NO FEAR OF CABIN FEVER IN ANY SEASON
New communities offer many ways to enjoy the great outdoors
While some people prefer to spend the frostier months immersed in a Netflix marathon, others need the outdoors.
Having the ability to enjoy a fun afternoon in the fresh air, even in chillier temperatures, is sometimes possible without even leaving the community.
It’s one of the things Dan Hayduk enjoys about Mahogany, a southeast Calgary community by Hopewell Residential.
He and his six-year-old son Peter give so-called cabin fever the slip, on Mahogany Lake. Stretching 25 hectares, it’s the largest freshwater lake within Calgary city limits.
While it’s well-known as a place for paddleboarding and kayaking during the summer months, Mahogany Lake is also a winter destination for community residents.
“Since the ice was thick enough and everyone got the green light from the community association, I started taking my boy out there,” says Dan. “It’s been really good.”
Dan, his wife, Shaylyn, and their children Peter, Emma and Charlie, moved to a home with four bedrooms above grade by Hopewell Residential last year.
The Hayduks singled out the main floor flex room and spacious mud room, among other improvements from their previous home.
The lake is about a 10-minute walk from their new home. Peter is enrolled in skating lessons, but they’ve been out on Mahogany Lake a handful of times, Dan says.
“Seeing the kids out on the ice, he was pretty excited to get out there,” says Dan of the community lake.
“So we got him a stick and puck for Christmas. We’ve been out there playing shinny hockey.”
The lake makes those connections with others in the community a little easier, too. “There will be families out there with young kids, they see you’ve got young kids — it seems like Mahogany is the community of three kids. They’ve got larger families, so you’ve got a lot in common,” Dan says. “It’s very easy to chat with people.”
The same goes for the Beach Club in Mahogany, a community facility that boasts year-round programming.
“There are all kinds of activities to keep families involved and meet new people,” says Dan.
Auburn Bay by Brookfield Residential is another community in southeast Calgary where residents can enjoy — even in winter weather — an expansive lake.
The community, now selling into its final phase of single-family homes, has a 17-hectare lake.
“I think one of the biggest benefits of having a lake that is functional for all four seasons is it creates a hub in the community,” says Jenna Rilling, marketing lead for Brookfield.
“Neighbours gather, connect and get to know each other better. It also allows for great community events to continue throughout all seasons whether it’s a hockey tournament or beach day. Parents are also able to keep their kids active throughout the year without driving to different areas and paying for different admission fees and memberships.”
But a lake isn’t required to give people a place to lace up skates during the winter. New communities, such as Legacy in southeast Calgary and Harmony in Springbank, have smaller rinks for residents.
“Legacy puts up a temporary skating rink each year for residents to enjoy,” says Kalida Goldade, marketing manager for WestCreek Developments, the developer behind Legacy.
“In addition, we have created an access point into the environmental reserve this fall so that people can snowshoe and cross-country ski within the area,” she adds.
In Harmony this winter, the development team put in a smaller skating rink on a trout pond that is flooded, maintained and is available for residents to use, says Ryan Hall, vice-president of marketing and communications at Bordeaux Developments.
Bordeaux and Qualico Communities are the developers behind the community just west of Calgary. “We’ve had a truly Canadian winter with a lot of snow and cold temperatures and it’s prime for skating — and of course we have a large group of residents with young families that want to be able to get out and enjoy the ice.”
While Harmony is a lake community, the lake is the active source of drinking water and utilizes aeration, circulation and ozonation systems to ensure overall water quality, says Hall. “The aeration system, however, prevents the lake from completely freezing at the surface — so it’s not an ideal solution at this point. We are creating our long-term amenities strategy and this will ensure Harmony residents have some great opportunities for skating and other recreational features integrated into the community.”
But winter isn’t just about skating. While snow accumulation may excite skiers, it also captures the hearts of people who enjoy rushing down a hill on a toboggan.
Such is the case with a family of five who have made good use of a hill in Osborne Park in the Airdrie community of Southwinds, which is by Mattamy Homes.
Jenny and Jeff Robichaud — with Makena Robichaud, 5, Tommi Hytonen, 8, and Finley Hytonen, 11 — live a five-minute walk away, in the builder’s Garnett model, a 2,208-square-foot front-drive single-family home.
“When it’s not too cold, we’ve used it quite a bit with the kids and it’s been fun,” says Jenny, adding her daughter goes to a day home that takes their children to this hill, as well.
“It’s safe enough where we don’t have to go down with them if we don’t want to,” she says of their winter outings.
“We can stand at the top of the hill and they can bring the toboggan back up and go down, and have races. It’s been fun.”