Live in Savanna
A Genstar community inside Saddle Ridge in the far northeast, east of Métis Trail, with the Savanna Bazaar as its commercial heart.
Savanna is a Genstar community in Calgary's far northeast, and the City does not count it as a community of its own: it publishes no population, household or income figure under the name Savanna, and Wikipedia calls it a division of Saddle Ridge that houses much of that community's population. Every figure on this page is therefore Saddle Ridge's, and it is labelled that way. Saddle Ridge held 24,365 residents in 6,005 private households at the 2021 census, with an average household of 4.1 persons and 62 per cent of residents immigrants, the highest share of any community on this site.
A far-northeast community that is still arriving
East of Métis Trail and south of Airport Trail NE, inside the Saddle Ridge community of Calgary's far northeast. Saddle Ridge itself is bounded north by Airport Trail NE, east by Stoney Trail, south by 80 Avenue NE and west by Métis Trail. Ward 5.
Savanna is a Genstar community in the far northeast, and the City of Calgary does not count it as a community of its own. There is no Savanna community profile, no Savanna row in the census or civic census datasets and no Savanna boundary polygon. Wikipedia calls it a division of Saddle Ridge that houses much of that community's population, so every figure below is Saddle Ridge's and is labelled that way.
It sits east of Métis Trail and south of Airport Trail NE, in Ward 5. Saddle Ridge was established in 1960 as acreages and urbanised from the mid-2000s, after drainage problems held up earlier plans: half its occupied dwellings were built between 2001 and 2010 and another 43% since 2011. Saddletowne station, the terminus of the CTrain's northeast leg, opened on 27 August 2012 just west of the community.
Who lives here. Saddle Ridge held 24,365 residents in 6,005 private households at the 2021 census, an average of 4.1 people per household against 2.6 citywide, with 36% of households at five people or more. 62% of residents were immigrants, against 33% across Calgary, and 30% speak English most often at home against 75% citywide. Median household income was $104,000 in 2020, above the city's $98,000, though 27% of households spend 30% or more of their income on shelter against 23% citywide.
Housing mix. Genstar's builders are Cardel Homes, Excel Homes, Prominent Homes, Akash Homes and Homes by Avi, delivering front-garage, laned, paired and townhouse product from the $400s. Across Saddle Ridge, 68% of dwellings are single-detached and 12% are apartments or flats in a duplex, the secondary-suite shape of the northeast.
Savanna Bazaar is the community's own retail centre and Genstar names it the anchor: shops, dining, medical services and local businesses. For recreation, Genstar points at the Genesis Centre, though no publisher this guide could open lists what is inside it. What can be confirmed on that block is the Saddletowne Library and the Saddletowne YMCA, both at 7555 Falconridge Boulevard NE. Village Square Leisure Centre is closed for upgrades from 31 August 2026 to the end of 2027, with its arenas open only until March 2027.
Schools. Nelson Mandela High School opened at 45 Saddletowne Circle NE on 6 September 2016 for grades 10 to 12 and serves Saddle Ridge, Taradale and Martindale; its enrolment was 1,936 in 2024. Peter Lougheed School opened the same year for grades 5 to 9, and Saddle Ridge Elementary covers kindergarten to grade 4. Light of Christ is the Catholic K to 9, and Wikipedia places it in Saddlehorn rather than in Savanna.
- There is no City community profile, census row, civic census row or boundary polygon for Savanna. Every figure on this page belongs to Saddle Ridge
- This is one of the newest addresses on this site. Parts are still selling, and long-run resale and school-enrolment history do not exist yet
- Nothing this guide could open names a school inside Savanna itself. The CBE assigns a designated school from the home address, so confirm it in writing
- Saddle Ridge households average 4.1 people against 2.6 citywide, and 36% hold five or more: the housing is sized for that
- 27% of Saddle Ridge households spend 30% or more of income on shelter, against 23% citywide
- Savanna Bazaar is the retail inside the boundaries. Bigger-box shopping means a drive to Sunridge or Marlborough
How Savanna got here
- 1960Saddle Ridge, the community Savanna is a division of, is established. It began as acreages, with an active community association from the 1970s.
- Mid-2000sUrbanization of Saddle Ridge begins in earnest, after drainage problems held up earlier development plans. Half the community's occupied dwellings date from 2001 to 2010.
- 2012Saddletowne station opens on 27 August as the terminus of the CTrain's northeast leg, immediately west of what becomes Savanna.
- 2016Two schools open: Nelson Mandela High School at 45 Saddletowne Circle NE on 6 September, for grades 10 to 12, and Peter Lougheed School for grades 5 to 9.
- 2021The federal census counts 24,365 residents in 6,005 private households across Saddle Ridge, with a median household income of $104,000 in 2020. Nothing is published for Savanna alone.
- TodayGenstar is still selling Savanna, with Cardel Homes, Excel Homes, Prominent Homes, Akash Homes and Homes by Avi building front-garage, laned, paired and townhouse product from the $400s.
A regional pathway network still filling in, and Prairie Winds up the road
Savanna's own open space is the pathway system Genstar describes, with parks, playgrounds and natural areas threaded through it. Genstar gives no count of them, and no City publisher lists Savanna's parks separately. Prairie Winds Park is one of the northeast's big civic parks, and Chestermere Lake is the honest lake option to the east.
What the map does not show: don't expect mature parkland yet. Most of Savanna's own green space went in with the phases it belongs to, so trees and landscaping are still growing. Prairie Winds Park is what carries the community until the internal network matures.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Savanna
21 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 21 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the Savanna Drive area to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Because Savanna is still building out, its own centre point will keep shifting as later phases are added: treat these as directional, not survey-grade.
