Road map Moose Jaw city surrounding area (Saskatchewan, Canada)

Moose Jaw Area

Some say Moose Jaw's name comes from an Indian word meaning warm  breezes. Others claim the Indians named the site for a local river bend  resembling a moose jaw. Whatever the case may be, Moose Jaw is a vital  agricultural, industrial, and rail center. At the top of the list of  local attractions is the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa, a downtown  geother-mal spa-hotel-convention center. Its indoor and outdoor pools  use naturally heated mineral water piped hot from a 1,400-m-deep  aquifer. Within easy reach of the city, visitors can stroll along  secluded trails in Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, or thrill to  high-flying stunts at the Saskatchewan Air Show held at nearby CFB Moose  Jaw in July.

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park [B4]

A herd of purebred plains buffalo roam an 81-hectare enclosure  in this park on the shores of Buffalo Lake. A 7.5 km road leads from the  park entrance to the 1,040-hectare Nicolle Flats Nature Area at the  east end of the lake. An interpretive boardwalk stretches through a  marshland, which becomes a spring and autumn stop for ducks, geese, and  other migratory species. One of several trails leads to the 1903  farmhouse built by homesteaders, Charles and Catherine Nicolle, who  settled here in the 1880s.

Claybank [E5] Now a national historic site, Claybank Brick Plant  is a virtually intact example of a brick-making operation, which  developed between 1912 and 1937. The 132-hectare site preserves all the  main buildings, plus much of the original brick-making equipment. During  its heyday, the plant produced special buff-colored bricks used for the  facades of major buildings across Canada. Visitors can tour the plant,  offices, and bunkhouses of this once busy early 20th-century enterprise.

Craven [B6] The Big Valley Jamboree, one of Canada's biggest  country-music blowouts, is held here in mid-July. At Valeport Marsh, a  trail atop a dike is ideal for spotting a wide variety of ducks.

Last Mountain House Provincial Historic Park [A6] A Hudson's Bay  Company winter outpost for the trade in buffalo hides, Last Mountain  House flourished from 1869 to 1871. Its closure signaled the last days  of buffalo hunting on the Saskatchewan prairie. The park's three  reconstructed buildings offer insights into the post's brief moment of  glory.

Moose Jaw [C4] With more than 30,000 inhabitants, Moose Jaw is  Saskatchewan's third largest center. The city's past is depicted in over  30 murals on downtown buildings. Self-guiding tours of the city's  central sites begin at the Moose Jaw Art Museum and National Exhibits in  Crescent Park. Also available are tours of Moose Jaw's tunnels, used by  bootleggers in the 1920s, when Moose Jaw was a rum-running center.  Saskatchewan's transportation history is the theme of the Western  Development Museum, which houses cars, planes, and trains of yesteryear.  A special gallery in the museum salutes The Snowbirds, the famous  aerobatic team from CFB Moose Jaw. The team performs at the Saskatchewan  Air Show in July. The Kinsmen International Band Festival is another  big event, held at Crescent Park in May. Thirteen kilometers south of  Moose Jaw on Hwy 2, the Sukanen Ship, Pioneer Village and Museum has  several remarkable oddities, including the oceangoing vessel built by  Finnish-born sailor turned homesteader Tom Sukanen, who hoped to sail  back to Finland via the South Saskatchewan River, Hudson's Bay,  Greenland, and the North Atlantic. Sukanen died in 1943 before  completing his ship, which was abandoned for years until it was restored  for display here.

ATTRACTIONS

CLAYBANK

Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site

CRAVEN

Valeport Marsh

LUMSDEN

Last Mountain House Provincial Historic Park

MOOSE JAW

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park Moose Jaw Art Museum and National  Exhibits in Crescent Park Moose Jaw Murals Sukanen Ship, Pioneer Village  and Museum Temple Gardens

Mineral Spa Wakawow Valley Western Development Museum Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre