Calgary Webcam – Downtown Skyline Across the Bow River

The Calgary Webcam looks southwest across the Bow River to the towers of downtown Calgary, from a rooftop high on the north bank. The Bow, a curved glass tower wrapped in a diagonal steel grid, rises left of center, and the concrete arches of the Centre Street Bridge cross the river on the right. Below the camera, a wooded slope drops to Memorial Drive and the riverside pathway, and on a sunny afternoon the light glitters off the water in the middle of the frame. A second tab switches to Central Memorial Park in the Beltline, a city block of lawns, round fountain basins and columns of evergreens seen from above, with towers and construction cranes behind it. Both streams run around the clock on the DELTATECH Calgary channel.

About Calgary and the View Over the Bow River

Calgary is the largest city in Alberta and the third largest in Canada, with 1,306,784 people at the 2021 census. It sits 1,045 meters (3,428 feet) above sea level. The city began in 1875, when the North-West Mounted Police built a post where the Elbow River meets the Bow, about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) downstream of the bridge in this view. The Bow itself rises at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake in Banff National Park and runs out onto the prairies to meet the Oldman River.

The tallest shape on the left is The Bow, finished in 2012 to a design by Foster + Partners. Its crescent of glass reaches 236 meters (774 feet) over 58 stories. It was the tallest building in the city until Brookfield Place passed it in 2016, and the design was cut by 11 meters (36 feet) to limit the shadow it casts on the pathways along the river.

The Centre Street Bridge opened on December 18, 1916. Its lower deck links Riverfront Avenue in Chinatown with Memorial Drive, and its upper deck carries on over Memorial Drive into Crescent Heights. Four cast concrete lions stand on the ornamental kiosks at its ends. Scottish mason James L. Thomson modeled them on the lions at the foot of Nelson’s Column in London, and each weighs 12,600 kilograms (27,800 pounds).

The second camera covers Central Memorial Park, one full block between 12 and 13 Avenue SW and 2 and 4 Street SW. Designed in 1889, the park covers 1.9 hectares (4.7 acres) and holds the Memorial Park Library, an equestrian statue of Russell Lambert Boyle unveiled in 1914, and a cenotaph dedicated in 1928. In 2018 the park and library became a National Historic Site of Canada.

Weather and Climate in Calgary

Winters are cold and mostly dry. January highs average about -2 C (29 F) and lows about -13 C (9 F), and in most years snow falls in every month from October to April. Chinook winds can still push a winter afternoon above 10 C (50 F) and melt the snow off the slope below the camera. Spring comes slowly: April highs reach about 10 C (50 F) with nights just below freezing.

Summer is warm and fairly short. July and August highs average about 23 C (74 F), with nights near 10 C (50 F). At 51 degrees north, late June gets about 16.5 hours of daylight, and late December just under 8. By October highs are back to about 10 C (51 F), with frost at night and the trees on the bank below the camera turning yellow.

Things to Do Near Downtown Calgary

The Centre Street Bridge is the quickest way from this view into the city. Its lower deck lands in Chinatown, home to the Chinese Cultural Centre, the largest facility of its kind in North America, along with Dragon City Mall and Sien Lok Park. West along the river, Prince’s Island Park fills an island in the Bow just north of downtown, and a little farther on, the Peace Bridge by Santiago Calatrava has carried walkers and cyclists across the water since 2012. Downstream to the east, the site of Fort Calgary marks where the city began.

In the core, Stephen Avenue turns part of 8 Avenue SW into a pedestrian mall. Just south of it, the Calgary Tower rises 190.8 meters (626 feet); the observation tower opened in 1968 as the tallest structure in the city. Every July the ten-day Calgary Stampede brings one of the world’s largest rodeos, chuckwagon racing and a parade, and draws more than a million visitors.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For another prairie skyline, a big city on the Great Lakes, or the mountains up the Bow Valley, try these next.

• Edmonton Webcam
• Terminal Tower Webcam
• Lake Louise Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Calgary Webcam located?

The main camera sits on a rooftop on the north bank of the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, looking southwest across Memorial Drive to downtown. The second camera looks down on Central Memorial Park in the Beltline, south of the downtown core.

What can you see on the Calgary Webcam?

The downtown skyline fills the upper half of the main view, with The Bow left of center and a row of office and apartment towers running to the right. The river crosses the middle of the frame, the Centre Street Bridge spans it on the right, and trees, Memorial Drive and the pathway fill the foreground.

Is there a Calgary webcam at Memorial Park?

Yes. The second tab on the player shows Central Memorial Park from above, with its paths, lawns and rows of evergreens, and the Beltline’s towers behind. An AccuWeather panel in the top left corner of that stream gives the current temperature and conditions.

Can you see the Bow River on the Calgary Webcam?

Yes. The river runs across the middle of the main view, between Memorial Drive and the downtown bank, with the Centre Street Bridge on the right.

Does the Calgary Webcam show traffic, the airport or the Stampede grounds?

Not as a traffic camera. Cars on Memorial Drive pass along the bottom of the main view, but neither camera watches a highway, and the airport and Stampede Park are out of sight. Stampede Park lies about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) south of the Centre Street Bridge.

What is the weather like in Calgary right now?

The main camera shows the sky over downtown and any snow on the riverbank, and the Central Memorial Park tab carries a live temperature panel. As a guide, January highs average about -2 C (29 F) and July highs about 23 C (74 F).

Will it snow in Calgary?

Almost certainly between October and April. About half of all Mays also bring a snowy day, and September snow happens now and then. Chinook winds can melt it quickly, so the slope below the camera can go from white to bare and back in a single winter.

Can you watch the Calgary skyline at night?

Yes. The skyline stream has run as a single YouTube broadcast since October 2022 and stays on after dark, when the towers’ lit windows take over the view. In late December the sun sets before 5 p.m. local time, so the night view starts early.

Source: DELTATECH