Botanical Gardens
Calgary’s largest public garden is 100-per cent volunteer-planted and -pruned. A meander through its 24 gardens and eight forested areas will broaden your horticultural mind. Up your literary savvy at the Shakespeare Garden, featuring flowers mentioned in the Bard’s works.
5720 Silver Ridge Dr. N.W.
Mitillini’s Pizza and Steak
Regulars say Mitililini’s has been consistently good for decades, and, on Sundays, you get 30 per cent off dine-in pizza. Also of note is the yummy chicken parm, not to mention the Aegean village mural over the fireplace for a cozy, 1980s-Calgary/ancient-Greek vibe.
2, 5720 Silver Springs Blvd. N.W.
Edible Garden
This 36-plot, pesticide-free community garden began in 2009. Five years ago, Silver Springers added a food forest, a garden shed with a living roof and a “barking lot” for dog gatherings.
At the intersection of Silver Hill Road N.W. and Silver Hill Way N.W.
Sideshow Bob Biking Trail
An intermediate, almost-treeless, single-track path along the cliff-face off Bowmont Park, Sideshow Bob’s trailhead parking lot is on Home Road at 52nd Street N.W. Experienced riders might even roll all seven miles to 12 Mile Coulee for transporting prairie views and a few technical, daredevilish moves.
Dale Hodges Park
“Stormwater treatment facility” isn’t usually the gateway to a beautiful hike, but this park is sublime. Boardwalks, cycling paths, walking trails, a wet meadow and pond were designed to follow the path of stormwater through the thriving park, transformed from a former gravel pit.
2123 52 St. N.W.