Golf courses, patios open for warm Calgary weekend

It's out with outdoor rinks and in with golfing, cycling and patio parties as warm weather is set to rule the weekend forecast.

The City of Calgary says it will be the last weekend for its remaining outdoor rinks at Olympic Plaza and Bowness, and people taking advantage of the weather say those final opportunities to hit the ice are melting away.

"The temperature is perfect for skating but for the ice, not so much. It's like a puddle out there," said Quinn Nyugen while skating at Olympic Plaza.

As skaters take their final spins, others are gearing up for a different kind of spinning.

Calgary Cycle says this year's weekend tent sale will be different.

"The last two years, I've been here clearing snow with machines and shovels with my kids the night before, making sure the tent could go up and then this year, it's potentially plus 15," said Derek Lee with Calgary Cycle.

"It's great."

Lee says the mild winter meant a lot more biking in Calgary in the past months, but this warm weather, just ahead of the first day of spring, seems to signal the start of bike season.

"Everyone's coming out of the woodwork," he said.

"I'm thinking about updating my current bike. It's definitely something I've been thinking about now that the weather is getting nice," said Julie Sproule while bike shopping.

The nice weather also has a lot of people thinking about golf.

Fox Hollow is opening its fairways on March 16 with temporary greens and tee boxes.

"Saturday, we're open on nine holes, so it's going to be somewhat busy, but Sunday, we're opening on 16 holes and it's already a full tee sheet," said Jon Fry, Fox Holllow assistant golf pro.

The nice weather has a lot of people thinking about golf.

Not exactly St Patrick's Day on the green, but the next best thing, locally.

"Green shorts and brown grass, but it's as good as we can get in Calgary," Fry said.

Many Calgarians recall one extremely snowy St. Paddy's Day in 1998.

In contrast, parties are expected to spill onto patios this March 17, with the chance of temperatures near the record high.

According to the city, there are 933 restaurants in Calgary with a patio, and neighbourhoods that have the highest concentration are by far the Beltline with 119 patios and downtown with 96 patios.

On top of the 933 restaurant patios, the city is launching its seasonal patio program in May.

Right now, there are 75 applications.

While people plan to enjoy the warm weekend, Calgary is expecting another wintry blast next week.