Best Moose Jaw Things To Do

Moose Jaw has gotta be one of Canada’s cutest small towns. Okay, at least one of Saskatchewan’s cutest small towns … which admittedly is not that hard. Moose Jaw is an easy 40 minute drive from Regina or 2 hour drive from Saskatoon. There’s plenty of fun things to do in Moose Jaw to keep you entertained for a weekend away! Read on to discover all the best Moose Jaw attractions.

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Moose Jaw Attractions

1. Moose Jaw Tunnels

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw are historic tunnels that run under the streets of Moose Jaw and connect basements and storage rooms. The tunnels were built in the late 1800s / early 1900s, and are believed to have originally been used as utility tunnels to get between buildings.

The Moose Jaw Tunnels have since been converted into a tourist attraction, with theatrical tours that tell stories about distinct times in Canadian history. The tours are performance based with tour guides who get right into character, and guests who are taken along for the ride with interactive elements.

The Moose Jaw tunnels run two tours, each lasting around 50 minutes. The ‘Chicago Connection’ tour takes guests back to the 1920s prohibition era, where the guests act as bootleggers who are in Moose Jaw to buy alcohol from Al Capone’s underground operations. It appears that Al Capone may or may not have visited Moose Jaw at some time in the late 1920s. The Chicago Connection tour takes artistic license with this, and makes an entire production out of this unsubstantiated point.

The ‘Passage to Fortune’ tour tells the rather harrowing plight of early Chinese immigrants to Canada, who worked and lived in the tunnels in pretty bleak and harsh circumstances. This tour is more accurate to history than the bootleggin’ tour.

You can choose to take one tour or both tours. It’s probably a matter of personal preference as to which tour you’ll enjoy the most. A lot of people love the super theatrical Chicago Connection performance, where the tour guide remains in character throughout as the chatty club owner. The guide flits around the tunnels, describing Al Capone’s escapades and getting flustered at the prospect of Capone turning up unannounced.

I’m not exactly a thespian, and personally much preferred the Passage to Fortune tour, which was more true to history and educational. The guide jumped between acting in character as a rather nasty laundry owner and teaching us about the history of Chinese immigration to Canada and the daily life and living conditions of the immigrants.

The Moose Jaw Tunnels are one of the most popular Moose Jaw attractions, and are open year round. Definitely one not to be missed while you’re in Moose Jaw!

Location: 18 Main Street North, Moose Jaw Canada

Cost: $16 per adult for a single tour or $27 per adult for both tours

2. Moose Jaw Murals

The Murals of Moose Jaw are outdoor murals that tell stories of Moose Jaw’s history and early years. There’s over 40 street murals scattered throughout the city, with paintings ranging from sporting events to the prohibition era to early transportation.

The Moose Jaw murals don’t quite have the artistic merit or street creed of the street art of Melbourne, São Paulo or even Ipoh Malaysia, but are still worth a nosy and are historically interesting. (And let’s face it, you’re not exactly drowning in options when deciding what to do in Moose Jaw, so just roll with it.)

You can easily walk or drive around the Moose Jaw murals, as they’re all in the main downtown area. Alternatively. From May to September, take the Moose Jaw Trolley Tour which covers a range of Moose Jaw’s attractions, including many of the city’s murals and heritage buildings.

Location: The Moose Jaw Murals are dottted all around downtown Moose Jaw. Pick up a free map of the Moose Jaw Murals at your hotel or the information centre, or simply do a loop around town as you can’t miss ‘em.

Cost: Free to explore, see Trolley Tour link above for tour pricing

3. Temple Gardens Spa & Mineral Hot Pools

The Temple Gardens Hotels & Spa is another hot ticket item in Moose Jaw and, along with the tunnels, seems to be one of the most popular things to do in Moose Jaw.

This one is all about relaxation, woohoo! Choose from the mineral hot pools or the spa or, for an indulgent day, do as I did and choose both!

The Temple Gardens pool is a large indoor / outdoor mineral hot pool with healing geothermal properties. The pool is a bit dated and could do with a spruce up, but I don’t suppose that matters too much when you’re defrosting from a bone cold winter’s day.

The Sun Tree Spa is a high end day spa, with excellent therapists, lovely products, and a full spa menu including facials, massages and mani / pedis. Pretty sure I had a quick snooze during my facial, it was THAT relaxing.

Location: Inside Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa, 24 Fairford Street East, Moose Jaw

Cost: Mineral hot pools entry for adults cost $10.25 Monday – Thursday or $17 Friday to Sunday and public holidays. Spa prices vary, but expect to pay $100+ for a massage or facial.

4. Crescent Park

Crescent Park is a pretty park in central Moose Jaw. The park was very picturesque covered in snow in winter, and I imagine it would be just as lovely as the seasons change.

Again, we’re in Moose Jaw so temper your expectations. It’s not exactly Central Park, but is still as pretty as a picture and a pleasant place for a stroll.

Location: Langdon Crescent, Moose Jaw. Crescent Park is in central Moose Jaw, just past Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa.

Cost: Free

5. Western Development Museum

The Moose Jaw Western Development Museum is all about planes, trains and automobiles. Lots of ‘em. Plus the odd skidoo and other unique prairie form of transportation.

While the development of modern transportation may not be everyone’s jam (ahem … me), I have to say that the Western Development Museum has some really interesting local forms of transportation and a pretty impressive collection of artefacts. Even I oohed and aahed at the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, who perform aerobatic shows across Canada.

Location: 50 Diefenbaker Drive, Moose Jaw. Just north of Moose Jaw city, not far from Mac the Moose.

Cost: $10 for adults, which includes half price entry to another Western Development Museum in Saskatchewan. (Perhaps best left to WDM diehards or kidlets obsessed with trains.)

