Until last year, when the community hit the number-three spot on Avenue Magazine's 2017 best neighbourhoods list, Edgemont was one of Calgary's best-kept secrets.

"We were really excited by the recent ranking," said Paul Clark, president of the Edgemont Community Association. He's been living in the neighbourhood for 24 years and can't say enough about the location.

"It's the green spaces within the community that make this such an amazing place," he said. "And we are right next door to Nose Hill Park, which is literally a five-minute walk from my doorstep."

Tucked in amongst Calgary's northwest hills, brimming with prairie grasslands and high-plains formations, are the adjacent communities of Edgemont and Hawkwood.

Raised in Acadia, the neighbourhood where he learned to love the game, Tim Hunter admits he still has fond memories and an affinity for Calgary's southeast.

Calgary's urban parks offer nearby residents a slice of the great outdoors in the heart of the city

At the beginning of July last year, John and Ildi Arlette took their first-ever walk through Confederation Park.

By the end of that month, they had bought a home in Mount Pleasant sitting near the crescent-shaped green space that stretches across 162 hectares – including eight hectares of wetlands – in northwest Calgary.

"We were on a date night and someone had told me about Confederation Park," said John Arlette. "Ildi is from Ontario and I realized I hadn't shown her much of Calgary – I hadn't even been to the park myself."

After that visit, the Arlettes sold their home in Signal Hill, becoming both inner-city – and park-side living – devotees.