How Calgary’s original lake community came to be, and what it offers today: a 52-acre lake, mature streets and Fish Creek Park next door.
Lake Bonavista is where the idea of lake living in Calgary began. Development of the community started in 1967, and the Calgary Real Estate Board describes it as the first man-made lake community in Canada. More than half a century later, it is a settled neighbourhood of mature trees and curving streets in the city's southeast.
How the lake was built
The developer, E.V. Keith of Keith Construction, began excavating the lake in February 1968 and completed it that year. The result was a 52-acre lake set in a 25-acre park, with the excavated earth used to build a 65-foot hill with a waterfall. A second, smaller lake, Lake Bonaventure, was added later. Keith also set up the Lake Bonavista Homeowners Association, which still runs the lake today.
Life on the lake
The lake park is private and open to members. Membership comes with properties that carry the association's encumbrance on title, and it is mandatory for those homes; some properties, including condominiums, secondary suites and the Bonavista Downs area, are not eligible. Members have two beaches, North Beach and South Beach, free rentals of rowboats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards and pedal boats, and a lake stocked for fishing. In winter there are skating rinks, a loop around the lake and the heated Lake House. Gas motors are not allowed, and swimming is unsupervised.
Homes
Most homes in Lake Bonavista are detached houses built in the late 1960s and 1970s, many of them bungalows and split-levels on established lots. Low-rise apartment buildings make up most of the rest of the community's housing. Condominiums offer a way into the neighbourhood, though they are not part of the lake association.
Around the community
The community is bounded by Anderson Road, Canyon Meadows Drive and Macleod Trail, with Fish Creek Provincial Park just to the south. Lake Bonavista Promenade sits beside the lake's main gate, and Avenida shopping centre is nearby. The Lake Bonavista Community Association, separate from the lake association, runs a community centre with ice rinks and a gym. The community has several elementary and junior high schools; see the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District for details.
Getting around
Canyon Meadows CTrain station on the Red Line is linked to Lake Bonavista by a pedestrian bridge over Macleod Trail, and Anderson station lies just to the north. Macleod Trail and Anderson Road connect to the rest of the city.
If you are curious about Lake Bonavista, whether a detached home with lake access or a condominium near the CTrain, Rob would be glad to show you around.