Moose Jaw

Service tunnels under downtown Moose Jaw are presented on two theatrical tours: one on Chinese immigrants who lived and worked underground in the early twentieth century under the head tax regime, and one on Prohibition-era bootlegging with a persistent local legend that Al Capone used the town, for which there is no evidence. Above ground, around forty murals cover downtown walls with local history. A deep mineral spring discovered while drilling for oil feeds a geothermal spa with water at about forty-two degrees. The Snowbirds, the Canadian Forces aerobatic team, are based at the airbase outside town.

History

The Cree and Assiniboine wintered in this sheltered valley, and Métis buffalo hunters and fur traders made the first permanent settlement at a place called the turn; John Palliser's survey of 1857 marked the river as Moose Jaw Bone Creek. In 1881 the confluence of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek was chosen as a division point of the Canadian Pacific Railway for its water supply, settlement began in 1882, a dam built in 1883 gave a year-round supply, and the city was incorporated in 1903, the name coming either from a Plains Cree word for warm breezes or from the jaw-like bend of the river (Wikipedia, Moose Jaw).

What's there

• The tunnels - two guided tours, on Chinese immigrant life and Prohibition.
• The murals - around forty painted walls through downtown.
• The mineral spa - geothermal water from a deep aquifer at about 42 degrees.
• The Snowbirds base - the aerobatic team's home station outside town.

When to go

May to September for the murals and full tour schedule; tunnels and spa run year-round. Snowbirds practice flights are visible in the flying season and are not scheduled for visitors.

Before you go

The Capone connection is unsupported by evidence and the tour presents it as entertainment. Tunnel tours are theatrical, with actors, which suits some visitors and not others. Both tours book out in summer.

Nearby

Regina lies east; the Big Muddy is south.

Key facts