Bowness is a great neighbourhood, but it seems sometimes they get a bit of a bad rap. Bowness Park is really no different. For some reason I have it ingrained in my brain that Bowness Park is a little sketchy. I picture plenty of drunks and teenagers doing unspeakable things in the picnic shelters, but every single time I've been, it has been nothing more than happy families and groups of all ages to prove my terrible prejudice wrong. This place is wonderful.
In the summer, this is a great place for loading you raft on to the river. Man-made rock outcrops make large current free zones for playing in the water or an easy location to hop in your boat. Being on the west side of the city, it makes for a wonderful float through the city, down to Inglewood.
It's very nature-y feeling! Even though it's in the middle of the city, having a fire in on of the pits and cooking up some hot dogs and smores makes it feel like camping. There are picnic shelters for groups or when the weather gets nasty.
While there's no sport setups like goal posts, etc. There is plenty of mowed lawn space for playing catch, throwing frisbees and just general summertime merriment.
For winter, they're really upped their skating game. The've always had a wonderfully larger natural skating area. I also really like the skating pathways that branch out from the main pond. There a really nice padded area (so you can walk on it with your skates) complete with several gas fire pits, seating, and light strung up. Beautiful.
A nice park year round and good destination for a summer cruise. Pick up some soft serve at Angels Drive In and head down to the park.