Every gym within reach
The northeast is served by large civic facilities rather than a dense cluster of private clubs, and Savanna's own retail centre carries only a handful of fitness and wellness storefronts so far. The Genesis Centre publishes nothing this guide could open, so confirm hours and facilities yourself before you count on any of it.
- Village Square Leisure Centre is closed for upgrades from 31 August 2026 until the end of 2027, arenas until March 2027
- Max Bell Centre has twin arenas, southwest along the rail corridor
- Savanna Bazaar carries a small number of fitness and wellness storefronts. Check which are currently trading
- The Saddletowne Library and Saddletowne YMCA are both at 7555 Falconridge Boulevard NE
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis Centre open | Genstar names it the northeast's recreation anchor, but no publisher this guide could open lists its facilities. The Saddletowne Library and Saddletowne YMCA are both at 7555 Falconridge Boulevard NE. | 6–9 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Twin arenas and community recreation space, southwest along the rail corridor. | 15–23 min |
| Savanna Bazaar clinics and studios open | The closest paid fitness and wellness storefronts, inside the community's own retail centre. Genstar names medical services among its tenants; confirm which studios are currently trading. | 1–3 min |
| Savanna community pathways open | Free option: the community's own regional pathway network and green space. | 1–3 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre closed | Closed for upgrades and repairs from 31 August 2026 until the end of 2027: the pools, gymnasium and fitness centre all go dark, and the arenas stay open only until March 2027. | 10–15 min |
Check what's actually open. As a newer retail node, tenants at Savanna Bazaar turn over; confirm a specific studio is trading before you rely on it.
No school inside Savanna itself, and four across Saddle Ridge
Wikipedia names five schools across Saddle Ridge and places none of them inside Savanna: Saddle Ridge Elementary for kindergarten to grade 4, Hugh A. Bennett School, Peter Lougheed School for grades 5 to 9 from 2016, Nelson Mandela High School for grades 10 to 12, and Light of Christ, the Catholic K to 9, which it locates in Saddlehorn.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Light of Christ Catholic Elementary and Junior High School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic kindergarten to grade 9. Wikipedia places it in Saddlehorn rather than in Savanna, and names it among the schools serving Saddle Ridge. The district's own site refuses automated clients, so nothing here was read from it. |
| Saddle Ridge School | Calgary Board of Education | Wikipedia names Saddle Ridge Elementary, kindergarten to grade 4, among the community's public schools. |
| Peter Lougheed School | Calgary Board of Education | Opened 2016 for grades 5 to 9, per Wikipedia's Saddle Ridge article. |
| Nelson Mandela High School | Calgary Board of Education | Grades 10 to 12 at 45 Saddletowne Circle NE, opened 6 September 2016, enrolment 1,936 in 2024. It serves Saddle Ridge, Taradale and Martindale. |
| Designations are address-based | Both boards | Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition at either board. The CBE assigns a designated school from the home address and the chosen programme, so confirm for a specific address before you buy. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. The CBE assigns a designated school from the home address and the chosen programme through a lookup that cannot be read from a static page, and the Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients. Confirm the current designated school for a specific address with the board before you buy: designations in a community this new change as enrolment catches up with construction.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Chinooks reach the far northeast last and weakest of anywhere in the city
- Genesis Centre carries the indoor season
- Airport Trail and Métis Trail are priority-plowed routes
- Wind off the open land north of Savanna is a real factor
- Indoor recreation at Genesis Centre at its busiest
- Coldest stretches usually break with a chinook
- Chestermere Lake ice fishing and skating, twenty minutes east
- Longer light by month end
- Melt and refreeze on Savanna's newer sidewalks
- Prairie wind picks up as the snow goes
- Community pathways reopen
- Savanna Bazaar patios start filling on mild afternoons
- Last hard frosts: planting waits until the long weekend
- Playing fields dry out at Prairie Winds Park
- Route 59 ridership picks up as the mud dries
- Migratory birds return to the open land north of Airport Trail
- Long evenings: sunset past 9pm by month end
- Community league and minor sport seasons start
- Hail season begins: the northeast gets more than its share
- New landscaping and sod goes in across Savanna's newest phases
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- School year ends at Light of Christ and Nelson Mandela
- Thunderstorm season fully under way
- Savanna Bazaar's outdoor stalls run their longest hours of the year
- Calgary Stampede: ten days, about twenty-five minutes southwest
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Hottest month, with little mature-tree shade in a community this new
- Chestermere beaches busy on warm weekends
- GlobalFest fireworks moved to Spruce Meadows in 2026, after twenty-three years at Elliston Park
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- Harvest and construction traffic both pick up on Airport Trail
- Savanna Bazaar's food stalls at their busiest
- School year restarts at Light of Christ, Saddle Ridge School and Nelson Mandela
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Savanna Bazaar busiest with back-to-school shopping
- Prairie colour turns across the open land north of the community
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Construction continues into the shoulder season on Savanna's unbuilt phases
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Genesis Centre
- Savanna Bazaar's holiday retail season begins
- Freeze sets in on Chestermere Lake
- Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo, twenty-five minutes southwest
- Holiday quiet across the community
- Chestermere ice starts to hold
- Chinooks, when they come, arrive late and weak here
29 more photographs of Calgary and the region
Drawn from the site's shared, freely licensed Calgary photo library, not photographs of Savanna itself. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 29 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 Savanna itself, which is too new and too fast-changing to have its own photo library yet.