights, Southview, Penbrooke Meadows, Dover and Red Carpet.
- 1967The Forest Heights-Hubalta Community Association is registered provincially on 23 August. Its hall at 4909 Forego Avenue SE still runs indoor and outdoor rinks, a hockey rink and sports fields.
- 1970sThe decade that built the place: 78 per cent of today's occupied dwellings date from 1961 to 1980, against 26 per cent across Calgary. Nothing has been built here since 2010.
- 1974Bob Bahan Aquatic and Fitness Centre opens in October in neighbouring Forest Lawn, and remains the area's anchor indoor recreation facility.
- 1985Marlborough station opens on 27 April on the Blue Line at 889 36 Street NE, across Memorial Drive, 6.5 km from the City Hall interlocking.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 6,496 residents in 2,275 dwellings, 2,247 of them occupied and 1,232 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 5,985 residents in 2,100 private households, 41 per cent of them immigrants, 66 per cent of those born in Asia, with a median household income of $79,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary.
A community park at the centre, and Elliston Park a short drive away
Forest Heights has no river valley or provincial park of its own. Its open space is what the Forest Heights-Hubalta Community Association runs from 4909 Forego Avenue SE: sports fields, a hockey rink and both an indoor and an outdoor skating rink. Beyond that, Elliston Park, 415 hectares around a storm water pond, is eight to twelve minutes southeast. Its fireworks festival, GlobalFest, ran there from 2003 through 2025 and moved to Spruce Meadows in 2026.
What the map does not show: the nearest stretch of the Bow River pathway is reached west along Memorial Drive to Pearce Estate Park and the Bow Habitat Station, ten to fourteen minutes away, not walkable, but a genuine option for a longer ride or run. There is no equivalent here to the river-valley communities further west.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Forest Heights
19 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 19 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. Most day-to-day needs here are unusually close. Marlborough Mall, the CTrain and several schools are all under five minutes, while the mountains are a genuine haul from this side of the city.
Every gym within reach
The area is served by one long-standing city facility rather than a dense cluster of private clubs, plus the community's own free option inside the boundaries.
- Pool, dive tank, hot tub, steam room, weights and cardio, a fitness studio and a universal change room
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool adds a seasonal outdoor option a few minutes south
- Genesis Centre at 7555 Falconridge Boulevard NE adds field houses, two gymnasiums and a sport court, further north
- The community association's own fields and its indoor and outdoor rinks are the free option, inside the boundaries
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City-run pool, dive tank, hot tub, steam room, weight room and fitness studio at 4812 14 Ave. S.E. in Forest Lawn, open since October 1974. | 4–6 min |
| Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool open | The seasonal outdoor pool Wikipedia names among Forest Lawn's facilities, alongside Bob Bahan. | 4–6 min |
| Forest Heights Park pathways & rink open | Free option: the community association's own sports fields and its indoor and outdoor rinks at 4909 Forego Avenue SE. | 1–3 min |
| Genesis Centre open | Field houses, a feature and a community gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms and a seasonal sport court at 7555 Falconridge Blvd. NE. | 10–15 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Two City arenas, the Ken Bracko and the Perry Cavanagh, at 1001 Barlow Tr. S.E. | 6–9 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, dive tank, water slides, weights and cardio, gymnasium and two arenas at 2623 56 St. N.E., with a library branch at the same address. | 8–11 min |
Confirm hours before you count on any of them. Bob Bahan is a long-established city facility, but programming and pool hours shift seasonally. Check ahead, especially for the outdoor pool.
No school inside the community, and the nearest ones name their own
Penbrooke Meadows School sits immediately east and Marlborough School across Memorial Drive to the north, but each says on its own page that it serves its own community, not this one. Penbrooke Meadows adds students from further afield only through its LEAD programme. On the Catholic side, Wikipedia names Holy Trinity Elementary among Forest Lawn's schools. Ian Bazalgette, the junior high, names Valley View, Erin Woods, West Dover and Southview as the communities it serves, and not Forest Heights.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Penbrooke Meadows School | Calgary Board of Education | Immediately east. Its own page says it serves students in the Penbrooke Meadows community, plus students from further afield in its LEAD programme, so it does not name Forest Heights. |
| Marlborough School | Calgary Board of Education | Immediately north across Memorial Drive. Its own page says it serves students living in the community of Marlborough, so it does not name Forest Heights either. |
| Holy Trinity School | Calgary Catholic | Holy Trinity Elementary in neighbouring Forest Lawn, which Wikipedia names among that community's Catholic schools. The district's own site refuses automated clients. |
| Ian Bazalgette School | Calgary Board of Education | Junior high in Dover. Its own page names Valley View, Erin Woods, West Dover and Southview as the communities it serves, and not Forest Heights. |
| Forest Lawn Senior High | Calgary Board of Education | Teaching at the 10, 20 and 30 course levels, with Advanced Placement, an International Certificate and career and technology streams. It publishes no attendance area. |
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 with the board before you buy. Nothing we could open prints an attendance area covering Forest Heights, and the Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients, so the one Catholic school named here rests on Wikipedia.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Forest Heights Park's flooded outdoor rink is the community's own option for backyard hockey and skating
- Chinooks reach this side of the city later and weaker than in the inner core
- Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre's pool and fitness classes carry the indoor season
- Memorial Drive and 17 Avenue SE get priority plowing as arterial routes
- Family Day programming runs at the association's hall on Forego Avenue SE
- Marlborough Mall stays the closest indoor option on the coldest days
- A chinook can turn the outdoor rink to slush within an afternoon
- Longer light is noticeable by month's end
- Melt and refreeze on the community's older side streets
- Forest Heights Park's rink closes as the ice goes soft
- International Avenue's storefronts start their spring turnover
- Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High post their spring break dates
- Spring break sends families to Bob Bahan's pool and to Marlborough Mall
- Last hard frosts before planting
- Forest Heights Park's sports fields dry out and reopen
- The Forest Heights Community Association's annual general meeting typically falls this time of year
- Long evenings: sunset past 9pm by month's end
- Community league soccer and ball seasons start at Forest Heights Park
- Hail season begins, as it does across the city's east side
- International Avenue's restaurant patios open for the season
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- Penbrooke Meadows and Marlborough schools finish for the year
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool opens for the season
- Thunderstorm season is fully under way
- Calgary Stampede: about fifteen minutes northwest via Memorial Drive
- GlobalFest's fireworks ran at Elliston Park from 2003 through 2025 and moved to Spruce Meadows in 2026, so the July skyline is quieter now
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- International Avenue's restaurant patios are at their busiest
- Elliston Park's pathways and rose garden carry the late-summer evenings now that its fireworks festival has moved
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool at its warmest
- Quiet weeks before school returns
- Harvest traffic builds on Memorial Drive and Stoney Trail
- School year restarts at Penbrooke Meadows, Marlborough, Holy Trinity, Ian Bazalgette and Forest Lawn Senior High
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool closes for the season
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- International Avenue's back-to-school retail picks up
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Forest Heights Park's fields close out fall community league sports
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Forest Heights Park's rink gets flooded for the season once the cold holds
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre
- Marlborough Mall's holiday retail season begins
- Holiday quiet settles across the community
- Forest Heights Park's rink and Bob Bahan's pool carry the indoor season
- Chinooks, when they come, arrive later and weaker on this side of the city
- International Avenue's shops keep their hours through the holidays
5 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–5 of 5 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Forest Heights, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Calgary library.