6. Mac the Moose

Yup, this is just what it sounds like. A rather large and statuesque Mac the Moose is the famous town mascot of Moose Jaw. Standing at around 10 meters tall in a lovely and somewhat formless pooh brown shape, Mac the Moose is a classic roadside attraction if I ever did see one.

No exaggeration, ole’ Mac is literally world famous. In 2015, Norway quietly stole the title of the world’s tallest Moose from Canada, when they erected a rather fancy looking shiny metal moose who stood around 30cm taller than Mac.

Norway’s transgression went largely unnoticed until some Canadian comedians pointed out the ‘egregious offence’ on Facebook in 2019. A trans-Atlantic tussle ensued between Moose Jaw and Norway over the prestigious title of the World’s Tallest Moose.

Amusingly, this feud regularly played out on the morning news when we lived in Saskatoon. Norway attempted to keep the peace with a ‘Moose Truce’ song. Moose Jaw refused to engage in peace talks, and issued a stoic rebuttal in the form of its own ‘No Way Norway’ song.

Canada won the moose battle, at least for now. Mac the Moose is undergoing an antler-ectomy to reclaim his rightful title as the tallest moose in the world. Phew!

While it takes all of 2 minutes to check out Mac, I feel like it would be a crime to pass through Moose Jaw without saying hello to the iconic moose.

Location: 450 Diefenbaker Drive, Moose Jaw. Ole Mac is located near the Moose Jaw Information Centre, just north of Moose Jaw city, not far from the Western Development Museum.

Cost: Free

7. Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre

The Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre in Moose Jaw is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes the conservation of the endangered and rather comical looking burrowing owl.

Burrowing owls are small long-legged owls that are rather unique. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls live on the ground and nest in burrows, and are active both day and night.

Burrowing owls are super cute and make funny and rather dexterous looking head contortions. Google ‘burrowing owl videos’ at your own risk. Once you descend into a web of bobbing owl heads, it may be hours before you resurface!

The Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre is only open for visitors during the summer months from the May long weekend to the September long weekend.

Location: 250 Thatcher Drive East, Moose Jaw, not far from the Western Development Museum

Cost: Admission by donation. You can even ‘adopt an owl’ to support the centre.

Best Moose Jaw Hotels

Grant Hall Hotel

I’m a sucker for historic hotels, so Grant Hall Hotel was a pretty easy choice for me. Grant Hall Hotel is a beautiful heritage hotel, with an opulent lobby, bar and restaurants and cosy hotel rooms upstairs.

Grant Hall Hotel is located right in the heart of Moose Jaw, easy walking distance from the main Moose Jaw attractions including the Moose Jaw tunnels and Moose Jaw murals. It’s also a short stumble home from all of the Moose Jaw restaurants, pubs and bars below.

Grant Hotel Hotel is a pretty incredible find for a small town like Moose Jaw, and is of a standard you’d expect from a (much more expensive!) big city fancy hotel.

Ready to book? Book Grant Hall Hotel with your preferred booking platform: Booking.comBooking.com | HotelsCombined.

Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa 

My next pick for Moose Jaw hotels would have to be Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa, especially if you are a spa buff! The hotel is very centrally located, and of course is home to the famous Moose Jaw spa and mineral hot pools.

Ready to book? Book Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa with your preferred booking platform: Booking.com | HotelsCombined

Moose Jaw Restaurants, Pubs and Bars

Browns Socialhouse

We perhaps misjudged the nightlife of Moose Jaw, and Browns Socialhouse was actually surprisingly pumping on a wintery Saturday evening. In fact, we were lucky to even get a spot for a walk-in dinner on a Saturday night, and happily perched up at the bar.

Browns Socialhouse is a bar and restaurant, with industrial style decor and tasty pub-slash-bistro style food. This was my favourite spot in Moose Jaw, and we returned a couple of times.

Cornerstone Bar & Grill

If you’re looking for a good Canadian pub, then Moose Jaw is definitely the place to be. There seem to be a disproportionate number of great pubs in Moose Jaw given the relatively small population, and Cornerstone Bar & Grill was no exception.

Cornerstone is located in one of Moose Jaw’s oldest historic buildings. Expect a classic low-key pub with a basic but tasty pub menu.

Grant Hall Dining Room & Lounge

For something more upscale, don’t miss Grant Hall Dining Room & Lounge at the Grant Hall Hotel. In keeping with the hotel’s theme, the lounge is semi-historic and semi-opulent, with some beautiful ornate finishes.

We loved the Grant Hall lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail and a post-dinner night cap. Yup, we did both!

Rosie’s on River Street

Rosie’s on River Street is a small funky bar, filled with eclectic posters, knick-knacks and even a moose head. The perfect spot for a pre-dinner drink or a chilled pub meal!

Bobby’s Place

Bobby’s Place Olde World Tavern came highly recommended by locals for its pub-grub and lively atmosphere. We were gutted to miss out on Bobby’s Place as it was closed on a Sunday when we walked past. Note: In small towns, many things close on a Sunday, so check in advance!

I love road trips and vibrant small towns, so really enjoyed exploring Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. Everything in Moose Jaw is very centrally located, so its easy to get through all the things to do in Moose Jaw on this list in just a weekend. Have fun!

Read More: Keen to visit another cute Canadian town? Check out Yellowknife Northwest Territories in Canada’s far north. The best Yellowknife attractions include the northern lights, dog-sledding and driving the ice-road in winter or enjoying the lake and hiking in summer!

After another Saskatchewan adventure? Why not visit Grasslands National Park where you can hike in the endless prairie grasslands and spot wild bison and black tailed prairie dogs!

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