Calgary had a population of about 300,000 in 1959 when local businessman Ernie Lutz bought some land west of the city limits with a vision to create an all-season family park or Disneyland North where the community of Valley Ridge now stands.

Happy Valley first opened in 1961 with camping and bbq areas, stocked fish ponds, pony rides, trails, and playgrounds. It quickly expanded to include a 50m swimming pool and go-carts, mini-golf and Par 3 golf course.

Skating, tobaganning and a ski hill was added in 1962 with four poma lifts with capacity for 800 skiers per hour. Lights for night skiing and snow-making equipment soon followed.

In 1967 Happy Valley was sold to an American group of investors and the park began to fall into disrepair. Bob Allen, a Calgarian, purchased it for ~$4 million in 1976 and added an 18 hole golf course giving it 27 holes.

Bob Allen later sold the complex to a U.S. group from L. A. that planned to create a Hollywood North studio complex but this never occurred.