Live in North Haven
A small 1963 community on Nose Hill's southeast slope. Two halves, one park above them.
North Haven was established in 1963 on former ranch land on Nose Hill's southeast slope, and it comes in two pieces: Lower North Haven, built between 1962 and 1971, and Upper North Haven, started in 1977, split by a bus trap with Egerts Park alongside. The City's profile for the community counts 2,365 residents in 995 private households at the 2021 census, 27 per cent of those households renting. Nose Hill Park is the top of every street. Spawn creator Todd McFarlane spent his early years here.
Upper, Lower, and the hill above both
Bordered west and northwest by Nose Hill Park and 14 Street NW, with John Laurie Boulevard and Egerts Park dividing and defining the halves. Ward 4.
North Haven was established in 1963 on old ranch land on Nose Hill's southeast slope, in two halves split by one of the city's famous bus traps: Lower, built between 1962 and 1971, and Upper, started in 1977, with Egerts Park alongside. The City's profile for the community counts 2,365 residents in 995 private households at the 2021 census.
The hill is the deal: Nose Hill Park, 1,129 hectares of native grassland established in 1980 and ringed by twelve northwest communities, begins at the top of the community, and the southeast slope is the sheltered side. Sunnier and calmer than the ridge communities that face the weather.
Small and stable: 78% of the occupied stock went up between 1961 and 1980 and almost nothing since, 60% of it single-detached, with 20% of residents 65 or over against 13% citywide. Only 13% of households spend 30% or more of income on shelter, against 23% across Calgary: the lowest figure of any community in this batch. The Winter Club sits at the community's foot for those who join, though its own site refuses automated clients, so this guide could not confirm what membership buys.
- 78% of the occupied stock is 1961 to 1980, the aluminum-wiring era: inspect the electrical
- Upper and Lower have different school designations, and no school here publishes an attendance area
- 14 Street borders the west with real traffic
- Thin inventory; the community sells by word of mouth
How North Haven got here
- 1963North Haven is established on former ranch land on Nose Hill's southeast slope.
- 1962–1971Lower North Haven is built out. Three quarters of the community's occupied stock dates from 1961 to 1980.
- 1977Development of Upper North Haven begins on the north side of the bus trap.
- 1980Nose Hill Park is established above the community: 1,129 hectares of native grassland, ringed by twelve northwest communities.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 2,358 residents in 1,011 dwellings, 969 of them occupied and 645 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 2,365 residents in 995 private households, with a median household income of $102,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary.
A park above, a park between
Nose Hill Park starts at the top of every street: 1,129 hectares of native grassland at 6465 14 Street NW, with hiking trails, off-leash areas and Blackfoot Confederacy interpretive signage, open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Egerts Park fills the gap between the halves: green above, green between.
What the map does not show: the bus trap between Upper and Lower is a Calgary curiosity that quietly shapes traffic. The community is calmer for it.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not North Haven
10 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 1–10 of 10 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. Small community, short list: 14 Street and McKnight carry everything longer.
Every gym within reach
The Winter Club and Thornhill split the load; the hill is free. Nothing inside North Haven appears on the City's own pool list, and the Winter Club publishes nothing this guide could open, so confirm terms and hours directly.
- Thornhill, at 6715 Centre Street NW, is the nearest pool on the City's own list
- Nose Hill's trails start at the top of the street, open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Egerts Park carries the small everyday
- The club's own site refuses automated clients, so ask it directly what membership covers
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Calgary Winter Club open | The private family athletic club at the community's foot. Its own site refuses automated clients, so nothing about its facilities, fees or waitlists could be confirmed for this guide. | 2–4 min |
| Thornhill Aquatic & Recreation Centre open | On the City's list of thirteen indoor pools, at 6715 Centre St. N.W. | 5–8 min |
| Nose Hill from the top of the street open | Free option: 1,129 hectares of native grassland and hiking trails, open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., starting where the community ends. | 1–2 min |
Ask the Winter Club early if it is part of your plan. This guide could not open a page carrying its fees, facilities or waitlist.
One elementary, a designation split
North Haven School runs kindergarten to grade 9 inside the community, with outdoor education, daily physical education and fine arts alongside the curriculum. The senior designation differs between the halves: Wikipedia puts Upper with Colonel Irvine and Diefenbaker, and Lower with James Fowler.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| North Haven School | Calgary Board of Education | Calgary Board of Education school inside the community, kindergarten to grade 9, with outdoor education, daily physical education and fine arts alongside the core curriculum. |
| Colonel Irvine School | Calgary Board of Education | Wikipedia names it as the junior high for Upper North Haven. Its own page carries a Chinese and Mandarin bilingual programme but states no grade range and no attendance area. |
| Senior designations | Both boards | Wikipedia says Diefenbaker serves Upper North Haven and James Fowler serves Lower. The split matters, and neither school publishes an attendance area, so 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. Check which half a specific address is in: the school answer changes with it, and none of the schools here publishes an attendance area of its own.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- The hill's southeast slope is the sheltered side. Winter is kinder here than on the ridge
- 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 native grasses turn gold above the community
- 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. Nose Hill stays open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. all winter
- Quiet, short days between the holidays
6 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–6 of 6 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near North Haven, 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.